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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.72 (965 reviews)

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1.72

Based on 965 reviews, last reviewed 7th Jun 2026

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

15% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

11%

80%

Latest highest rating:

5

Just started my third year of car insurance cover wi... Just started my third year of car insurance cover with 1st Central. Good value for money, helpful customer service, clearly laid out website and easy ... Read more Reviewed on: 17th April 2026

Latest lowest rating:

1

Please avoid this company, money grabbers! I purchased car insurance and then found a more comprehensive cover for the same price, so within 12 hours decided to cancel whilst policy was pending... Read more Reviewed on: 7th June 2026

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About this product

With 1st Central, you can insure a single car or opt for a multicar policy. There’s also a telematics policy.

As standard, you get up to 90 days free cover when driving in Europe. There are five policies to choose from giving different levels of cover: ValueOnline, Online, LegalOnline, PlusOnline and PremierOnline.

1st Central car insurance reviews help you find out what it’s really like to be a customer. If you’ve used 1st Central before, you can also leave a review and share your experience.

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1st Central Car insurance reviews (965)

Please avoid this company, money grabbers!

I purchased car insurance and then found a more comprehensive cover for the same price, so within 12 hours decided to cancel whilst policy was pending. They charged me £25 fee for a policy that was not due to start for 3 weeks. The T&Cs were not clear of the charges and they refused to waiver. I have reached out to Financial Obudsman and I suggest anyone with similar issues does the same. They should not be able to get away with charge fees, without making it clear. Really poor customer service, please avoid this company. Reviewed on: 7th June 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi, Thank you for your feedback and for choosing 1st Central. We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We'll use your review to help improve our services. Emily Response date: 8th June 2026

RIP off company AVOID they contact you after the 14...

RIP off company AVOID they contact you after the 14 day cooling period and try and charge you another £400 Reviewed on: 4th June 2026

Genuinely terrible experience changing car mid term

I had a genuinely terrible experience trying to change my car mid-term with 1st Central. Before renewing my policy, I knew I would be getting a new car within a few weeks. I compared quotes for both my current car and the new one in advance, and 1st Central appeared competitive for both, so I proceeded with them. However, when the time came to switch vehicles after receiving the new registration, I was quoted a fee that was higher than the entire 12-month premium just to make the change. I challenged this over the phone, but both the call handler and their manager simply repeated scripted responses and offered no meaningful explanation, blaming the underwriters and stating there was nothing they could do. My only option was to cancel the policy, which resulted in me paying £140 for just 26 days of cover. I then insured the new car elsewhere for less than what 1st Central wanted just to amend the policy. This experience felt completely unreasonable and suggests a business model that penalises customers once they are locked in. To add insult to injury, the call ended with “please consider us for your next car,” which I found quite tone-deaf given the situation. I will not be returning and would advise others to be cautious. Reviewed on: 3rd June 2026

My experience with 1st Central was extremely disappo...

My experience with 1st Central was extremely disappointing. When I needed to make a claim, it was not accepted, despite paying for insurance and following the policy requirements. I also constantly received warnings that my insurance could be cancelled because of my black box score. No matter how carefully and responsibly I drove, it felt impossible to achieve the score they wanted. The system seemed unfair and created a lot of unnecessary stress. The whole experience left me feeling that I was being penalised despite trying my best to drive safely and comply with the terms of the policy. Based on my experience, I would not choose 1st Central again and would not recommend them to other young drivers. Reviewed on: 31st May 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. Let’s see if we can help put this right for you. Just give our team a call on 0333 043 2055 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm. Emily Response date: 1st June 2026

Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging...

Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging me on a vehicle that’s is not in use refusing to swap my policy to another car that is in use without charging me a fee of 1k to 2k. I tried to cancel the policy as they are already charging me 200 and something a month for a car I have told them about months ago is not driveable!!!!!!! Regardless of that they continued to keep charging me. I will now be taking this up with financial ombudsman. Reviewed on: 26th May 2026

Quote price is competitive but making contact with a...

Quote price is competitive but making contact with anyone is extremely difficult. AI chat is next to useless, just go round around in circles. Talking to a person seems to be impossible, wait for a long long time and then call centre is in South Africa. Took days to cancel the policy and then was charged a lot of money. Sad because have used 1st central in the past but they seem to have gone downhill a lot. Not at all confident if insurance was needed so had to cancel the policy. Went to Hastings who sorted out in five minutes. Reviewed on: 26th May 2026

I explained a few things to them over the phone and...

I explained a few things to them over the phone and they charged me £155 for that call. Reviewed on: 21st May 2026

Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a...

Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a cancellation fee. Impossible to get hold of, and when I finanally did, they refused to reinstate my policy or refund the money Reviewed on: 13th May 2026

Just started my third year of car insurance cover wi...

Just started my third year of car insurance cover with 1st Central. Good value for money, helpful customer service, clearly laid out website and easy to access documents. Excellent communication and really helpful when I've had to make a claim Reviewed on: 17th April 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi Thanks for your great feedback! We always aim to make things easy and straightforward for our customers Response date: 20th April 2026

Do not use this provider for your car insurance

I’ve had a very poor experience with this insurer. They failed to respond to three or four of my emails, and despite requesting a call from management, I’ve heard nothing back. After updating my address and paying the increase in the premium and the remaining 3 months in full, I was asked to make an additional payment even though my policy had already been fully paid. They later admitted that the direct debit would have updated on my account and I shouldn't have paid this... but haven't helped at all with issuing me my money back for the over payment (Colleagues error on the phone). Ive chased numerous times, and they have stopped responding altogether. The lack of communication and accountability is extremely frustrating. I would not recommend this company based on my experience. I am now going through Finance Ombudsman Reviewed on: 10th April 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi 1st Central is committed to providing you with the best possible service, however, we realise there may be times when we do not meet your expectations. If you'd like to talk to us about a general query, you can call us on 0333 043 2085. Alternatively, our Complaints team are available: Mon - Fri: 9am to 5pm Saturday: CLOSED Sunday: CLOSED Bank Holidays: CLOSED They can be reached directly 0333 043 2077 Or via email on [email protected] Emily Response date: 13th April 2026

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