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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.92 (987 reviews)

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1.92

Based on 987 reviews, last reviewed 13th Oct 2026

400% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

No new 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

80%

Latest highest rating:

4

Very helpful on the phone when I needed help & a ver... Very helpful on the phone when I needed help & a very competitive price for senior drivers. At age 85 years it is difficult to find car insurance.. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Latest lowest rating:

1

Unfair charges, blocked cancellation & credit damage Policy FPM6028221297FC – Unfair charges, blocked cancellation & credit damage I took out a policy with 1st Central (policy FPM6028221297FC). When they... Read more Reviewed on: 29th September 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 (987)

Very helpful on the phone when I needed help & a ver...

Very helpful on the phone when I needed help & a very competitive price for senior drivers. At age 85 years it is difficult to find car insurance.. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi Thanks for your great feedback! We always aim to give the best service and price to our customers Response date: 14th October 2026

Good car insurance

Easy setup and renew process. Very cost effective. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Harassed a few weeks after taking out the insurance,

A few weeks after taking out the insurance, I was contacted and asked to provide additional information, as the insurer questioned the low mileage I was declaring. I was required to provide the vehicle purchase documents to confirm the mileage at the time of purchase, start my car and provide the current mileage, and contact my previous insurer to obtain further information regarding my no-claims history. Unfortunately, this took place on my birthday and caused me considerable stress and upset. The process felt intrusive and overwhelming, and by the end of a call that lasted over an hour, I was left in tears. I was extremely relieved when the call was finally over. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Providing extra documentation

Providing extra documentation (that I have never been asked to provide before) proved to be more complicated and difficult than it needed to be. The whole process was long winded and more complicated than it needed to be. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Good pricey car insurance-not so good user interface

I used to be a customer with 1st central to hold a car insurance and decided to move back as the comparative quotes , although slightly expensive, the benefits I had like the add on no claims protection, personal protection and legal cover was all worth it. I have merely dropped one point for two reasons- one for making the insurance expensive and the other having an appalling web only interface when logging in with no other choices like an app. Reviewed on: 13th October 2026

Unfair charges, blocked cancellation & credit damage

Policy FPM6028221297FC – Unfair charges, blocked cancellation & credit damage I took out a policy with 1st Central (policy FPM6028221297FC). When they asked for NCD proof I uploaded it promptly. They then changed my declared 3 years NCD to 2 years, imposed an extra £99.35 (including a £50 admin fee) without my agreement and presented it as a done deal. I immediately objected and on 21 July 2026 emailed asking for the policy to be cancelled straight away. Their reply took almost a week and was unclear. The online cancellation system would not complete unless I first paid the disputed amount – an unreasonable barrier. Because of the unagreed charges and poor communication I cancelled the Direct Debit. They cancelled the policy on 18 August 2026 for “non-payment”, demanded £113.59, closed my formal complaint after a manager’s call was disconnected mid-discussion with no callback, ignored my further emails and reported missed payments to the credit reference agencies. This has damaged a previously well-maintained credit profile and created unnecessary mental and financial pressure. The investigation felt one-sided and pre-decided. 1st Central has used the credit system to recover disputed charges while failing to listen properly or resolve the matter fairly. Business ethics and genuine customer care appear absent. I will never recommend 1st Central to anyone – not even my worst enemy. Other customers should think very carefully before dealing with them. I demand immediate removal of the credit markers, write-off of the unjustified balance and a proper response from senior management. Policy: FPM6028221297FC Customer: Gobinda Reviewed on: 29th September 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: 30th September 2026

Cheap price, rubbish service as soon as anything goe...

Cheap price, rubbish service as soon as anything goes wrong. Having to go through the same security twice each time I have the unfortunate occurrence of dealing with 1st central. South African accent is terrible to understand. Clueless staff insistence that they are giving me services, but in reality, I paid for the service. Get your facts straight. Reviewed on: 29th September 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: 30th September 2026

AVOID! Pay a little more with a genuine company

Horrendous insurance company. I made a genuine mistake with a date then 7 weeks down the line got told I had to pay ANOTHER £144 or my insurance would be cancelled. The date would have made zero difference to the the original quote, yes an amendment fee but not £144. Subsequently I won't be renewing any of the cars in the household with Ist central. TOP TIP the cheapest quote isn't always the best! Certainly not in this case. Reviewed on: 28th September 2026

AVOID TERRIBLE SERVICE

AVOID! Never again would I choose this company. Apparently I had made a mistake in putting the wrong month in when my son passed his driving test, this increased by £1,500 even though it was down as him having no NCD anyway. I went on the chat and asked to cancel the policy as I could get it cheaper elsewhere by £1,000 at least. Being at work is hard to call so tried whats app and chat on their website, the site constantly freezes then you get a message saying they closed after waiting hours in a queue. Sometimes I was position 194 so was so frustrating to the receive this message after such a long wait. Finally getting through, I was told that I was insured until 21st September and need not do anything, if I did not contact them further they would automatically cancel the policy. This morning I received an email to say they will be taking out my new payments of £352 a month, it's a corsa not a Lambroghini! Anyway here we are again hours on chat try to sort the problem out, currently 2nd in the queue for the past 50 minutes Reviewed on: 23rd September 2026

BIGGEST SCAM COMPANY AROUND QUOTE £1700 FOR INSURANC...

BIGGEST SCAM COMPANY AROUND QUOTE £1700 FOR INSURANCE SO I PAY IN FULL PROVIDE PROOF OF MY NO CLAIMS BONUS THEY THEN PHONE AND DEMAND A EXTRA £900 FOR THE INSURANCE AS THEY WONT ACCEPT NO CLAIMS BONUS THEY THEN DEMAND YOU PAY IT IN FULL OR THEY WILL CANCEL YOUR INSURANCE WHILE CHARGING YOU £258 FOR THE PLEASURE OF THEM CANCELLING IT DON’T GO NEAR THEM I WILL BE TAKING IT FURTHER!! Reviewed on: 18th September 2026

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