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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.90 (993 reviews)

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1.90

Based on 993 reviews, last reviewed 4th Nov 2026

500% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

17% increase in 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

One of the worst insurance company ever. One of the worst insurance company ever. They lie, disregard any reasoning and bullies. They charged me £120 for cancellation of insurance when they c... Read more Reviewed on: 4th November 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 (993)

One of the worst insurance company ever.

One of the worst insurance company ever. They lie, disregard any reasoning and bullies. They charged me £120 for cancellation of insurance when they could not provide me with insurance for new car. They sent me an email stating that as they cannot offer new car insurance they will not charge cancellation fee. When contacted them for cancellation, they charged £120. They don’t listen to any reasoning. It genuinely feels like you’re talking to a brick wall. Reviewed on: 4th November 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We can understand how frustrating it must have been to be told you wouldn’t be charged a cancellation fee, only to then find that a charge had been applied. It’s disappointing to hear that you also felt your concerns weren’t being listened to when you contacted us about this. This certainly isn’t the experience we want our customers to have, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. Emily Response date: 5th November 2026

A Very Disappointing Experience

I purchased car insurance from 1st Central for approximately £81 per month. Shortly afterwards, I discovered that I couldn’t access my policy documents through my online account. I spent several days trying to contact customer service. When I finally managed to reach someone through webchat, instead of resolving my original problem, the conversation turned into a review of my policy details. To my shock, they attempted to increase my monthly premium from £81 to £168 — more than double what I had originally agreed to pay. I felt trapped by the customer service process. I had contacted them simply because I couldn’t access my insurance documents, but ended up facing a massive price increase. I eventually cancelled my policy because I had completely lost confidence in the company. I was then faced with additional cancellation-related charges, making the whole experience even more frustrating. What disappointed me most was the lack of transparency, the difficulty getting support, and the unexpected financial consequences of a simple customer service enquiry. I would strongly advise potential customers to be extremely cautious before taking out insurance with 1st Central. Based on my experience, I would never insure with them again. Reviewed on: 4th November 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We understand how frustrating this experience must have been, particularly when you originally got in touch simply to access your policy documents. Having difficulty reaching us, followed by an unexpected change to your premium and additional costs when cancelling, understandably added to your frustration. We appreciate you taking the time to explain what happened and are disappointed that your experience left you feeling you could no longer have confidence in us. Thanks for sharing your feedback with us. Emily Response date: 5th November 2026

Time wasted trying to speak to a human

I tried to phone to discuss a problem and was held for 22 minutes. I gave up and was really annoyed. I don't like going "on line" as is always suggested. It's so poor that wanting to speak to a human is a hard task. I can use the Internet but prefers to speak to someone with a simple question. Reviewed on: 3rd November 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We’re sorry to hear about the difficulty you experienced trying to speak to someone. We completely understand that some customers prefer to discuss their queries over the phone, particularly when it’s something that could be resolved with a quick conversation. We appreciate how frustrating it must have been to wait 22 minutes and still not get the help you needed. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Emily Response date: 4th November 2026

My policy was cancelled retrospectibly without warning

I purchased a policy online that involved using a tracker. I downloaded the tracker, and it worked fine. Then, without warning, they emailed me on a Monday to say they had cancelled my policy the previous Friday. I am furious that I have been driving without insurance for 3 days. I am currently trying to contact them via webchat to sort this out. I started the chat at 12:42. It's now exactly 3 hours later, and I am still in a queue. Don't get sucked in by the low price. This is a seriously bad firm. Reviewed on: 2nd November 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We’re really sorry to hear about your experience and understand how concerning and frustrating this situation must have been for you. We’re also sorry to hear about the difficulties you’ve experienced trying to get in touch to discuss what has happened. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and feedback with us. Emily Response date: 3rd November 2026

Extremely disappointing service

Extremely disappointing service – avoid this insurance company I took out a car insurance policy with 1st Central, only to be contacted on the 15th day of my policy to verify some information. A very slight change in one of my answers resulted in an astonishing £160 increase in my premium. I found this increase completely disproportionate to the minor change in information provided, and frankly, it left me questioning how they could justify such an excessive additional cost. When I understandably decided that I no longer wished to proceed with the policy, I was then informed that I would have to pay a £140 cancellation fee. So, after being presented with an unexpected £160 premium increase over a minor clarification, I was effectively faced with another substantial financial penalty simply for wanting to walk away. The most frustrating and unacceptable aspect of this entire experience was the timing of their checks. 1st Central chose to contact me on the very day after the 14-day cooling-off period had expired. This meant that I was presented with a significant change to my insurance costs only after the period in which I could have cancelled under the cooling-off arrangements had ended. I find this extremely frustrating and feel that the timing deprived me of a fair opportunity to make a fully informed decision about whether I wanted to continue with the policy. I submitted a formal complaint explaining my concerns about the timing of these checks. It then took six weeks for 1st Central to respond. After all that waiting, my complaint was rejected, and the response offered very little reassurance or acknowledgement of why I found the situation so unreasonable. The entire experience has left me feeling thoroughly let down as a customer. At a time when the cost of living continues to put pressure on households, I find it particularly disappointing that a company can impose such a substantial premium increase over a minor change in information and then attach such a hefty cancellation fee when the customer decides the revised price is unacceptable. What particularly angers me is that this situation could potentially have been avoided if the checks had been carried out earlier, giving me the opportunity to properly consider my options within the 14-day cooling-off period. Instead, I was left feeling trapped between accepting a price I considered unreasonable and paying a substantial fee to cancel. I have now cancelled my policy, and I will never use 1st Central again. Their handling of this matter, the lengthy complaints process and the lack of a satisfactory resolution have destroyed my confidence in the company. In my opinion, this has been an incredibly poor customer experience from beginning to end. I would not recommend 1st Central to anyone looking for transparent pricing, fair treatment or decent customer service. I would actively encourage other motorists to look elsewhere before committing to a policy with this company. Cheap insurance is not worth the stress, frustration and financial uncertainty that I experienced. An utterly disappointing experience, an unsatisfactory complaints process and a complete loss of trust. I would not use them again under any circumstances. Reviewed on: 29th October 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We’re really sorry to hear about your experience and understand how frustrating it must have been to receive an unexpected change to your premium and then face additional costs when deciding to cancel. We also appreciate your concerns around the timing of the checks and your disappointment with the time taken and outcome of your complaint. We’re sorry that the overall experience has resulted in a loss of trust and ultimately led you to leave us. Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback with us. Emily Response date: 30th October 2026

I have agreed £87 monthly.

I have agreed £87 monthly. After first payment they send email and I replied. They said they did not received the email. They ended taking £127 instead of the £87 agreed on. That’s fraud Reviewed on: 21st October 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're sorry to hear that you were unhappy with your experience. We understand your concerns regarding your payments and the communication you received. We're sorry that the service provided did not meet your expectations and left you feeling disappointed. Emily Response date: 22nd October 2026

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

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