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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (866 reviews)

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1.49

Based on 866 reviews, last reviewed 16th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

14% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

79%

Latest highest rating:

5

Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on... Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on go compare site Reviewed on: 25th September 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

I changed the address to another one 200 yards away... I changed the address to another one 200 yards away from the first one. They wrote that they would pay me 17 pence extra. But my renewal went up from ... Read more Reviewed on: 16th February 2025

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About this product

Here at Smart Money People, we collect 1st Central car insurance reviews from genuine customers, to help you make an informed decision about your next provider.

1st Central was founded in 2008 and has been growing fast ever since. Specialising in car insurance, the brand offers a variety of products with different levels of cover, including a telematics policy for newer drivers.

When choosing a new policy, take the time to ensure it is suitably robust and meets all of your needs. Do you want breakdown cover included in the policy? Do you need legal cover? What about cover for any medical expenses that may occur after an accident? Working out your priorities before searching for a policy can make the selection process much easier. Check out our 1st Central car insurance reviews to find out what others think.

Have you had a car insurance policy with 1st Central? Whether good or bad, share your experience with the Smart Money People community to help us increase trust and transparency in financial services. Were you satisfied with the price of the premium? Did you have any interactions with the customer service team? Leave a 1st Central car insurance review today to help other drivers just like you.

1st Central Car Insurance reviews (866)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

Avoid 1st Central Car Insurance at all costs.

Avoid 1st Central Car Insurance. They come up as the cheapest on many insurance comparison websites but they make their money through high administration fees any time you or they make changes to your policy. They requested added information 30 days after I applied and with only 1 day to go in my 14 day period, so when I had a disagreement over the documents I couldn't get out within the 14 day grace period. When they find fault in your documents, they don't explain what the problem is online and you can't make any changes to your policy until you've paid the admin fee. The call centre operator had an extremely noisy background (yelling and laughing) so I couldn't hear what was being said. They also failed to action something I requested over the phone. Two separate operators gave me incorrect information as to why my policy was being changed and why I had to pay the admin fee, wasting a day of my time and one less day to get this all sorted. They made it as difficult as possible for me to give them the new information to have the admin fee removed - I couldn't just upload to my online account and I have to call them once I've sent the documentation otherwise my email goes to the back of the 5 day long queue and I'll miss the due date. Most people wouldn't bother and just accept the fee, but that is how they make their money. I'll be cancelling as soon as possible. Could not imagine trying to go through this process if I ever had to make a claim. Reviewed on: 12th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi J A K, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with us. All details on the policy impact the price of the policy we offer, if details are found to be incorrect we need to update them and this can impact the price of the policy. If you’d like to speak to the team about this process, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service. Ashley Response date: 13th November 2024

RUN!! Scammers

Firstly, upon having an accident was only given a fraction of the cars value, which then took them over 4 weeks to pay me. Leaving me with ni money to purchase a new car, so I couldn't get to work.When i evenutslly got a new car, i was told the montly price was £84 to then be slammed with a £120 bill each month. I complained over 8 weeks ago now and have been lied to each time about when they will resolve it. I now have my legal team involved!! AVOID LIKE THE PLAUGE Reviewed on: 19th March 2024

Beware online buyers!

Car insurance bought online and cancelled within 24 hours of taking it out (and well before the policy was due to start). This incurred a £50 charge that was apparently mentioned. I thought this was illegal practice, but apparently a company can change a "small" administration fee. Not sure how "small" is defined, but they have just lost one customer for life. Angry and upset. Reviewed on: 18th March 2024

Avoid, premium increase and admin fees

Very similar experience to a lot of other customers. 1st Central lure you in with an initially cheap price. Once the cooling off period has finished, they'll find tiny discrepancies in your policy. For example, car purchase price being out by a few days. They then increase the premium and charge a £50 admin fee. Avoid as it's not just money, it's the hassle of dealing with them Reviewed on: 17th March 2024

Poor customer service

Hello, I canceled my insurance with this company. The reason is that every time I call them, the cut the line for no reason. When I canceled my insurance with them, they asked me for 192 The worst company. I do not advise anyone to insure with these companies Reviewed on: 12th March 2024

Scam unhelpful avoid at all costs

After paying through the roof for insurance policy I had to make a claim for an accident that wasn’t my fault provided them with dash cam footage they still haven’t declared it as not at fault claim I’ve asked to cancel my claim after this experience and after being told that my car is a write off even though I had it valued at £7500 and the cost of repairs from a garage for £220. They came to this conclusion after not even looking at my car and not asking to see pictures. They then said that I had no choice but to accept total loss. I ended up hanging up on the call because they would not let me proceed in any other direction. They have also said it will affect my no claims even though I have paid for no claims protection and I wasn’t at fault either. Should never have made a claim in the first place but that’s the point of having insurance not even sure what I’m paying for. Have raised a complaint had no helpful response other than that they were following their policies. Absolute rubbish! Please avoid!!! Reviewed on: 11th March 2024

Doubled the cost of my policy, scam artists!

Terrible experience, scam artists! after paying for my policy in full they then doubled the amount of my policy (which equated to half the cost of my car). I have held my licence for 13 years i am not an inexperienced driver. I had communicated several time via email however just got automated responses, requested calls back on multiple occasions which were ignored. I couldn't cancel or amend the policy until I paid double what they quoted, despite my numerous attempts at communication that was ignored however they emailed me about my "debts". When I called and eventually spoke to someone to see what solutions there were they advised i can cancel my policy they advised i would still be liable for the arrangement fee of £50 (even though i had advised i would stay with them) and they also charge a cancellation fee on top of that of £50. so i have paid £100 admin fee for an awful service. Reviewed on: 5th March 2024

Misleading- do not buy

Before taking the policy out I read the policy details and it indicated that I met the criteria to drive other insured cars third party. There is nowhere to check that is the case on the site as there is with other insurers such as Admiral. The second I got my policy documents (15:06) I contacted them to check this, they didn’t cover me for this and won’t allow me to add this on. So I requested to cancel immediately, I am told that despite it being set up minutes earlier I would be charged £50 and for the days cover. I asked for discretion as this seems absurd, it had been mere minutes and I obviously hadn’t driven anywhere, and apparently the manager whose name Tamzine refused to give me, declined this. This is absurd. Please do not buy from these cowboys, mislead you into buying something. Also advertise as having no cancellation fees within 14 days but make no mention that you have to pay £50 to cancel anyways under the guise of an ‘arrangement fee’. Reviewed on: 4th March 2024

Started my policy in Feb 2023, got sent automatic re...

Started my policy in Feb 2023, got sent automatic renewal in Feb 2024. Decided to get rid of my diesel bmw before renewal. Asked for a quote for my new car for the remainder of my policy. Got charged £100, then got renewed price through and it was £16000!!! Rang them and cancelled, got charged £25. Kept getting renewed emails for my old car saying they will automatically renew after I had cancelled. Cancelled my policy online 5 DAYS before end of policy, then lost 1 year off the policy. Should have 5 years NCD only got 4 because I cancelled before the end of the policy by 5 days. There was no warning anywhere which said I would lose 1 year because I cancelled. Appalling customer service. Avoid this company like the plague. I feel fortunate that I didn’t have to make a claim. Imagine that!!! Reviewed on: 27th February 2024

Avoid lol

Got my insurance for a cheap price. They randomly cancelled my insurance no warning. And then blamed it on me not registering the other drivers even tho I wasn’t given instructions to do so. I spoke to customer service and just replied “alright anything else that I can help you with” after doing nothing at all Reviewed on: 23rd February 2024

Got in a crash and had my car wrote off.

Got in a crash and had my car wrote off. Other party involved was liable for the crash and they accepted liability but the claims team still tried saying it was my fault and needed dash can footage for a side impact crash. It took them 2 months to pay me out and valued me £600 for a car I could’ve sold to we buy any car for £1500. I was told with my courtesy car it would be arranged for pickup the day the car goes to the scrap company, I was waiting 2-3 weeks for the courtesy car and I use my car to get to and from work. Now to today when I cancelled my insurance 3 weeks ago when the courtesy car was taken as I have no need for insurance I receive an email saying they’re cancelling my policy effect immediately and charging me £3000 for cancellation. Id stay away they’re scammers Reviewed on: 23rd February 2024

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