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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.71 (965 reviews)

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1.71

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)

Did the comparison website just come up as cheapest...

Did the comparison website just come up as cheapest well so I thought after taking out a policy a week later they sent me an email asking for the V5 I uploaded it three days later everything seems good nearly 3 weeks of past over the cooling off period and they have now informed me they're going to charge me £59 for making a slight mistake on the purchase of date for the vehicle absolutely shocking. This really is made my day it's put me in a right mood if it was £10 or £15. I could understand it possibly charging me £59 just to enter a date on the website. Well I won't be renewing my policy or ever going with Yu this company again and I will certainly warn all of my friends about them! Reviewed on: 12th August 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Steven, 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 us to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 13th August 2024

Shockingly terrible.

Shockingly terrible. Sat away. Not fit for purpose. Reviewed on: 10th August 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hello, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion 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 2066 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. Ashley Response date: 13th August 2024

The worst insurance company on the market keep well...

The worst insurance company on the market keep well away they are just a ripped off give all the info they need then cancel your insurance if I was not on top off my email i would have been driving around with no insurance not even a phone call to let you no so dangerous do not trust not worth the risk no manther how cheap they say you getting insurance as your not realy Think it just a scam Reviewed on: 2nd August 2024

Reply from 1st Central HI Christopher, 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 would like to look into this further for you to help resolve this, please send an email to [email protected] with your policy number a summary of your experience similar to your review and we will look into it. Ashley Response date: 13th August 2024

Funny how their google / Facebook reviews are turned...

Funny how their google / Facebook reviews are turned off! Complete scammers and shoddy practices! Be warned and pay a little extra if you need to with a reputable insurance company, it will save you a lot in the long run!. Reviewed on: 18th July 2024

Reply from 1st Central HI Jason, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. If there’s anything you’d like us to look into for you, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected]. Please include your policy number and details of what’s gone wrong, and we’ll see if we can put things right. Ashley Response date: 19th July 2024

CS was unprofessional and rude.

Policy cancellation link on its web does NOT work. CS was rude and unprofessional. They quietly terminate chat session midway without resolving anything. I will not do business with it again. Reviewed on: 11th July 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Mono, 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 comments to help improve our service and training for our agents. Ashley Response date: 12th July 2024

Good quote and east to use website

Good quote and east to use website Reviewed on: 11th July 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Ian, Thank you for your review and for choosing 1st Central this year for your car insurance. Ashley Response date: 12th July 2024

They entered incorrect information saying I was to b...

They entered incorrect information saying I was to blame for previous accident where I had it on my previous insurance I wasn't at blame Charged extra!!!! To enter it as not my fault Thier rep agreed it was mad to be charging me more will not go back to them ever or recommend them total thieves avoid them Reviewed on: 10th July 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Adrian, 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 us to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 12th July 2024

Refused to allow me to pay my balance due to bank is...

Refused to allow me to pay my balance due to bank isuse then try to charge me £15 fine. THIEVES Reviewed on: 28th June 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi David, 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 advise of our fees when a policy is being set up, this includes the late payment fee of £15. If you may have a payment issue in future, please speak to us on 0333 043 2088 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. Ashley Response date: 1st July 2024

Shocking!

Shocking!! Took out the policy and cancelled within the 14 day cooling off period, I paid an initial £29 deposit at the time of taking out the policy and they billed me £87 for cancellation. Reviewed on: 26th June 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Russell, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. I can see the policy was cancelled 15 days after the policy start date, which is outside of the cool off period. If you need any assistance with the payment, please speak to our team on 01274 933 469. Ashley Response date: 28th June 2024

Do not touch.

Do not touch. Auto Renew you can't turn off, chat that doesn't work, no phone numbers unless claiming! Activating a policy before old one (with them) has expired then charge fee for cancelling an "active" policy. Should get email one month in advance then two weeks in advance. only received two weeks before renewal, then no way of turning off auto renew and policy almost doubled despite no claims. Just keep saying i should have turned off auto renew. New policy not started but they had it as "Active" online several hours before it came into force thereby forcing cancellation rather than blocking auto renew. Will be taking to ombudsman. £50 admin fee!!!!! Reviewed on: 21st June 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Kim, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. Automatic renewal can be turned off at any time up, until the day before your renewal, via Your Account. This can be on day 1 of your policy also. We advise this on our renewal invite that we send also. The day before your policy you can speak to us to turn this off. You had an Online only policy, which didn't include telephone support, but our team on web chat could've assisted. I can see the renewal invite was opened. We have this FAQ for turning off automatic renewal - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/kb/FAQ/content/PROD-7100/What-if-I-dont-want-to-renew-my-car-insurance?query=automatic%20renew. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service and training for our agents. Ashley Response date: 24th June 2024

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