Write a review

1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (867 reviews)

View other 1st Central products

1.49

Based on 867 reviews, last reviewed 25th 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:

2

Brilliant price. But very poor Customer Service Brilliant price on comparison site. Went with them and put partner on policy. Kept getting emails and messages, tried hardest to upload driving licenc... Read more Reviewed on: 25th February 2025

Read all reviews See your review

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 (867)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

Almost got me arrested

Opened a new policy in November, now currently February 2025. It turns out these scammers cancelled my insurance without telling me and allowed me to drive round for months without insurance! I’m lucky I was not arrested or in an accident. AVOID Reviewed on: 6th February 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Tom, 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'd 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: 7th February 2025

Extortionate Fees

I’m very disappointed, sold my car, so cancelled my insurance 4 months in but it’s basically cost me the full year to cancel! Shocking & daylight robbery. Reviewed on: 17th September 2023

Shocking

Overcharging….. made up an endorsement on my policy then said I didn’t declare any. Then made my refund but didn’t cancel the policy I had cancelled the DD from my bank so they didn’t get that so instead they illegally took money from my card from another bank which they were given details of for the refund ! They admitted they had a note for the cancellation and a cancellation code but had still taken 2 mo this of payments. Wanted a copy of my licence to check my endorsement and I told them they didn’t and needed part of my licence number and a check code. They insisted they get copies of the licence. Guess what they then emailed me back for a check code Reviewed on: 15th September 2023

Avoid this company like the plague. A nightmare to deal with.

I like many, shop around each year for car insurance. I apparently got an email renewal at twice the price of the previous year, & i may have opened it but this policy was not with my reg on the policy, so was ignored. So I shopped around & saved just over a ¼ of the price with Hastings insurance. On the same day 1st Central had used their auto renewal scam to take nearly £400.00 out of my account. I had this stopped at my bank as it was for the wrong car registration & i already got another policy. They are now threatening me with legal action unless paid by a certain date. I have asked for the cancellation, so i can never have to deal with them again & keep getting fobbed off to avoid the 14 day cooling off period. I wish I had researched this company as they have a massive amount of bad reviews on other sites which I suspect the links won't be allowed here. But on just a few site i looked at well over a thousand complaints & I am sure there are many more. So, if i was you avoid them. I still lost £50 cancellation fee just to get rid of them. Reviewed on: 15th September 2023

Misleading Practices and Unreasonable Premium Increases

Certainly, here's a detailed review that you can post on Trustpilot: Title: Misleading Practices and Unreasonable Premium Increases Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5 stars) I wish I could give 1st Central Insurance a better rating, but my experience with them has been incredibly frustrating and disappointing. Premium Manipulation: My initial interaction with 1st Central was based on their seemingly competitive prices. They quoted a lower premium compared to other insurance companies listed on comparison websites like Confused.com. However, this initial low quote turned out to be a bait-and-switch tactic. After signing up and providing all the necessary information, I was shocked to see my premium increase by a whopping 70%. This hike was attributed to an undisclosed non-fault incident, despite the fact that my no-claims bonus remained untouched. Lack of Transparency: One of the fundamental issues here is the lack of transparency. I believe that insurance companies should provide clear and honest information to customers from the very beginning. If a non-fault incident carries the potential for such a significant premium increase, this should have been explicitly mentioned during the application process. Instead, it felt like I was deliberately kept in the dark until I was committed to the policy. Questionable Fees: The cancellation and administration fees imposed by 1st Central also raised eyebrows. While they claim these are standard, they seem disproportionate to the services provided. The overall canelation fees were the equivalet of a year insurance premium in particular, felt excessive, especially given the circumstances of the policy cancellation. Regulatory Concerns: I was hopeful that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would have some guidelines in place to ensure that insurance companies operate fairly and transparently. However, the response from 1st Central and their reluctance to address my concerns regarding transparency and the sudden premium increase make me wonder if they are operating within the bounds of FCA regulations. Conclusion: In conclusion, my experience with 1st Central Insurance has been marred by misleading practices, a lack of transparency, and what I consider to be an unreasonable premium increase. I had initially chosen them based on their competitive quote, only to discover later that their actual pricing strategy was far from transparent. As a consumer, I value honesty and fairness in my interactions with businesses, especially when it comes to financial services like insurance. Unfortunately, my experience with 1st Central has left me deeply disappointed and frustrated. Advice to Others: Before choosing 1st Central or any insurance company, I would strongly advise potential customers to carefully read the terms and conditions, ask about potential premium increases, and thoroughly research their practices. Don't be swayed by an initially low quote; it might not reflect the final premium you'll end up paying. Overall, I would caution others to be wary when dealing with 1st Central Insurance and to consider alternative options that may offer more transparent and fair practices. Reviewed on: 12th September 2023

They asked me to pay them more money after 3 months on my policy

They asked me to pay them more money for my policy after 3 months on it. The highly organised scams insurance companies and utility companies are pulling on customers speaks volumes about where UK is headed. I cancelled my insurance policy with them and took out a new one with new insurer. I would rather pay more with a new insurer than be a returning customer with this joke of a company again. Reviewed on: 11th September 2023

Joke of a company!

Absolute joke of a company! Just shows you that you get what you pay for! They came up the cheapest on compare the market so we went with them! Big mistake. We had a crash 4 weeks ago and the car is still sat in my driveway and no courtesy vehicle provided even though its part of my policy! Reviewed on: 11th September 2023

disgraceful company

this company should not be selling insurance as there not capable of doing so Reviewed on: 10th September 2023

DO NOT USE!!!

I went to a Comparison site for a quote and 1st Central gave me the cheapest so obviously i went with them. No soon as everything was sorted about a week later they doubled my account saying that there was an accident reported of which i know nothing about. I rang these up and was told that i had to get evidence from my previous insurers and they also know nothing about there was nothing on their records. This has now gone by the by and when threatened to cancel cover they told me that i had to pay a fee. All this company wants to do is get as much money from you as they can fleece from you recently i changed my car sorted it out online thanking that i wouldn't get charged for doing it that way and was slapped with an admin charge which i did myself because of being online. Very recently i changed my plates on the car to private plates again did this online it first said nothing to pay then on the next page charged me £25.00 admin fees again for something i did online. Biggest insurance scammers out and should be checked by the ombudsman of which i may do myself. When my insurance is up for renewal trust me if they cahrged me a penny for cover i would steer in the opposite direction. Reviewed on: 9th September 2023

They overcharged me twice

They claimed that an instalment was impossible to collect. But the money is in my account as normal. It isc2nd time it happens. I have other direct debits on my account and never had an issue. Avoid them I'll change company for sure Reviewed on: 9th September 2023

Impossible to speak with an advisor

This is a very disappointing company if you need to speak with them . When i needed to make a minor change i was twice cut off by the helpline after waiting for ages . There is no easy way to communicate with this company . It took ages on the computer - although was resolved . I would never use them again . I would pay more to have a better customer experience Reviewed on: 8th September 2023

Do you have a different 1st Central product?

Share your experiences with products to help others make smarter financial decisions and learn more about different products available. Write a review

Alternative products

Car Insurance
from RAC 1.68 from 180 reviews
Car Insurance
from iGO4 3.29 from 3 reviews
Motorhome Insurance
from Ripe Insurance 4.95 from 365 reviews

There's still more to see!

1st Central has a range of products available. Check the ratings of each product to find the right one for you. View all products

Join Smart Money People

Keep up to date on ratings of your favourite businesses. Find out about our awards and write new reviews with ease

Create an account

News, guides and insight from our team

View resource hub