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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (867 reviews)

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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

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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 (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

Worst Insurance company Ever

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS! I’ve been with this insurance company for just over 4 months,The original pricing of their cover seems impeccable however they will constantly threaten to void your insurance over false detections on their systems, I’ve had phone calls to tell me they’ve detected collisions which haven’t happened (my car was parked on my driveway) and they take every opportunity to charge you extra, impossible to contact as they don’t answer the phone or their emails and after the hours you spend on the phone attempting to get through the advisors are the most unhelpful people you could ever speak to Reviewed on: 7th September 2023

AVOID!!! - Worst insurance company out there

Very appealing price to begin with then two months later they contacted me to say that some details were incorrect. I contacted them on the number provided in their email address and they claimed that I did not provide enough evidence. To start with they wanted a copy of my driving licence which I dont understand considering I put my unique licence number but I was not too fussed about that. Then they told me they needed some sort of quote from DVLA (not sure what thats about as I never been asked for this), still wasn´t too fussed. Then they said that I had put details wrong for example- instead of puting my wife (second driver) as a staff nurse I put as a registered nurse and they had to change that in the policy. Then I was informed over the phone that the service I was provided over the phone was NOT free and I had to pay £50 admin fee to amend these changes from staff nurse to registered nurse. On top of this my monthly payment would go from £36 to £83 because of these minute changes. I was so frustrated with this company that I decided to cancel the policy which I was charged another £50 cancellation fee (fair enough). I ended up wasting more momney by cancelling, however, I would much rather cancel and go with another insurance (which I did straight after) than continue to give them any more of my Money. I sincerely hope their approach changes altogether but small advice to others ‘Do not be fooled by their initial low prices as I came to find out that apparently what happened to me happened to a lot of people and it is very common with this company’- AVOID !!!! The only reason I dont give 0 starts is because its not an option here Reviewed on: 7th September 2023

Horrendous

Deliberately misconstrue a previous no fault claim as fault. This is just an excuse to charge more. They place all the onus on the customer to run around phoning other insurance companies. The quene for calling the Helpline is hours Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Awful insurance company

I went on a comparison site for car insurance. 1st central were the cheapest i went with the company, my policy wasn't going to start for another month. I decided the next day that i was going to sell my car due to the price of my insurance and downsize. I phoned 1st Central and told them this, they then told me that there would be a cancellation fee of £50 even though i have a 14 day cooling off period and my cover hadn't even started yet. Stay away from this awful company do not touch with a barge pole. If i could give a zero rating i would. Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Fraud organisation keep away from them...

Fraud organisation. Rise cost of insurance with fairy tales reason, after you order your online car insurance. How long you owned your car" They axplain-You said you have your car 5 year but wee think you own your car 3 year, and that is the reason why wee have to rise your insurance price by 250£. It's nonsense. Keep away from this bullocks. Will never have a business with them. 100% Not recommended..... Reviewed on: 5th September 2023

Zero customer loyalty

Zero customer loyalty… poor service … renewed my car insurance policy with 1st Central in July… I have 12 yrs no claims… I failed to notify them of a 3pt fixed penalty speeding offence in February as an oversight … they were notified by price comparison sites as I had disclosed this when comparing quotes in July, so my failure to disclose was an oversight… premium increased by £265 in total which included £50 admin fee (nearly 50% increase) for a 3pt fixed penalty notice … won’t be going near this company again … avoid!!! Reviewed on: 1st September 2023

1st Central CANNOT BE TRUSTED

1stCentral CANNOT BE TRUSTED - AVOID AT ALL COSTS First Central charged me £80.54 for a 'mistake' on my application. The mistake was caused because the DVLA had the date incorrect on their system for the date that I purchased my car. Not only did I explain this to them, but they proceeded to take the £80.54 out of my account without my permission and after I was told, 'don't worry it won't be taken'. Now that I have had the DVLA change the date and emailed this to them, they have avoided contacting me back on 2 occasions to discuss having the £80.54 refunded. It seems like it is very easy for them to take this charge, but very difficult to actually speak to someone competent who is able to refund it. Every single staff member gave me different information, eventually I escalated the complaint to a manager, who assured me they would call me back. 2 Weeks have gone by and 1st Central have not contacted me back. I would have preferred to pay more money, for a more competent service. Lesson learnt.... YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET. Reviewed on: 1st September 2023

Absolutely awful company who do not care about their customers one bit

Was provided a quote which i accepted, 2 weeks later I receive an email asking me for information about a claim i had on a previous insurer. All information provided but turned out the actual date of my claim was a week before the date i had given 1st central, THE CLAIM WAS THE EXACT SAME MONEY AND DETAILS JUST WRONG DATE, 1 week of a difference and my policy went up over £35 a month even though every detail is the same. When you do eventually get through to someone they are not helpful at all, some of the worst customer service i have ever received and i worked for a year in the insurance industry. Reviewed on: 31st August 2023

Stressful telematics

It started off fine. I was a new driver a few months ago and went with first central because the telematics sensor seemed like a good idea and the price was cheap. A few months later I received emails about my trips not being recorded (despite my mobile app recording trips) and that I should be leaving my Bluetooth on (by doing this you can allow hackers into your system or it'll drain your battery which is why I kept mine off until I recorded journeys. Baring in mind on the installation page they send you for the sensor it does not tell you to leave the blue tooth on, nor does it tell you to turn it off, either way it was unclear! ). I always called them to ask what's happened and if I can do anything and we resolved it or so I thought. I received a cancellation email on the bank holiday weekend saying my insurance policy would be cancelled on the 2nd sept. I wasn't able to contact the telematics policy team until Tuesday which brought me great stress and anxiety. I was on hold on Tuesday from 10.30 till 4! I got hung up on once during this time and other times I wasn't answered. Finally got through to someone to talk about it. Different representatives told me different things and it was unclear what was going on. - I have had phone calls hung up on me MULTIPLE times when I have queried a fault on the app such as lowering my score when I haven't even driven the car on the day. I do NOT recommend this company to anyone. Just scammers. Not a good first experience as a new driver myself. Reviewed on: 31st August 2023

Unfair policy cancellation on 10th month

Very unfair company cancelled my policy for something out of my controll and absolutely would not recommend unless want to be screwed over Reviewed on: 29th August 2023

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