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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (860 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 860 reviews, last reviewed 6th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

15% 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

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 ... Read more Reviewed on: 6th 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 (860)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I could give 0 I would, Please please please do not waste your time or money on this 'insurer'. This company is not an insurance company they are brokers who will scam you, rob you and affect you both mentally and physically. I have no idea how this business is still running with the amount of people they are scamming. Out of the blue they cancelled my insurance, they said they needed extra documents. I was not notified at all, neither by text, phone call or post to indicate they require additional infomation. The only way I found out about this was because I checked my bank balance and they had refunded my money for the month. I gave them a call to understand why I had been refunded and only then they told me my insurance was going to be cancelled on 08/06/22 11:59pm - I FOUND OUT 10 HOURS BEFORE THE TIME IT WAS DUE TO BE CANCELLED. They expected me to pull out the documents out of thin air. To avoid this tarnishing my good record I asked the policy to be cancelled and they kept passing me over person to person - I was trying to deal with this whilst I was at work. Then in the end I had to ask them to call me back and then the lady said she will at 6:00 after I finish work. 6:00pm comes and no one has called me, instead I got a lazy email to say 'sorry we cannot cancel your insurance and there is nothing we can do'. The 'analysis' had locked my account so i was unable to cancel the policy online. Even the website is extremely dodgy, they had added a fee of £135 on my account and it said once i make the payment my account will be unlocked. I paid it and it was still locked - luckily I had sent written proof that i want my insurance cancelled and this was the only thing I had to cover my back. I called this morning and spoke to a man who was also very useless and he did nothing to help me and he kept saying to me the insurance cannot be cancelled and he has spoken to his manager. Later i conferred with a family lawyer and they advised me that what they have done is unlawful and should be reported to the ombudsmen. I then called them and threatened them with legal action and notified them that I have also contacted ombudsmen. After this they changed their tune and agreed to cancel my insurance on my behalf rather than them doing it and tarnishing my good record. This has caused me an unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety. PLEASE RUN AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - The few pounds and pennies you save going for this insurance will only last a month before they start slapping random charges on your account. I insured my run around car with them and for a 2005 mini i essentially paid approx. £200 a month with all the charges they gave me and i only had this insurance for 2 month. I own a BMW X4m and the insurance is no where as expensive. I must say I have learnt my lesson and I will definitely do research before looking for insurance. STAY AWAY LIKE THE PLAGUE. Reviewed on: 9th June 2022

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

Scammers

It's evident that numerous reviewers have been taken advantage of for extremely minor issues and billed over £100 for 'revisions'. Unfortunately, I've also fallen victim to these individuals who seem determined to acquire money through any available method. I anticipate that they will soon be apprehended by the appropriate authorities and won't remain operational for much longer. I strongly recommend avoiding them. Reviewed on: 27th August 2023

Awful company

I’m a new driver (3 months). This company thinks it’s acceptable to fob me off and threaten to cancel my insurance based on the telematics they provided for me. Telling me that I had 6 trips with no data, to then changing it to 16 when I appeal it. Don’t even want to help or anything to resolve it and say ‘we can’t do anything as it’s on our system as no data was recorded’. Well must of been something wrong with the sensor. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND 1st central for new drivers. Reviewed on: 25th August 2023

Doubled Prices

I would say that I have no trouble with this insurer, they do their job (seemingly) and offer lots of extras. Sadly, they doubled my premium on the last renewal for no reason and then when I changed my car to an older one they added even more to the premium. I suspect they may be money-grubbing city types. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

Helpful and good value

Apart from occasionally being slightly hard to understand some of the customer service reps, I found 1st Central to be handy, professional and good value for money. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

Good, does the job!

1st Central insured my car. My car insurance is with 1st Central. Because of 1st Central I can legally drive my car. I drive to be better because 1st Central puts me first, central. Car insurance with 1st Central. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

Absolutely fantastic

Clear, concise insurance agreement, with a fantastic customer service team to back them, usually over the last 5 years have been the best economical broker for all car insurance purposes. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

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