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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

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

Lowest price when I looked

They were the lowest price when I needed to renew and they came with RAC cover which was nice, will recommend until they are no longer my cheapest option. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

Very good

I am a new customer who found it very easy to set up my new account with first central. Reviewed on: 24th August 2023

Affordable protection

The cost of living crisis has affected us all. 1st direct's innovative online approaches has helped keep the costs down. Reviewed on: 23rd August 2023

System is faulty

I record my trips daily and system says i dont. Even though in my app they all appear. Dont reccommend it to anyone. Reviewed on: 23rd August 2023

Website is tricky

I found the price quite good, but I find the website is very tricky to use. Reviewed on: 23rd August 2023

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