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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.51 (957 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 957 reviews, last reviewed 17th Apr 2026

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

56% 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

Do not use this provider for your car insurance I’ve had a very poor experience with this insurer. They failed to respond to three or four of my emails, and despite requesting a call from management... Read more Reviewed on: 10th April 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 (957)

Legalised criminals

Filthy company that should be investigated and ceased from trading. A pure scam. Do not have any dealings with them. They appear cheap but immediately look for holes in your policy and charge you for any changes they want to make, then they’ll look again and do the same again. Shameless. I’d happily pay double to insure with just about anyone else. The whole setup is probably just a bunch of crooked lawyers that have outsourced a customer service department to Manila. What are they really going to do for you if you have an accident anyway Reviewed on: 28th November 2023

Couldn't be worse if there was a cash prize

100% the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. Not only the worst insurance company but the worst company. Nothing but problems which they make themselves. Went through to them from compare the market and after paying for a full year upfront, the next month was nearly daily emails of new problems they've come up with. Each time I'd sort their problem they'd somehow find a new one. They needed my v5, they needed a bill of sale, they wanted proof of everything i'd written! They accused me of being in a at fault accident, they refused the first 2 emails from Admiral of non fault accident 2 years ago! The emails weren't in pdf and they need pdf. Then my name is wrong, I've put Mike instead of Michael and 6 weeks after, they've noticed and now I need to pay them. This company is vomit inducingly horrendous and I would strongly recommend people read the reviews thoroughly before considering putting such a huge amount of trust into this untrustworthy, money grabbing, nit picking, horrible customer service group of fools. Stay clear, wish we had Reviewed on: 28th November 2023

SHUT THEM DOWN

Sent numerous emails and asked for information but ignored. OK at taking your money but useless if you need support. They should be shut down by the regulator Reviewed on: 22nd November 2023

Rip of company

Do not use rip of ! They give you cheap qoute then month or so later email you with some excuse as to why they want more money of you, happend twice now !!!! Reviewed on: 22nd November 2023

Time & Money Waste

not writing anything out of anger but this organisation is BOGUS - their after sales service is pathetic - they don't know how to manage or maintain the positive impact on customer - I have bought their insurance 1st in sep (they have cancelled it without any reason and then they have forcefully deducted 78£ from my account as a cancellation charge). Then I have trusted them again in Oct and bought their insurance 2nd time and guess what their payment department was facing some issues and they failed to collect a payment from my account and cancelled my insurance without even calling me and the best part they were continuously sending me threatening txt to pay 120£ cancellation fees. I have called many times - emailed but no one responded - I have paid almost 200£ which was not even my fault. pathetic service - pathetic company - pathetic experience. Reviewed on: 20th November 2023

Awful company

Charlatans. Poor communication. Just shoddy service Reviewed on: 16th November 2023

robbery

this company is committing daylight robbery. it may sound cheaper on the surface but the have so many hidden fees its insane... and they arent cheap either. very dishonest misleading company... avoid at all costs Reviewed on: 16th November 2023

Extra charges everywhere

I was charged an additional £72 because I forgot the date I bought my car on, and that counted as a policy change with the extra cost. Reviewed on: 15th November 2023

Absolutely the worst customer service

They are the worst, The worst customer service I have received so far in UK. They didn't help with solving claim that wasn't my fault even though I have asked for help multiple times and agree to go court. Client service service is really bad, the man over the phone was rude and didn't help me at all. In the end, becouse my bank has revoked my debit card and send me new one, my monthly payment didn't come thru, when I noticed that (3rd day after payment day) I called them and they told me that my policy is cancelled. When I asked them to just continue my policy and take new payment details thety told me that they can't and here is how much fees they added (even though I still wanted to stay with them): Arrangement fee £50.00 Default fees (for any late payments) £15.00 Cancellation fee £50.00 115 pounds for 3 day of missed payment it was almost 2 months of insurance fee, insane! Reviewed on: 8th November 2023

Worst Customer Service ever!

This has been an utterly appalling experience with their customer service! I was appalled by the fact that I wanted to terminate the renewal of my insurance. After being a loyal customer for two years, paying a reasonable £88, they abruptly decided to charge me an exorbitant £270 per month, citing increased repair costs. What's even worse is that they never bothered to inform me about any auto-renewal, and shockingly, I found out that you can't even cancel it through an email, buried in their terms and conditions. Upon receiving an email about the renewal, I promptly informed them that I had switched to Admiral, and that's when things went from bad to worse. They had the audacity to demand an additional admin fee for the cancellation. To add insult to injury, I had a terribly unpleasant encounter with one of their chat support agents. When I politely asked for his details, he simply closed the chat without any response. In summary, I would strongly advise anyone to stay far away from this company. Their customer service is not just bad; it's shockingly unprofessional and unacceptable. Reviewed on: 7th November 2023

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