Write a review

Go to business site

1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.51 (957 reviews)

View other 1st Central products

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

Read all reviews Write a review

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.

Review 1st Central: Car insurance now

Help others make smarter decisions by sharing your own experience.

Write a review

1st Central Car insurance reviews (957)

Rude customer service

Absolutely rude customer service who do not let you speak!! Definitely do not recommend Reviewed on: 18th September 2023

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

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 AXA 2.84 from 166 reviews
Car insurance
from Geoffrey Insurance 4.04 from 298 reviews
Car insurance
from Howden 4.63 from 36 reviews

Want to see more from 1st Central?

Breakdown cover
from 1st Central 4.41 from 16 reviews
Personal accident
from 1st Central 2.23 from 5 reviews
Home insurance
from 1st Central 0.00 from 0 reviews

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