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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.5 (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)

AVOID - Unfair telematics cancellation

Woke up to an email from 1st Central to say our telematics policy is being cancelled due to unrecorded trips being made, which we categorically refute. The trips in question have been accurately recorded via the mobile app, and there is clearly a data collection fault. You’d think 1st Central would give us a courtesy call to check if the sensor is working properly and gather more information before abruptly cancelling the policy, but no. Despite providing evidence that the trips in question have been properly recorded on our end, 1st Central is proceeding with the cancellation, which will impact the cost of our future insurance policies massively. We have raised a formal complaint, and if we don't reach an adequate solution, we will contact the financial ombudsman. A quick Google search will reveal similar issues with other 1st Central telematics users. I know the company has a bad reputation overall, but the telematics department is particularly unprofessional. Would recommend avoiding them completely. Reviewed on: 22nd August 2023

Let down

Purchased insurance with a one off payment of 240 pound which includes Rac cover happy with policy then the harassment started .Wanted proof of no claims for me and my wife and proof of non fault accident I was constantly bombarded with texts and e mails from this company even though I asked them to wait for my previous insurance to send details I eventually downloaded all relevant details and was told not good enough all though it was stated non fault accident by this pointI am passed right off and cancelled the policy as I could not take another week of harassment, subsequently lost 160 pounds including my rac membership this company is a joke and I would recommend every one steers well clear of this bunch of incompetent individuals Reviewed on: 21st August 2023

Terrible experience

Navigating a non-fault claim has been... well, let's just say it's been a journey. It's not just the numbers they've offered me that have me scratching my head, but the whole process. Between hugely delayed responses, chasing evaluations, and the countless hours I've spent on hold or being bounced around departments, it's been nothing short of painstaking. I've had to take things into my own hands, including getting my car booked into a garage, getting my car towed to this garage, getting 1st central to get back to me on evaluations the garage sent to them weeks ago etc. the whole process has taken much longer than it should have. And the offers they're giving me for the write-off are laughable. If I want to buy-back my vehicle the prices they've given are a massive percentage of that valuation they've given me. I am paying heavily out of my own pocket for an accident I wasn't even present for. Do yourself a favour and AVOID. Reviewed on: 16th August 2023

AVOID

DO NOT under any circumstances use this insurance company. 1st connect, all I can say is what a joke. It was a little bit cheaper which is why I went with them. But I wish I paid abit more for a decent insurance company. They contacted me in February, may and July. And on all 3 occasions I replied within the minuet of getting the email. I attempt to contacted them via email, phone and live chat. I got 1 response on live chat and that was to call a number and they wernt available at that time. Moving forward, I get an email saying my insurance will be cancelled with 7 days notice. I instantly ring and ask why. The answer - we have tried to contact you, your telematics isn’t connected properly and you’ve not got in touch so it will be cancelled. After a lengthy phone call it was found that the problem was if 2 people were in the car both with the app and Bluetooth on it wasn’t connecting. They told me I shouldn’t have replied to all the emails as it was a do not reply email ( IT DID NOT STATE THIS ). So after sending all evidence of contacting them, they have still cancelled the insurance. So I would absolutely NOT recommended this insurance. Reviewed on: 15th August 2023

Good one

Good price and good car insurance Reviewed on: 12th August 2023

Easy and affordable

Good communication and an easy to navigate website along with low prices for fully comprehensive car insurance. Whats not to like. Reviewed on: 9th August 2023

Poor service

My wife's car was parked outside our property and a neighbours vehicle rolled off he's drive and struck her car . 1st Central recovered the car and declared it a write-off . This was mid April, today we discovered that for the last 4 months they have continued to take installments out of our account. Cancelled today and told it would cost us £50 cancellation fee despite them writing it off 4 months earlier. Stay away from this company. Reviewed on: 8th August 2023

Good customer service

1st Central have a decent phoneline and provide prompt action to issues, including claims etc. The operators are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Good overall service. Reviewed on: 8th August 2023

Worst insurance company I have ever dealt with

A month before my insurance was due took out a policy with these con merchants. In between the and my policy starting my wife lost her job so I needed to sell my car. Long story short I sold my car 2 weeks after the policy had started. I called to cancel my policy and they charged me £165 to cancel. Bearing in mind for the year my policy was £650 and i paid the first month in full so in total for 2 weeks cover they charged me £230. And this knowing my circumstances. Absolutely horrible company please I implore anyone reading this read all the reviews and go somewhere else. Don't be done in like the rest of us Reviewed on: 8th August 2023

WORST COMPANY EVER!

Terrible customer service. Cancelled my policy without informing me via phone or email as to why. As their phone lines are only open from 9am to 5pm calling them was difficult. I eventually got through a week later and after being on hold for over 45 minutes they hung up on me. They even admitted to receiving my email from a week ago and done nothing with it. Now, a week on, I have had to cancel my policy with them as they have cancelled my policy through no fault of my own. Now I have to pay a £75 cancelation fee and another months premium for their shoddy insurance. It was reassuring when the lady told me it wasn't my fault but proceeded to tell me there was nothing she could do about it and the fees needed to be paid today. I have never experienced such a lack of communication and terrible customer service in my life. I would not recommend this company to anybody and as they say, you get what you pay for. Use a proper brand name insurer and not some online cowboy outfit who will just rip you off for no real reason or fault of your own. I shall be raising this with the ombudsman along with the small claims court. I WANT THIS COMPANY TO BE NO MORE!!!! Reviewed on: 7th August 2023

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