Write a review

1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (860 reviews)

View other 1st Central products

1.51

Based on 860 reviews, last reviewed 6th Feb 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

10% 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

Read all reviews Write a review

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.

Review 1st Central: Car Insurance now

Help others make smarter decisions by sharing your own experience.

Write a review

1st Central Car Insurance reviews (860)

Owe me money - don't want to give it back

Been waiting over 2 weeks for a refund they owe me, chased it up 4 times on the phone and keep being fobbed off every time "under investigation" after an agent admitted the money is owed to me, they're quick enough to take the money, avoid. Reviewed on: 24th January 2023

Cowboy insurers

While the online experience was ok, all that came after was not. You have to create the account, send the the NCD and keep an eye on it. Ehen asked when did I get my license, I said the exact date. But, surprise-surprise, they wanted the date it was issued. Their checks say I wasn't exact, so an extra £98 will be applied to my account, which includes £50 admin (probably I should be happy). Just go elsewhere, this company is going to find a way to charge you more Reviewed on: 23rd January 2023

Ncd discount

Ive send them 2ncds from 2 different companies for 20% discount. They didn't accept it because the insurance was for 22months all together. Because of 2 months they charged me extra 60 pounds. Claim was that those two cars had insurance in the same time. Even information about company car which has insurance on my name for last 2 years didn't help because they were not interested. Reviewed on: 17th January 2023

Shocking

Absolutely shocking!!! We were left chasing them to put a claim in after completing the claim portal online. Once the claim was confirmed the following day we were told the Garage would call us. We heard nothing for 2 days, then we’re told the car is not assigned to a garage!!! All the time we have no car, even though our policy states a courtesy car. After phoning back and complaining I received a call from enterprise offering a 3 door Aygo. If we wanted anything larger we would need to pay for it. Any car would be fine however we have a 1 year old baby who has a car seat. This would not fit. We had to ring 1st central to ask and plead to offer us a 5 door car. They declined. And we were forced to pay a daily rental fee. The following day, I received an email saying they can’t find a garage for our car, and we would have to find our own garage and basically do all the leg work they do!!!! My partner has been unable to go into work due to the delay on the car being at a garage so we can get a courtesy car. Now we are paying on top of our monthly insurance payment for a car due to 1st central failure to get the car in a garage. It’s currently Saturday, the collision happened Monday and our car is still on the drive. Shocking… AVOID AT ALL COSTS Reviewed on: 14th January 2023

Awful customer service

Awful customer service, just want your money. When renewing after being with them last year i got a more expensive quote even with my 5 years no claims discount. I found a cheaper quote to renew with them through a comparison site, so went and purchased that. the day the policy started the the policy analisis team added a claim that never happened onto my account from a quote which was previously accidently made adding an extra £150. Rather than checking through my history and seeing the 5 years i have been driving and have no claims discount for, they just added this cost on without consulting me. This led to me cancelling my policy with them and losing out on £50 but worth every penny just to not deal with them and their incompetent staff. How can they be so stupid??? Reviewed on: 12th January 2023

Why choosing 1st Central for Insurance or otherwise is a HUGE mistake

I am writing this review so you The Reader don't make the mistake I did of ever using 1st Central. I will admit initially they were the cheapest option and they were fine while my interactions with them were small and insignificant. Eventually I decided to cancel and this is where the problems began. They will slap fees and fees on you as you try to leave. admin fees, leaving fees the works. They will make it difficult for you to cancel. Their customer service team will burden you with constant waiting and confirming just to simply stop the policy. Once that is all done, you will be chased for debt collection even after paying their ridiculous egregious fees. I strongly recommend you Reader to take a look here and Trustpilot and all their social media found here: Trustpilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/1stcentralinsurance.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1stCentral Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1stcentral/?hl=en Take a look at these people's comments and decide for yourself if they are for you. You get what you pay for in this life, and if you choice 1st Central you will only get misery. Reviewed on: 11th January 2023

Avoid this company they are awful and will try to add on charges of you make a claim or cancel your policy!

No thanks terrible company I wouldn't bother Reviewed on: 11th January 2023

Avoid

Absolutely not the company to use customer service is applauding very rude Reviewed on: 9th January 2023

Untrustworthy

Insured a car today Sunday 8th January.I got to the garage in Coventry and the car was sold even though I told them I was coming out.I rang 1st central straight away to be told sorry 59pounds to cancel even though I never had the car Reviewed on: 8th January 2023

Put through hell for 1 year

Do not use this insurer can’t even call them a company as it not, spent months trying to cancel an auto renew policy eventually after hours on the phone I got refunded £50 instead of £500, just received a debt letter from cars saying I owe £112 wow would make you go insane trying to get an answer AVOID if you want to keep your sanity stilll dealing with this 1 year later Reviewed on: 6th January 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

Breakdown Insurance
from Green Flag 2.57 from 55 reviews
Breakdown Cover
from AutoAid 3.81 from 7 reviews
Van Insurance
from Highway Insurance 1.00 from 2 reviews

There's still more to see!

1st Central has a range of products available. Check the ratings of each product to find the right one for you. 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