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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.66 (948 reviews)

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1.52

Based on 948 reviews, last reviewed 4th Feb 2026

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

31% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

11%

80%

Latest highest rating:

5

Good and not too expensive Was looking for good value car insurance and found this one. Not too expensive and so far can’t say anything bad. Very easy to sign up. Reviewed on: 5th September 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Worst experiwce in my 35 years of driving amd getti... Worst experiwce in my 35 years of driving amd getti g drivers insurance. They were cheapest on comparison site.. purchased.. then on my policy details... Read more Reviewed on: 4th February 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 (948)

avoid this company

Had to claim when my car was stolen from my home. Chronologically- tried voiding my policy due to a colour change that I informed them off before getting the vehicle wrapped … then they took ages to pay me out, when they did it was £2000 LESS than its insured value… although this wasn’t an AGREED VALUE policy…. The car was an immaculate Mercedes top of the range AMG …. 7 months later the Ombudsman ruled in my favour and made 1st Central / Skyfire pay me a portion of what they stiffed me for….. oh and to top it all off …. I had 6 months left on my policy with them so when I got a new car they swapped it over and just before the policy was due to renew they sent me a quote of over £1800 to renew with them !! I went elsewhere and got a policy with the same level of cover and benefits for £669.00 with protected NCB … of which £69 was for the protection so my point here is , had I chose not to protect my bonus , it would have been £600…. How can they attempt to stuff me with OVER three times that amount ? these clowns are an absolute joke , will never ever use these again , been a nightmare , and I am still waiting to paid the difference they have been ordered to pay by the financial Ombudsman… Reviewed on: 9th March 2023

So so un-professional

My car was supposedly written off due to flood damage, the car was taken from the garage, by 1st Central, where I had taken it for repairs, without my knowledge. I then had to travel to the auctioneers to collect my personal belongings from the car. The car was brought to me on a forklift truck. The car has been at the auctioneer's for 6 weeks now and I have had no correspondence or pay-out from 1st Central, despite ringing them on a weekly basis only to be told that they need to inspect it. I will be taking this further as I need a car for work. The company have been completely un-professional. I do not recommend anyone using this insurance company!!! Reviewed on: 7th March 2023

AVOID!!

Don't waist your time with this company! There are many reasons to avoi them as you can see in all others customers reviews.. cannot do their job properly in any sens! Reviewed on: 6th March 2023

Awful

Absolute awful service. Like everyone else after paying in full for the year I was stung with additional charges or face paying cancellation fees. Was involved in an accident where there is CCTV which I myself had to chase up. Not the company. Communication is awful. They actually LOST my car and I had to threaten police involvement. Have been passed around numerous different garages for courtesy car - 6 days in and still no courtesy car. This company could offer me insurance for the next year for £1 and I still wouldn’t go with them ever again Reviewed on: 3rd March 2023

The worst of the worst

Dishonest and clueless. They had no idea where my car was. AVOID No wonder you can't leave a google review for all to easily see. Reviewed on: 3rd March 2023

Communication following claim

I have never had to claim on my jnsurance in all the 20 + years I have driven, so this was a completely new experience and a daunting one for me. As polite and friendly the staff always are I am frustrated and disappointed at this company's very poor communication to the customer. I was left without any follow up or explanation of how things would happen. I was left with no courtesy car for 6 days! And as a community Nurse this had impacts. No one from the insurance kept me updated, I had to chase every other day and the information was contradictory every time. One week - your car is a write off Second week - it's fixable Third week - ermmm well we think it's a write off Fourth week - we don't know yet as its still being assessed!!! By the fifth week with this insurance company and being past from pillow to post speaking to various nationalities and over coming language barriers I gave up. All I cared about from then was I kept the courtesy car and THEY paid for it. My advice? Don't! Just don't. Go with another insurance company not this one. 10 out 10 for their politeness but everything else is appalling. As soon as I have my car back ( if they ever tell me) I will be going elsewhere. Reviewed on: 17th February 2023

Written off car quote and uninsured driver promise

A stolen car crashed into my car while parked and writ it off. Not hapoy with the amount paid to replace my car. Very low amount. Still disputing this. I have lost my no claims from 12 years to 4 years. As explained the driver is uninsured as stole car but not that simple and therefore the uninsured guaranteed promise is not worth the paper it's written on Reviewed on: 17th February 2023

Unrespect customer service

I have had a serious complaint about the company, who can't proof my claims, and cut my no claims bonus, and the customer service was really unrespect. I'll carry on my way, and I'll push up this case. Reviewed on: 17th February 2023

Avoid!

After taking out a policy and paying in full they want more money! Or a policy refund minus £120! AVOID! Reviewed on: 14th February 2023

Telematics policy is terrible

Telematics policy linked via mobile phone app DOES NOT WORK properly. All named drivers need the app and it drains your battery by running in background which is crazy when Grandad as a named driver driver drives it once a year, is typically 300 miles away and might not even take his phone with him and that's if he remembers to charge it up. Treats of cancellation if you "use" your phone whilst driving. Does not consider the possibilities of your passenger using your phone. Cannot email the Telematics team, cannot write to them, cannot contact them on chat. You can ONLY call them on the phone lines. Reviewed on: 14th February 2023

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