Write a review

Newsletter

Go to business site

1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.71 (965 reviews)

View other 1st Central products

1.71

Based on 965 reviews, last reviewed 7th Jun 2026

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

8% 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

Please avoid this company, money grabbers! I purchased car insurance and then found a more comprehensive cover for the same price, so within 12 hours decided to cancel whilst policy was pending... Read more Reviewed on: 7th June 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 (965)

Very poorly regulated

10 year customer, never claimed but when car got stolen in Nov 2022 they have made every option not to pay out.....now going to small claims court for mismanagement of personal data Reviewed on: 26th January 2023

7 weeks and still waiting for car to be assigned for accident repair

Had a bump in my car on 7th December and contacted 1st central straight away. The other vehicle had rear end damage and went through their own insurance. They had their car assessed and repaired and back with them within 10 days. My car is still on my drive despite numerous promises that their approved repairers will be in touch. They then said they would waver the charge they add if I elected my own repairer. They then failed to communicate with the chosen repairer and failed to authorise repair. Despite numerous calls to their call centre. Now they are asking for 9 photos to be sent to them before they can authorise repair! Absolutely shocking. Noone will take ownership of this claim and each time I call I get conflicting information. Theyve given me a hire car that keeps being extended but ultimately I'm responsible for keeping the claim costs down as this effects future premiums. Am at a loss as to what to do. I keep registering complaints but it means nothing and the call takers tell me there is no manager or anybody with mire authority that I can speak to. Please AVOID AVOID AVOID Tthis company !!!! Reviewed on: 26th January 2023

terrible insurance

It was the cheapest insurance at first, I got a Black Box that picks up activity on your phone I was a passenger in my car at the time (2nd driver on policy was driving) which I set the black box to passenger which I told them and sent evidence they did not care and cancelled my insurance and gave my a mega bill to pay. i phoned up and they did not care. Reviewed on: 26th January 2023

Worst car insurance company

Terrible customer service and a lot of fees. They tried to charge me an extra £140 and £50 administration fee on top of my policy I already paid in full. When I called to inquire about these charges I was greeted by the rudest customer service agent. I cancelled my policy immediately and was charged £100 of fees just to cancel. Avoid them at all costs. Reviewed on: 25th January 2023

Not the best, but not the worst

The website is clunky and not the easiest to use when making changes. Customer Support can take a while to reach, and the agents can be hit or miss Reviewed on: 24th January 2023

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

Review 1st Central: Car insurance now

Help others make smarter decisions by sharing your own experience.

Write a review

Alternative products

Motorbike Insurance
from Hastings Direct 3.76 from 12 reviews
Car insurance
from Direct Line 3.85 from 357 reviews
Motorbike Insurance
from ASDA Money 4.05 from 2 reviews

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

1st Central: Car insurance reviews

100% increase in 5 star reviews

8% decrease in 1 star reviews

Latest highest rating:

5

Latest lowest rating:

1

About this product

Review 1st Central: Car insurance now

1st Central Car insurance reviews (965)

Very poorly regulated

7 weeks and still waiting for car to be assigned for accident repair

terrible insurance

Worst car insurance company

Not the best, but not the worst

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

Cowboy insurers

Ncd discount

Shocking

Awful customer service

Review 1st Central: Car insurance now

Join Smart Money People

News, guides and insight from our team

UK money news stories - 24 July 2024

Your Money, Your Voice: Have your say

Our latest research - customers see little impact of FCA's Consumer Duty one year on

Consumer credit awards winners 2024