Write a review

1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.67 (886 reviews)

View other 1st Central products

1.50

Based on 886 reviews, last reviewed 1st May 2025

200% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

41% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

79%

Latest highest rating:

5

Happy Driver Great experience got my car insurance straight away and was able to drive it that night fantastic Reviewed on: 22nd April 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Horrific company. Horrific company. Last year we set up a policy with them, the policy analysis team were horrific. They accused us of providing false information (rega... Read more Reviewed on: 1st May 2025

Read all reviews See your 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.

1st Central Car insurance reviews (886)

Review of the 1st Central, Car insurance:

Do not use

Clearly states no fees to change policy. I unf had to cancel and got charge half the yearly premium. Emailed and get nothing back. Do not use Reviewed on: 9th March 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Craig, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We advise that there is no admin fee to change a policy, but there might be a difference in premium. We also advise of our cancellation fee when a policy is set up. We have this FAQ that goes in to some details on our this - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/motor/cancellations/if-my-car-insurance-is-cancelled-why-do-i-still-owe-money-to-1st-central. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service. Ashley Response date: 10th March 2025

This has to be the worst company I have ever dealt w...

This has to be the worst company I have ever dealt with, they accepted my insurance then decided they wanted more information after insuring me, and when I said you should have asked before accepting they raised the price and charged admin on top, absolute charlatans. Reviewed on: 11th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Alan, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with us. All details on the policy impact the price of the policy we offer, if details are found to be incorrect we need to update them and this can impact the price of the policy. If you’d like to speak to the team about this process, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 12th November 2024

AVOID AT ALL COST

Worst customer service on the planet, i had made an error on my application my finger must have hit a 1 instead of a 2 as in 2021/2022 so they decided to add £175 onto my policy lucky i was still within the 14 day cancellation period ,tried discussing with 3 differrent agent all were so rude and unhelpful Reviewed on: 11th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Mark, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with us. All details on the policy impact the price of the policy we offer, if details are found to be incorrect we need to update them and this can impact the price of the policy. If you’d like to speak to the team about this process, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 12th November 2024

They offer low quotes but end up charging you more.

They offer low quotes but ask you to call for additional things they could cover for them to only tell you that your policy will go up even if you don't want any additional cover. They charge £50 admin fees for the privilege of adding more to your policy. If you then want to cancel they'll take even more than the policy is worth leaving you with nothing. Avoid at all costs. Reviewed on: 11th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi R Adam, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience with us. All details on the policy impact the price of the policy we offer, if details are found to be incorrect we need to update them and this can impact the price of the policy. If you’d like to speak to the team about this process, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 12th November 2024

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS APPALLING COMPANY IF...

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS APPALLING COMPANY IF YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT THEY DO NOT LISTEN TO YOU OR FIGHT YOUR CLAIM A 3RD PARTY HIT MY SON HE TURNED OUT OF HIS LANE INTO MY SON ON A DUAL CARRIAGEWAY AND APPARENTLY ITS 50 /50 CASE LAW SAYS BOTH ARE AT FAULT SO MY SONS FAULT TOO EVEN THOUGH HE STAYED IN HIS OWN LANE AND DIDNT MOVE HE HAD NEARLY PASSED THE DRIVER WHEN HE DECIDED TO CHANGE LANES AND HIT HIM YET THE INSURANCE COMPANY DO NOT FIGHT THE LIABILITY JUST TAKE THE NO CLAIMS WITHOUT PAYING ANYONE OUT AND WITHOUT NOTIFICATION ABSOLUTELY AWFUL AVOID AVOID AVOID BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAP DOES NOT MEAN GOOD AVOID AVOID AVOID Reviewed on: 10th November 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Joanne, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. If there’s anything you’d like us to look into for you, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected]. Please include your policy number and details of what’s gone wrong, and we’ll see if we can put things right. Ashley Response date: 11th November 2024

High £30 admin fee

High £30 admin fee when you have to call them even when it's something you can't change online. They don't warn you at beginning of call Reviewed on: 28th October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi K p, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We advise of our admin fees when a policy is set up. If a change is made over the phone the admin fee is £30, if it's made online it's £25. If you attempt to make a change online and have an issue, please advise our colleagues and they will amend this to £25 for you. We also advise of our fees here - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/motor/payments-and-fees/what-are-your-car-insurance-fees-and-charges. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service. Ashley Response date: 29th October 2024

AVOID. 0 STARS.

DO. NOT. USE. THEM. I was in a crash and told it was my fault, then two weeks later phoned again and told it wasn’t and first central had made an error, that this is unacceptable and I will not be liable and get compensation. Then, after around 25 hours of calls and constant hounding, silence Months later I get a letter saying I am liable, the case is closed and my insurance is going up, and I will be writing to the ombudsman to take this further Do not let them handle ANYTHING for you, they don’t communicate between teams and have cost me thousands Reviewed on: 21st October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi AR, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We'd like to look into this further for you to help resolve this, please send an email to [email protected] with your policy number a summary of your experience similar to your review and we will look into it. Ashley Response date: 23rd October 2024

Such a awful customer service with foreign agents wh...

Such a awful customer service with foreign agents who had no compassion and understanding of company structure. It's a shamble of management. Their website is full of bugs and the process is ancient. Reviewed on: 20th October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Saeed, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service and training for our agents. Ashley Response date: 21st October 2024

Shocking service

Tried to cancel policy because doubled my policy price just outside 40 days from renewal date received quote of £81 to cancel rang back to do so increased to £135! Helpline said because of 3 days interest asked to speak to supervisor on hold for over 30 mins appalling customer service do not touch!!! Reviewed on: 18th October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Penelope, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We'd like to look into this further for you to help resolve this, please send an email to [email protected] with your policy number a summary of your experience similar to your review and we will look into it. Ashley Response date: 21st October 2024

They drew money from my account

I did not renew the policy this year, but they withdrew money from my bank account. I have been trying to talk to them for the last two months without any success. I am currently holding my phone for the last 57 minutes trying to talk the right person about this. Reviewed on: 17th October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. Let’s see if we can help put this right for you. Just give our team a call on 0333 043 2066 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service and training for our agents. Ashley Response date: 18th October 2024

Frustrating

I've been with this company for the past few years. I've just bought a new car and was trying to sort a new policy as mine for my old car was about to run out. It was so frustrating trying to get through on the phone. I can't imagine that many people are phoning. After getting through I was passed in 3 times and the options are not clear and two people couldn't help me. Finally got to speak to one person, they was called Aphiwe. She just could not understand me. I was born and have lived in England all my life. How can a company based in England have staff who cannot understand me. After getting an awful quote I decided to look on a comparison website. Somehow found a better deal on there? Today I spoke to someone called Jonathan on the online chat. He was so miserable and blunt on there. I asked how to do something and all I got was a 2 word answer. Unfortunately i cannot be bothered to deal with the faff if finding another insurance company. I don't think I will be renewing next year. I dread to think how difficult it could be to claim if there was an accident. Reviewed on: 7th October 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Kelly, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service and training for our agents. Ashley Response date: 8th October 2024

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 Bell Insurance 2.70 from 23 reviews
Caravan Insurance
from Scenic Insurance 0.00 from 0 reviews
Caravan Insurance
from Staveley Head 1.29 from 10 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