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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.66 (947 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 947 reviews, last reviewed 23rd Jan 2026

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

38% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

79%

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

Bait-and-switch insurer Feels like a scam – stay away Quoted one price, then after the policy started 1st Central changed things retrospectively, increased the premium and a... Read more Reviewed on: 23rd January 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.

1st Central Car insurance reviews (947)

Review of the 1st Central, Car insurance:

Shambles!

My insurance increased from £780 to £1080 after another year of no claims. Obviously, I then wanted to cancel my policy. I spoke to the online chat where I cancelled my policy and I received a confirmation email for this. £1080 was then taken from my account a few days later suggesting my policy was being renewed, even though I confirmed I was not renewing a few days prior! Having spoken to customer services, it will take up to 10 working days to get this money back. Absolutely shambolic. I will never use this company again and I will ensure all close family and friends do not use 1st central either. Disgusting. Reviewed on: 1st June 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Tyler, 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: 2nd June 2025

Went on line, got a quote filled in the relevant for...

Went on line, got a quote filled in the relevant forms , then asked for my bank details they took all this information and right at the end they said they where unable to accept the policy . In that case why did they take my bank details ! Be very wary especially with all the on line fraud that occurs these days. Phoned them up after an hour of being on hold was answered by someone who could not explain reasons for this . Will inform all family and friends to stay well away !!! Reviewed on: 16th July 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi John, 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're not able to insure all customers, so we're sorry we weren't able to insure you this year. We are governed by our underwriters, so wouldn't be advised why we can't insure some custoemrs. These rules can change, so hopefully we can insure you in the future. Ashley Response date: 17th July 2025

Absolute highway robbery, after opening a new car in...

Absolute highway robbery, after opening a new car insurance policy they waited 32 days (4 days after your legal right to change your mind) to tell me it was going to increase by £280 or face a £131 cancellation fee. When I disputed this on the phone the lady told me to pay or in 7 days there will be debt collectors knocking at my door. DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE ANYTHING! Reviewed on: 8th July 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Aidan, 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: 9th July 2025

Avoid this disgusting scamming insurance

Avoid !!! Completed the application online all fine then after the cooling of period tell me my 5 years ncd isn't valid because it was acquired on a van even though they say they accept them from a commercial vehicle after arguing with a rude member of staff telling me a van isn't a commercial vehicle and the insurance has gone up 700 quid on top of the already ridiculous 1000 quid . Told em I wasn't interested a d they charged me over 100 quid to cancel the policy. Disgusting company Reviewed on: 5th July 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi James, 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. We advise which no claims can and can't be used in the process of setting up a policy. We also advise this on our website, here - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/motor/no-claims-discount/what-no-claims-discount-do-you-accept 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: 7th July 2025

Avoid this scamming company like the black plagueMy...

Avoid this scamming company like the black plague My husband policy but I am down as driver. Been getting regular reminders to update proof of no claims, which I did, but it didn't seem to go through. Carried on getting reminders by text and email, although they couldn't seem bothered to reply to my emails. Eventually ring in to find out that the proof of ncd has been added all along but by their own admission, everything is delayed and they don't get round to updating. That was sorted, but suddenly he was asking about my employment. I am self employed (not something that was asked about when I got the quote) and picked the job nearest to my role as recommended on Their site. However I was down as employed (their presumption). Here's where the scam started - oh we need to change that and you are out of the cooling down period so it will be £50 admin and £30 extra -because I work at home? At home - meaning I don't really use the car much. No one can tell me why it was more. The thing is, If they had answered my queries quicker, this would have come to light quicker. I feel it's any old excuse to charge more. I could cancel, but that would cost £8 for the policy I've used, and £100 to cancel. Well, I will be taking this as far as I can, court if necessary, and I will now be a regular pain the butt on trustpilot and every other review site i can find because yes, I am that sort of person and i am more then angry. Reviewed on: 3rd July 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Amanda, 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: 4th July 2025

It feels dishonest and manipulative!! Avoid them!!

I initially received a quote over the phone, which I agreed to, and even got a confirmation email with the agreed amount. Later, I received another email saying my monthly payment would be higher than what was agreed. I had to call and go through a long, frustrating conversation just to get them to honor the original quote. Weeks later, while I was on holiday, I received another email asking to confirm some details. I called and was told my premium would increase by £150 per year because I hadn’t updated my job title after a recent promotion. I called again, spoke to a manager, and explained the entire situation — including the previous attempt to increase my payments — but was met with no support. The manager simply repeated company “procedures” and showed no willingness to help. This company clearly tries to take advantage of customers by increasing premiums after agreements have already been made. It feels dishonest and manipulative. I’m extremely disappointed and will never use their services again. Avoid at all costs! Reviewed on: 17th June 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Ewelina, 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: 18th June 2025

Will Never Insure with 1st Central Again

I’ve been a loyal customer of 1st Central for nearly four years. Never missed a payment, never made a single claim. You’d think that would count for something. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. I recently sold my car and cancelled the policy. It was my first time paying monthly for a full-year policy, and I was shocked to find out that cancelling halfway through the month — a month I’d already paid for — resulted in a £48.53 cancellation fee with no refund for the unused time. Apparently, paying monthly is actually a finance agreement, not a true month-by-month policy. It felt misleading, and left a bitter taste. Worse still, when I changed cars and tried to insure my new Land Rover Discovery, 1st Central outright refused to cover it, claiming it’s a vehicle frequently targeted by thieves. What’s the point of car insurance if the moment you actually need to insure a valuable or high-risk vehicle, they simply say no? I’ve had enough. I will never insure with 1st Central again. I expected a fair, professional service — instead I was left paying fees, denied cover, and questioning the entire point of their offering. Do your homework before choosing them. Just because they’re cheap up front doesn’t mean they’re fair in the long run. Reviewed on: 16th June 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Naser, 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. We’ll use your comments to help improve our service. Ashley Response date: 18th June 2025

Found you online,needed a cheap quote,you certainly...

Found you online,needed a cheap quote,you certainly provided it.Thank you Reviewed on: 3rd June 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hello, Thank you for your review and for choosing 1st Central this year for your car insurance. Ashley Response date: 4th June 2025

Totally Fed up

I had insurance with Ist Central on my new car. They took £538 out of my bank account after I had informed them I wouldn’t be renewing with them. My bank took out a dispute with them on my behalf giving them 28 days to reply. They did not reply and my bank paid my money back to me. I am now being pestered by them by every means, text messages, emails, day in day out … now they have started calling me on my phone. Their messages are threatening me with legal action which is freaking me out as I’m 75 and never been in any trouble. I’m glad I have seen through other people here what kind of company they are but I don’t know how to get out of the situation. I did send an email to one of their addresses they give out but it was ignored. Reviewed on: 3rd June 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Joan, 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. Please speak to our team on 0333 043 2088 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. They can investigate this for you. Ashley Response date: 3rd June 2025

DO NOT USE THIS INSURER

DO NOT USE THIS INSURER (please see photos) On the 10th November 2023. 1stcentral incorrectly filed an at fault claim on my record costing me all my NCB. On the 7th may 2025 (over a year later) 1stcentral admitted fault and reinstated all my NCB. Now as you can imagine I was left out of pocket on all my future premiums due to 1stcentrals error. I got in contact with my current insurer and provided 1st central with the exact figures of how much out of pocket I was left due to having my NCB withheld. THEY REFUSED TO REFUND ME. Take this as a warning. Sean. Reviewed on: 23rd May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Sean, 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: 27th May 2025

racist management full of hate if you not English

Worse comapy ever used insurance cancelled over wrong date of vehicle purchase by accident after 15 years on insurance, if you want decent insurance don't use these company and arrogant staff Reviewed on: 22nd May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Alexander, 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: 27th May 2025

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