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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.51 (957 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 957 reviews, last reviewed 17th Apr 2026

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

59% 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

Do not use this provider for your car insurance I’ve had a very poor experience with this insurer. They failed to respond to three or four of my emails, and despite requesting a call from management... Read more Reviewed on: 10th April 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 (957)

Terrible

choose 1st Central though a comparison site...which my details were already input in, the price was good...they asked for proof of NCD which I received from my previous insurer as an email which I forwarded. A few weeks later I received an email stating my account was over £500 in arrears ( original quote £314 which I'd paid in full) so I rang and rang to be told they didnt accept emails but needed a letter headed PDF as proof, my previous insurance company had never been asked for this by any other insurance company but did it. Thought that was it but received another email, I was in arrears for £270..this time it was my job title (I have 2 job titles and they don't appear together in a drop down box, but I work in education), ring, ring, ring again sorted, told I owe nothing...had an email to say I owe nothing...then got an email asking for £61...£50 of which was admin....rung again and again...got a bit shouty but paid £11 after standing my ground on the admin fee, told all sorted.....2 weeks on another email...want my driving licence front and back and a code from the government website to review it, I'm now sat here waiting for another email to arrive telling me I'm in arrears again after reviewing my licence (never had a point on it). 1st Central are awful, their customer service are arrogant and aggressive, if you don't stand your ground, produce evidence of communication they will rinse you. I have both my car and house insure which I would cancel but I pay upfront and they give you very little back. I will never ever use them again and certainly wouldn't advise anyone else to either. Reviewed on: 18th August 2022

Awful

3 months ago my car was stolen and written off, still not been settled and customer service fob you off with excuse about them waiting for a report from brownsword who are their legal team. Reviewed on: 18th August 2022

Worst insurance company

I added an additional driver and then cancelled before the start date and it’s been over a month and I haven’t been refunded. I’ve contacted them several times and apparently the accounts team ‘haven’t quite got to it’. How much longer do they need!!!! They owe me £486!!!! Reviewed on: 17th August 2022

Poor process, poor communication, poor customer service

Original online quote didn't complete fully on the account setup, but they managed to process the deposit. When I called they said the money had gone somewhere but the online quote had disappeared and I would have to call Customer Services to get a requote (which just happened to be £300 more expensive????). I declined the offer of the insurance policy, naturally, and found one considerably cheaper elsewhere which I took out. Lo and behold! A day later they take the deposit for the "lost" online quote and activate that policy. The sauce of it... without any permission to do so after the conversations and records on their ChatBot as well. Very poor... I would suggest leaving well alone and looking elsewhere. Reviewed on: 17th August 2022

Intimidating and accusatory

Had an issue with the details provided, they had not updated the new details I gave and suggested they should take 50 pounds as an admin fee. I was told my premium was lower by £2.17 but they would charge £2.19 to change the details. Challenged my job title to see if it was accurate and at no point felt like my customer needs were met. AVOID AT ALL COSTS Reviewed on: 17th August 2022

AVOID!!!!! I can't stress this enough.

waited a month to request the following to be emailed and no way to supply via secure portal: all 4 pages of v5, proof of address, work contract, both sides of license, check code, passport, bank statement. Demanded all of this or insurance would be cancelled, never been asked for such sensitive data from a company to be sent unsecured via email. Refused to send these details due to gdpr concerns, was advised I had mandatory set up and cancellation charges. Had they requested this in the first instance within my cancellation window (14 days) I would have avoided charges. Went elsewhere after cancellation which worked out cheaper and they never requested any of this information, all went through and confirmed with no issues. This company is cowboy con artists. Considering going to insurance ombudsman, poor service, terrible contact and money demanding. Avoid at all costs! Reviewed on: 17th August 2022

Cancelled my policy out of the blue

Sent me an email on Friday stating my policy had been cancelled due to lack of proof of address, stating they had been emailing me for months although I have no record of any email. When called they put me on hold for 1.5 hours all for the manager to give me less than 25 seconds of his time to say he was unable to help me. Blunt, rude and almost seemed to enjoy my displeasure. Said that there was a 48 hour window in which after that there was nothing they could do. I am sure they cancelled this on a Friday on purpose as they knew their call centres were shut over the weekend! And the final cherry on the top was they have charged me a £80 cancellation fee, for a cancellation I didn't even want! Joke of a situation really not much you can do but laugh - and never insure your car here. Customer service has a lot to be desired for. Reviewed on: 15th August 2022

RIP OFF

Cancelled my insurance without contacting me even though all payments are up to date. Then expect a cancellation fee Absolute joke of a company. Reviewed on: 15th August 2022

Cowboy company lots of hidden charges

Really bad, used alot of insurance providers over the years but this has been the worst. Reviewed on: 15th August 2022

Brilliant customer service

I had a car accident whilst with them and they were very helpful and their customer service is brilliant. Whenever I had questions or had information to check or to change they were very quick and efficient. I’d recommend them to anyone. Reviewed on: 14th August 2022

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