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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.66 (943 reviews)

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1.52

Based on 943 reviews, last reviewed 7th Jan 2026

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

23% 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

Extremely poor service, shocking! I strongly advise you, indeed, I plead with you, to pay a little bit more towards your premium, for peace of mind and a better, more professional serv... Read more Reviewed on: 7th 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 (943)

Review of the 1st Central, Car insurance:

£50 non-refundable arrangement fee. what a scam

I have just canceled my policy after it was renewed yesterday. There is a non-refundable arrangement fee of £50 I had to pay. Arrangement fee. Hmm. Careful with 1st central. I will try not to get a new policy from them in the future Reviewed on: 30th November 2023

Awful company- avoid at all costs

Awful company as the reviews have been saying. Don't believe trust pilot reviews. There is clearly some sort of distinct issue with recognising no claims bonuses. In the fact that apparently my own spouse and I both had an accident on her insurance on the same day whilst we were both driving at the same time which is physically impossible. Despite the fact that all of the information was clearly displayed on the form from her insurance company Reviewed on: 12th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi M H, We’re sorry to hear on this occasion 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 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 13th May 2025

Financially exploited by this company.

Financially exploited by this company. Will never use them again. Paid them in full approximately 800 to be subsequently told by them I needed to pay a further approximate 500 for car insurance. They waited for the legal cooling off period to end before requesting additional documentation which I found quite suspicious for example my logbook!!!! First time ever in all the years of taking insurance I've been asked for this. I've requested a refund but was told they will look at my claim and will take 8 weeks for them to respond. I'm definitely not letting this go and will be seeking legal advice Reviewed on: 9th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hello, 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 May 2025

Terrible company. AVOID!!!!!

Terrible company, charged additional fees saying additional driver had fault claim. Asked for evidence which was provided and won’t accept. customer service based in South Africa is the worst I have experienced in years. From the other reviews I can see that I am not the only one this has happened to. I have complained and will go to ombudsman but beware in over 25 years driving and with insurance from multiple companies. This is the worst and they will look for other ways to charge extra as you can see from the other reviews. Reviewed on: 8th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Declan, 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 May 2025

Disgusting company .

Disgusting company . Don't except ncd on a van to a car even though they it says they except it from a commercial vehicle took my deposit then they tried to say the ncd are void and they need another 800 quid on tip Reviewed on: 7th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi James, 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 when the policy is being set up online, as well as in our FAQs, that we don't accept no claims discount from a commercial vehicle. You can find the FAQ here - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/motor/no-claims-discount/what-no-claims-discount-do-you-accept. 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 May 2025

Avoid avoid avoid

I cancelled my policy last year with them, I now have their solicitors threatening court action as they say I owe £356 as they didn't cancel the policy at all. I also didn't sign a credit agreement with them and lo and behold they have an electronically signed copy (I didn't sign this either) Reviewed on: 7th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi James, 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. As the direct debit was cancelled, we sent an email to advise the next steps and how to either set the policy back up. Or, how to pay the cancellation fee, as per the cancellation breakdown. This also advised any future steps if the payment wasn't made. To discuss any payment plan, please contact our team on 01274 933 469. Ashley Response date: 9th May 2025

AVOID THIS INSURANCE COMPANY!

AVOID THIS INSURANCE COMPANY. They cancelled my policy without telling me - I was still paying them for my insurance and I only found out they had cancelled it when I was pulled over by police. I ended up with 6 points on my licence and a £550 fine. Now they’re trying to charge me £57.43 for a cancellation fee, and have threatened that bailiffs will come to my home and my credit score will be affected if I don’t pay. They have called me multiple times chasing the cancellation fee, but never once phoned me about the actual cancellation. Absolutely disgraceful service. Reviewed on: 6th May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Kate, 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: 9th May 2025

Very pleased with quote I received and they were ver...

Very pleased with quote I received and they were very helpful Reviewed on: 5th May 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: 6th May 2025

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 (regarding a 8 day difference in when my license was obtained) however after speaking to multiple people they realised that I did not provide any false information and it was a system error on their part. Gave them the benefit of the doubt this year and decided to renew (for our own ease, not because they provided the best quote). This year, I have had the same hassle with the analysis team and they tried charging £250 to amend policy details which THEY entered wrong!! Absolutely not. We shan’t be scammed by this company, and this isn’t their first attempt. Cancelled the policy immediately and took up better cover elsewhere with ease. Avoid avoid avoid!! Don’t be fooled by the initial good price, you will pay hundreds in fees. They will insist you call them, and they will try to catch you out for anything they can. Don’t let them bully you in to paying for their ‘errors’… which I’m not convinced are accidents now!! Reviewed on: 1st May 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Ash, 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: 2nd May 2025

Cheap at first, but it will cost you later

I took out a car insurance policy with 1st Central because it looked like a great deal. However, once they had all my documents, they suddenly decided to remove my No Claim Discount without proper explanation and increased my premium by over £380 — including a £50 admin fee. This was done without my consent, and I was told the new amount would simply be added to my monthly payments unless I paid it in full. I was left with no choice but to request cancellation. The whole experience felt dishonest and stressful. There was a complete lack of transparency, poor communication, and no accountability. What seemed cheap at the beginning ended up being a costly mistake. Avoid this company at all costs. Reviewed on: 25th April 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Alvaro, 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: 25th April 2025

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I really wish I’d read the small print. This company is a masterclass in hidden fees. £50 arrangement fee just to start the policy, £50 to cancel, and even £50 to make a simple change. It adds up fast and feels like they’re taking advantage. Reviewed on: 24th April 2025

Reply from 1st Central Hi Lee, 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 arrangement fee when the policy is set up and this is something customers agree to in the set up process. We also advise of the £50 cancellation fee at this stage too. We also advise of all of our fees on our website 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: 25th April 2025

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