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1st Central: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.68 (859 reviews)

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1.51

Based on 859 reviews, last reviewed 31st Jan 2025

100% decrease in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

19% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

12%

79%

Latest highest rating:

5

Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on... Very good quote on car insurance, and recommended on go compare site Reviewed on: 25th September 2024

Latest lowest rating:

1

The worst experience and the worst insurance company. The worst experience and the worst insurance company. My car broke down at the beginning of the insurance and they refused to suspend the insurance ... Read more Reviewed on: 31st January 2025

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About this product

Here at Smart Money People, we collect 1st Central car insurance reviews from genuine customers, to help you make an informed decision about your next provider.

1st Central was founded in 2008 and has been growing fast ever since. Specialising in car insurance, the brand offers a variety of products with different levels of cover, including a telematics policy for newer drivers.

When choosing a new policy, take the time to ensure it is suitably robust and meets all of your needs. Do you want breakdown cover included in the policy? Do you need legal cover? What about cover for any medical expenses that may occur after an accident? Working out your priorities before searching for a policy can make the selection process much easier. Check out our 1st Central car insurance reviews to find out what others think.

Have you had a car insurance policy with 1st Central? Whether good or bad, share your experience with the Smart Money People community to help us increase trust and transparency in financial services. Were you satisfied with the price of the premium? Did you have any interactions with the customer service team? Leave a 1st Central car insurance review today to help other drivers just like you.

1st Central Car Insurance reviews (859)

Review of the 1st Central, Car Insurance:

TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I could give 0 I would, Please please please do not waste your time or money on this 'insurer'. This company is not an insurance company they are brokers who will scam you, rob you and affect you both mentally and physically. I have no idea how this business is still running with the amount of people they are scamming. Out of the blue they cancelled my insurance, they said they needed extra documents. I was not notified at all, neither by text, phone call or post to indicate they require additional infomation. The only way I found out about this was because I checked my bank balance and they had refunded my money for the month. I gave them a call to understand why I had been refunded and only then they told me my insurance was going to be cancelled on 08/06/22 11:59pm - I FOUND OUT 10 HOURS BEFORE THE TIME IT WAS DUE TO BE CANCELLED. They expected me to pull out the documents out of thin air. To avoid this tarnishing my good record I asked the policy to be cancelled and they kept passing me over person to person - I was trying to deal with this whilst I was at work. Then in the end I had to ask them to call me back and then the lady said she will at 6:00 after I finish work. 6:00pm comes and no one has called me, instead I got a lazy email to say 'sorry we cannot cancel your insurance and there is nothing we can do'. The 'analysis' had locked my account so i was unable to cancel the policy online. Even the website is extremely dodgy, they had added a fee of £135 on my account and it said once i make the payment my account will be unlocked. I paid it and it was still locked - luckily I had sent written proof that i want my insurance cancelled and this was the only thing I had to cover my back. I called this morning and spoke to a man who was also very useless and he did nothing to help me and he kept saying to me the insurance cannot be cancelled and he has spoken to his manager. Later i conferred with a family lawyer and they advised me that what they have done is unlawful and should be reported to the ombudsmen. I then called them and threatened them with legal action and notified them that I have also contacted ombudsmen. After this they changed their tune and agreed to cancel my insurance on my behalf rather than them doing it and tarnishing my good record. This has caused me an unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety. PLEASE RUN AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - The few pounds and pennies you save going for this insurance will only last a month before they start slapping random charges on your account. I insured my run around car with them and for a 2005 mini i essentially paid approx. £200 a month with all the charges they gave me and i only had this insurance for 2 month. I own a BMW X4m and the insurance is no where as expensive. I must say I have learnt my lesson and I will definitely do research before looking for insurance. STAY AWAY LIKE THE PLAGUE. Reviewed on: 9th June 2022

Pleasure

It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate with this insurance company. They have a good value for money and a great management. Reviewed on: 2nd June 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Ecaterina, Thank you for your review and for choosing 1st Central this year for your car insurance. Ashley Response date: 3rd June 2024

Affordable

Great affordable car insurance can’t go wrong Reviewed on: 30th May 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Kelsey, Thank you for your review and for choosing 1st Central this year for your car insurance. Ashley Response date: 31st May 2024

Cheap insurance with great benefits

Have yet to actually make a claim but cheap insurance with great benefits Reviewed on: 21st May 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Elle, Thank you for your review and for choosing 1st Central this year for your car insurance. Ashley Response date: 22nd May 2024

Stay away from these

I have had a policy with these for few years. Changed to a new car today. Tried to call them, after multiple messages to say press 1 for this or 2 for that, a message said you can save on admin fees to change your car through your account portal. So logged in, went to the part to change the car, gave a price of just over £35 per month this matched other quotes I had received. Based on this I went ahead. Then found that the new instalments were going to be over £75 per month. Then had to call them to see what has gone wrong. Nothing had gone wrong, I was advised by the guy that prices can change, I mention that this had only been a matter of minutes, to which I got nothing. They now want to charge me £150 to cancel. I have cancelled, if they take try to take the money, we will be going to court. DO NOT USE THESE CON ARTISTS I will be leaving this review everywhere I can find. Also reporting them to any governing body I can find Reviewed on: 3rd May 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Nick, 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 would 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: 22nd May 2024

Stay clear of this company.

Will never use again, went to cancel my policy and they wanted £116 which I cannot afford. This included the cancellation fee of £50. The £50 I would understand but not the rest. They are just money grabbing and very poor customer service. Reviewed on: 28th April 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Jess, 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 the £50 cancellation fee when a policy is being set up. The remaining balance will be made of time on cover and interest. We have this FAQ that goes in to some details on this - https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/kb/FAQ/content/PROD-7744/If-my-car-policy-is-cancelled-why-do-I-still-owe-money-to-1st-CENTRAL?query=why%20do%20i%20owe. Ashley Response date: 22nd May 2024

BEWARE THE AUTO RENEWAL!!

By law, you have a minimum 14-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel the policy for any reason. Imagine how upset I am that these haven't contacted me with a quote, sought the appropriate approval to debit my account, and then refused to return my payment. WHEN I DONT EVEN OWN THE CAR ANYMORE!! Reviewed on: 16th April 2024

Reply from 1st Central Hi Steve, 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 us to look into this further for you, please give us a call on 0333 043 2095. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 9am to 5pm. Ashley Response date: 22nd May 2024

BE WARRY OF 1stCentral Insurance!

Attention Potential Customers Attention Potential Customers: Exercise extreme caution when considering 1stCentral Insurance.!!!! Due to an small mistake on my part, where I accidentally reported the wrong month for an accident (May instead of June), my policy was cancelled. I was even charged for cancellation! While I acknowledge my error, the severity of their response has left me facing unexpected financial hardship. Now, I am facing increased premiums and difficulties in finding a new policy because of the cancellation on my record. It is unfair that a simple error should lead to such harsh consequences. It's clear that their priority lies in maximizing charges rather than offering fair and accurate service. I strongly advise looking into other insurers who value fairness and accuracy in their client dealings! Reviewed on: 10th April 2024

Took my car for the minor repair to AD Williams, the...

Took my car for the minor repair to AD Williams, the third part insurance supposed to pay everything due to his fault ,upon my arrival to collect my car AD Williams handed me the bill of £250!I called First Central Customer Service trying to get a reasonable explanation. Poor grasp of english and inpatient answers made my experience appalling!!!The damage was the side mirror, so small i was expecting FC will it cover all with out the question.. wondering how much would’ve paid if the damage was bigger????Anyway who ever going through all this reviews don’t need to be a f….Einstein to figure out what kind of the company we deal with. Overall a completely rubbish service !! Reviewed on: 9th April 2024

Rear end hit/ by one of there insured

I was involved in a car accident in march 2024 , with one of there insured, I was stationary at a roundabout and a van went into the back of me, I got a letter back from my insurance company stating they have admitted liability, thy applied for my docs records as I was injured, and with being hurt around 7-8 years before in a totally different accident they decided to play the game. They’re a very dodgy Indy company, head office based in the tax haven Gibraltar, am not surprised so many people are getting ripped off from these fools. I’ve issued court proceedings against them, am sincerely looking forward to going to court. Reviewed on: 9th April 2024

Horrific

Horrific, terrible company, deliberately evasive, shocking experience avoid Reviewed on: 7th April 2024

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