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1st Central reviews

1st Central Logo
Rated Poor 1.75/5

1st Central reviews

Verified business Last reviewed within 14 days
  • FCA approved and regulated
    FCA approved and regulated
  • Award winning organisation
    Award winning organisation
  • Fully digital service with no in-person branches
    Fully digital service with no in-person branches
  • On-line application and approval process
    On-line application and approval process

Review summary

People rate this company as Poor based on 989 product reviews

Average score of 1.75/5
5 star
12%
4 star
5%
3 star
2%
2 star
2%
1 star
79%
Reviews for 1st Central have trended negatively over the past 90 days

1st Central’s car insurance often starts cheap but quickly piles on fees and hikes premiums after the cooling-off period. Many found claims handling slow and unhelpful, with poor communication and rude staff adding to the frustration. While some praised the easy setup and low initial price, the hidden charges and terrible customer service left most regretting their choice.

Positive themes

  • 1st Central’s car insurance is easy to set up with competitive initial prices. (24 mentions)

Negative themes

  • They hit you with unexpected admin and cancellation fees after sign-up. (24 mentions)
  • Claims handling is slow and poor with little communication or support. (8 mentions)
  • Customer service is rude or unhelpful; calls often dropped or ignored. (8 mentions)
Summarised by AI
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About 1st Central

1st Central is an award-winning, UK insurance company.

Launched in 2008 in Haywards Heath, today 1st Central policies currently protect more than 1.4m people across a range of products. You can get a quote and manage your policy online.

1st Central provide car and home insurance policies. You can also get breakdown cover and personal accident cover.

1st Central at a glance

Contact details

Phone
0333 043 2085
Social media

Reviews for 1st Central

Showing 11 of 989 company reviews Last reviewed within 14 days

Horrendous! Cheaper for a reason.... what a scam!!!

Car insurance 17th July 2026

Horrendous! After 3 weeks into my insurance with them, they contacted me to say they had increased my mileage a year as they have access... Horrendous! After 3 weeks into my insurance with them, they contacted me to say they had increased my mileage a year as they have access to all previous the data from price comparison sites and on one previous quote I had put in a higher mileage. Then they rejected my no claims certificate and said I owed them almost another £900 - upon calling, I was then interrogated on the telephone for a whole hour as to my daily habits, I cancelled and went with a reputable insurer. After 30 years of driving, never known anything like it! Read more Read less

{"display":"G W","full_name":"G W","avatar":{"url":"\/assets\/images\/default_new.png"}}'s avatar
G W
Rated Terrible 1.00/5
Read more product reviews
Reply from 1st Central
Hi, Thank you for your feedback and for choosing 1st Central. 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 review to help improve our services. Emily
20th July 2026
1st Central

Absolute scam. Avoid this awful company.

Car insurance 13th July 2026

This company has been absolutely awful to use and has caused my family so much unnecessary stress. It almost feels like a scam at this... This company has been absolutely awful to use and has caused my family so much unnecessary stress. It almost feels like a scam at this point with how they manipulate information just to clear files off their desks. The accident happened in mid-November. My car was written off the exact same day and picked up less than a week later, but dealing with this company since then has been a total nightmare.Their handlers completely mismanaged the file from the start. They explicitly told us it was our fault, entirely ignoring our independent witnesses and evidence that was heavily stacked against the third party. Even the person handling our case openly admitted to me that the other driver was reckless, yet they were still going to put us fully at fault. I had to fight them, kick up a huge fuss, and launch a formal complaint before they finally investigated, admitted their initial outcome was completely wrong, apologised, and corrected the case to non-fault over a month later. After that failure, their engineering team rushed through a lazy total loss write-off based on automated algorithms. I was completely kept in the dark; I was never given the option of salvaging the vehicle, and nothing was properly explained to me at all. It was just dictated to me that the car was being written off with zero transparency.I have now received a Dartford Crossing charge for the vehicle and discovered it was auctioned off in January and passed a full UK MOT check in February. This explicitly proves the vehicle was completely, safely, and economically repairable. We had a bit over a year left of payments on that car, after which our long-term plan was to buy a second car for our family. Because of their errors, we are now trapped paying for a replacement vehicle, unable to afford a second car in the near future, and completely blocked from looking for one now as we should have been. I am warning other people to stay far away from this awful company. Absolutely do not use them, this has been months of stress, they have consisitently misinformed me and they are scammers! I am so sick of the constant stress and manipulation of this company Read more Read less

Rated Terrible 1.00/5
Read more product reviews
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 2055 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. Emily
14th July 2026
1st Central
  • 1.00/5

    Absolute DISGRACE!

    Absolute DISGRACE! DONT WASTE YOUR TIME, MONEY OR ENERGY ON THIS THIEVES AND CROOKS.

    {"display":"Eb","full_name":"Eb","avatar":{"url":"\/assets\/images\/default_new.png"}}'s avatar
    Car insurance
    Eb 18th June 2026
  • 1.00/5

    Please avoid this company, money grabbers!

    I purchased car insurance and then found a more comprehensive cover for the same price, so within 12 hours decided to cancel whilst policy was... I purchased car insurance and then found a more comprehensive cover for the same price, so within 12 hours decided to cancel whilst policy was pending. They charged me £25 fee for a policy that was not due to start for 3 weeks. The T&Cs were not clear of the charges and they refused to waiver. I have reached out to Financial Obudsman and I suggest anyone with similar issues does the same. They should not be able to get away with charge fees, without making it clear. Really poor customer service, please avoid this company. Read more Read less

    {"display":"Deena C","full_name":"Deena C","avatar":{"url":"\/assets\/images\/default_new.png"}}'s avatar
    Car insurance
    Deena C 7th June 2026
  • 1.00/5

    RIP off company AVOID they contact you after the 14...

    RIP off company AVOID they contact you after the 14 day cooling period and try and charge you another £400

    {"display":"Ducky","full_name":"Ducky","avatar":{"url":"\/assets\/images\/default_new.png"}}'s avatar
    Car insurance
    Ducky 4th June 2026
  • 1.00/5

    Genuinely terrible experience changing car mid term

    I had a genuinely terrible experience trying to change my car mid-term with 1st Central. Before renewing my policy, I knew I would be getting... I had a genuinely terrible experience trying to change my car mid-term with 1st Central. Before renewing my policy, I knew I would be getting a new car within a few weeks. I compared quotes for both my current car and the new one in advance, and 1st Central appeared competitive for both, so I proceeded with them. However, when the time came to switch vehicles after receiving the new registration, I was quoted a fee that was higher than the entire 12-month premium just to make the change. I challenged this over the phone, but both the call handler and their manager simply repeated scripted responses and offered no meaningful explanation, blaming the underwriters and stating there was nothing they could do. My only option was to cancel the policy, which resulted in me paying £140 for just 26 days of cover. I then insured the new car elsewhere for less than what 1st Central wanted just to amend the policy. This experience felt completely unreasonable and suggests a business model that penalises customers once they are locked in. To add insult to injury, the call ended with “please consider us for your next car,” which I found quite tone-deaf given the situation. I will not be returning and would advise others to be cautious. Read more Read less

    {"display":"Matt C","full_name":"Matt C","avatar":{"url":"\/assets\/images\/default_new.png"}}'s avatar
    Car insurance
    Matt C 3rd June 2026
  • 1.00/5

    My experience with 1st Central was extremely disappo...

    My experience with 1st Central was extremely disappointing. When I needed to make a claim, it was not accepted, despite paying for insurance and following... My experience with 1st Central was extremely disappointing. When I needed to make a claim, it was not accepted, despite paying for insurance and following the policy requirements. I also constantly received warnings that my insurance could be cancelled because of my black box score. No matter how carefully and responsibly I drove, it felt impossible to achieve the score they wanted. The system seemed unfair and created a lot of unnecessary stress. The whole experience left me feeling that I was being penalised despite trying my best to drive safely and comply with the terms of the policy. Based on my experience, I would not choose 1st Central again and would not recommend them to other young drivers. Read more Read less

  • 1.00/5

    Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging...

    Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging me on a vehicle that’s is not in use refusing to swap my policy to another car that... Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging me on a vehicle that’s is not in use refusing to swap my policy to another car that is in use without charging me a fee of 1k to 2k. I tried to cancel the policy as they are already charging me 200 and something a month for a car I have told them about months ago is not driveable!!!!!!! Regardless of that they continued to keep charging me. I will now be taking this up with financial ombudsman. Read more Read less

  • 1.00/5

    Quote price is competitive but making contact with a...

    Quote price is competitive but making contact with anyone is extremely difficult. AI chat is next to useless, just go round around in circles. Talking... Quote price is competitive but making contact with anyone is extremely difficult. AI chat is next to useless, just go round around in circles. Talking to a person seems to be impossible, wait for a long long time and then call centre is in South Africa. Took days to cancel the policy and then was charged a lot of money. Sad because have used 1st central in the past but they seem to have gone downhill a lot. Not at all confident if insurance was needed so had to cancel the policy. Went to Hastings who sorted out in five minutes. Read more Read less

  • 1.00/5

    I explained a few things to them over the phone and...

    I explained a few things to them over the phone and they charged me £155 for that call.

  • 1.00/5

    Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a...

    Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a cancellation fee. Impossible to get hold of, and when I finanally did, they refused to reinstate... Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a cancellation fee. Impossible to get hold of, and when I finanally did, they refused to reinstate my policy or refund the money Read more Read less

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