anyone got 1st central car insurance?

rodgerdodger_2

I hope so ... just horrified to discover i was uninsured,this could have been catastophic for me and for the third party if I had hit someone else.

sandown_2

rodgerdodger wrote: »

I hope so ... just horrified to discover i was uninsured,this could have been catastophic for me and for the third party if I had hit someone else.

To be fair to them, they don't have to disclose what they do and do not cover, as the list would be perpetual...

I have a policy with them too and it is your own fault for not reading your insurance certificate!

dacouch

sandown wrote: »

To be fair to them, they don't have to disclose what they do and do not cover, as the list would be perpetual...

I have a policy with them too and it is your own fault for not reading your insurance certificate!

Actually their website is very miss leading, they even have a FAQ which could be very miss leading about driving other cars.

They have promised numerous times on this thread going back 18 months that they would make this more clear as there have been a number of people caught out by this who have been convicted of no insurance thanks to first central. They have not bothered to correct it so a cynic could thing this is on purpose so people are not put off their cover.

I'm glad you reminded me as I'm reporting them to the FSA, they assured me over 6 months ago it would be "Addressed" when I threatened a report to the FSA. I'll get onto the FSA in the morning

justin_aves

In twenty years of driving 1st Central Insurance is simply the worst experience I have ever had with a car insurance company. Their prices are cheap for a reason the company is absolutely terrible.

Yes they keep you on hold for long periods, and charge expensive phone rates. But in my experience the people who work for them do not help you. The company reminded me of the "computer say's no" comedy sketches.

This company are so bad that even though it cost me £75.00 I would prefer to let them terminate my insurance with them. The financial ombudsman is currently investigating my claim.

Currently they owe me the outstanding balance on my insurance, lets see how long it takes them to pay up! The clock is ticking!

My advice don't touch them with a barge poll, no matter how cheap their quote is!

sandown_2

dacouch wrote: »

Actually their website is very miss leading, they even have a FAQ which could be very miss leading about driving other cars.

They have promised numerous times on this thread going back 18 months that they would make this more clear as there have been a number of people caught out by this who have been convicted of no insurance thanks to first central. They have not bothered to correct it so a cynic could thing this is on purpose so people are not put off their cover.

I'm glad you reminded me as I'm reporting them to the FSA, they assured me over 6 months ago it would be "Addressed" when I threatened a report to the FSA. I'll get onto the FSA in the morning

How is this misleading? Taken from their site... I assume they have changed it since you looked last?

Does my policy cover me to drive other cars?
Yes, your 1st Central policy will provide Third Party Only cover whilst you are driving any other car, providing certain conditions are met. These are detailed in the Policy Document. This cover is not available for customers who are under the age of 25 at inception or renewal date of the policy.

dacouch

Thanks for pointing that out they have been promising me they would make this simple addition to their FAQs for about 18 months. As they seemed to be full of BS, I made the fatal error of not checking the FAQs again recently.

It's a shame they did not include a note before when they specifically did not offer DOC to anyone so plenty of people assumed they were covered which was made worse by a badly worded FAQ about courtesy cars that could miss lead an average customer into thinking they were covered for DOC.

If you look earlier in this thread or on other forums there are numerous people who have been convicted for no insurance thanks to this by 1st Central.

I had numerous conversations (On and off MSE) with senior staff about this issue and pointed out if they wanted to exclude DOC for everyone they should at least make this clear in their FAQs and Summary of Cover. They agreed and kept promising it would be addressed, this went on for over 18 months, it's nice to see they have finally kept their promise and appear to be offering DOC to certain customers.

They appear to be trying to polish the proverbial tu£d and hopefully they will get there, people ask do bears %£&@ in the wood, well the simple answer is not if they live in a zoo. Maybe just maybe 1st Central will keep improving until they become an average insurer

mikey72

What are the other conditions to be met?
They could be anything at the moment.

dacouch

If they're like other Insurers they will typically not offer driving other cars for certain occupations which would often be taxi drivers, motortrade, hgv or psv drivers etc it may also be excluded if the vehicle being covered on the policy is a commercial vehicle.

It would be helpful if they did list the occupations etc that would preclude DOC especially as they have an admin fee if you receive your policy and decide it's not suitable eg as it has no DOC. It's taken them 18 months to include the FAQ and to start offering DOC so don't hold your breathe for them to include this.

bigbadsad

Anyone have anything positive to say about 1st central?

Ive just took on a policy with them and have read some bad stuff about them. Im not sure whether or not to stick with them or pay the cancellation fee and switch.

Slipper5

So glad I have read this. I was checking quotes, and 1st central were cheapest by a LONG way, looking at the different excesses gave me cause for concern so I did a search for them and read this...I'll be sticking with my current provider, paying more but receiving excellent service.