The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) acts as a fund of last resort for customers of UK authorised financial service firms. The FSCS does not cover the Channel Islands or The Isle of Man, although some exceptions exist for insurance claims.
FSCS compensates customers of financial firms that have stopped trading or who do not have sufficient assets to pay claims made against it, being ‘in default’. The FSCS only pays compensation for financial loss. The FSCS is free to consumers and is independent of government and the financial industry. The FSCS covers firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The FSCS covers the following products, the actual level of compensation depends on the basis of your claim. Compensation limits are per person per firm, and per claim category (listed below). The maximum levels of compensation are:
Investments: most types of investment business are covered for up to a maximum of £85,000.
Pensions: most types of pension business are covered for up to a maximum of £85,000.
Insurance: most types of insurance contacts are covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit.
Mortgages: advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum of £85,000.
For further information, please refer to their website http://www.fscs.org.uk/ or download the FSCS leaflet @ https://www.fscs.org.uk/globalassets/badge-assets/shared/fscs_thb_online_aug2020.pdf