FSCS investment protection: what the £85,000 limit covers and what it does not
Published · 3 min read · Figures checked . UK rules and rates change, so check the official sources below before you act.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme can pay compensation if an authorised investment firm fails. This guide explains the £85,000 limit, what is protected, what is not, and how to check a firm.
What FSCS protection is for
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's free, official safety net for customers of authorised financial firms. It steps in when a firm has gone out of business and cannot return money or assets it held for you, or when it gave bad advice and cannot pay what it owes.
It is not insurance against your investments losing value. FSCS says plainly that investment values can go down as well as up, and falls in value on their own are not compensated.
How the £85,000 limit works
The limit applies per person and per firm. If you held investments with two different authorised firms and both failed, each could be assessed separately, up to the limit each time. If you hold several accounts with the same firm, they are generally counted together against that one limit.
Which limit applies depends on when the firm failed, not on today's date. FSCS publishes the figures by failure date, so older failures have lower limits.
- Failed after 1 April 2019: up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm.
- Failed 1 January 2010 to 31 March 2019: up to £50,000.
- Failed before 1 January 2010: 100% of the first £30,000 and 90% of the next £20,000, up to £48,000.
What counts as a valid claim
The firm must have been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and the product and service must be regulated. Some investment products are not protected at all, so protection varies by product.
Typical situations include a platform or adviser going out of business with a shortfall in the money or assets held for customers, or an adviser giving unsuitable advice and being unable to pay redress. Claims about advice are accepted where the advice was given on or after 28 August 1988.
Related limits that are different
It is easy to mix up FSCS limits, because they differ by type of product. FSCS lists these separately.
- Bank, building society and credit union deposits: up to £120,000 per person, per firm, where the firm failed after 30 November 2025.
- Pensions: if a pension provider fails, 100% of the claim with no upper limit. If a SIPP operator fails, or you were given bad pension advice, up to £85,000.
- Home finance (mortgage advice and arranging): up to £85,000 for failures after 1 April 2019.
Checking a firm is authorised
The FCA runs the Financial Services Register, a public list of firms and individuals that are or have been authorised. It also records firms reported as offering regulated services without authorisation, including clone firms that copy a genuine firm's details. The FCA says it is worth searching the Register before dealing with a firm or individual.
If a firm is an appointed representative acting for another firm, the FCA suggests checking with the principal firm what activities are permitted. If an appointed representative acts outside its permissions, you may not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS.
Check before you act
Limits, rules and dates can change, and your own position depends on the product, the firm and when it failed. It can be worth confirming the details on the official FSCS and FCA pages linked below before relying on this guide.
Sources
For information only. See our disclaimer and editorial standards. Spotted an error? Tell us.
