Checking an insurance firm you found online

You may have found an insurer or a broker online and be close to buying a policy. Before you pay, you can check the firm yourself. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) keeps a public register of the firms it authorises. From that register, you can see who you are dealing with and where to turn if something goes wrong.

Check the firm on the FCA register

The FCA says almost all firms that provide financial services in the UK must be authorised or registered by it. It asks people to use its Firm Checker before they buy insurance. The FCA sets out four steps.

  1. Search for the firm by name on the Firm Checker.
  2. Choose the kind of insurance you want to buy.
  3. Check that the firm is authorised and has permission for it.
  4. Check that the contact details on the Firm Checker match the ones you were given.

If a firm is not authorised, you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. On the register, the FCA marks some firms as "No longer authorised" or "Revoked". The FCA says you should avoid dealing with them.

Use only the register's contact details

Some fraudsters copy a real firm's name, address or firm reference number. The FCA calls these clone firms. A clone may copy a real firm's website and change the phone number. Contact a firm only through the details the register gives. If there are no contact details, or the firm says they are out of date, the FCA asks people to call it on 0800 111 6768.

When the seller is an appointed representative

Some firms on the register are listed as appointed representatives. An appointed representative sells on behalf of another firm, called its principal. The principal agrees what the representative may do. The principal is also responsible for that business.

The register gives contact details for both. You can ask the principal what the representative is allowed to do. If you have a concern about a representative, the FCA suggests raising it with the principal.

Signs of a ghost broker

Ghost brokers are criminals who pose as insurance brokers. They sell fake or invalid policies, often for cars. The FCA lists these warning signs.

After you buy car insurance, you can check that your car appears on the Motor Insurance Database.

Making a complaint

A complaint starts with the firm itself. The firm then sends you a final response. If you are unhappy with that response, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can also go to the ombudsman once eight weeks have passed since the firm received your complaint (DISP 2.8.1 R, read 19 October 2026).

You have six months from the date of the final response to go to the ombudsman. The ombudsman generally cannot consider a complaint brought more than six years after the event. That limit runs longer if you only found out about the problem later. You then have three years from when you became aware of it, or ought reasonably to have become aware (DISP 2.8.2 R, read 19 October 2026).

If an authorised firm goes out of business, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to pay compensation.

Useful links

The FCA also points people to MoneyHelper, a free and impartial service backed by the government, for help with understanding financial products.