Financial Services Compensation Scheme

We’re covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This is designed to pay customers compensation if they lose money because an authorised firm (like Scottish Friendly) is unable to pay what we owe if we were to cease trading and declared in default.

The FSCS also looks at cases where customers have been sold the wrong kind of product and lost money, where the person or company that gave them that advice has gone out of business.

How much can I claim?

The amount of compensation that you may be able to claim is set by the FSCS and depends on the type of product you have. Usually, the limits are as follows (although, please remember, you can only claim if the firm involved has been declared in default):

  • For deposits (for example cash ISAs) the limit is 100% of the first £85,000 and applies per person, per firm. There are certain circumstances in which you may be able to exceed the normal compensation limits (known as 'temporary high balance') and still be covered by the FSCS. For more information this, please see the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk

  • For investments (for example unit trusts or investment funds held in a stocks and shares ISA), the limit is 100% of the first £85,000 and applies per person, per firm. However, the FSCS won’t cover you if you lost money because the investment simply didn’t perform well (unless it was mis-sold or you were given misleading advice: In such cases you could claim provided the firm that sold the product or advised you has been declared in default).

  • For insurance products, (including where you’ve been given bad or misleading advice and the firm giving that advice has been declared in default), there is no limit to the amount you may be able to claim. In some circumstances, the amount you could get back may be limited to 90% of your total claim. This will depend on the type of insurance product you have. To find out more, please see the “What we cover” section of the FSCS website at www.fscs.org.uk.

How can I find out what level of cover my policy has?

To confirm what level of cover your policy has under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme please check the latest Product Guide or Key Features document available.

For all our current products, you’ll find these documents on our website. However, if you have an older product that we no longer sell and can’t find the documents we sent you, please ask us for a copy. From time to time, the FSCS compensation limits and rules do change. Therefore, if you’ve had a product with us for a while, you can contact us for further information specific to your existing policy.

Like to know more...

If you’d like to know more about the FSCS and their rules around eligibility, please visit their website at www.fscs.org.uk. Alternatively, you can call them on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100.

You may also find the FCA website useful: www.fca.org.uk. From here you can search The Financial Services Register to check if a firm is authorised. You can also search for a table showing banking and savings brands covered by the same FCA authorisation.