Insurers
Insurers are the firms that actually take on your risk, price your policy and pay your claim. Everything else on this site — regulators, the ombudsman, trade bodies — exists to keep them honest, solvent and accountable.
What insurers are and their role
“Insurers” covers the range of firms that carry insurance risk: insurers that underwrite and hold the risk, brokers that sell and advise, MGAs (managing general agents) that design and distribute products on an insurer’s behalf, and underwriters who assess and price individual risks.
Our explainer on insurers, brokers, MGAs and underwriters sets out who does what across that chain, since more than one of these can sit behind a single policy you buy.
Insurers are authorised and supervised by the PRA for solvency and the FCA for conduct. They are not regulators themselves — they are the regulated firms whose behaviour this whole site exists to track.
They compete for your business on price, cover and service, but they operate within the capital rules, conduct rules and complaints regime set by the PRA, FCA and FOS.
How insurers affect your insurance
Insurers set your premium, decide your policy wording, and make the call on whether your claim is paid. Their claims costs feed straight back into pricing: when motor claims costs push insurers toward a loss, premiums tend to follow. When home insurers pay record weather claims, that pressure shows up in home premiums too.
Insurers also decide what risks they will and won’t take on. Where an insurer pulls back from a market — flood-prone postcodes, older properties, high-risk drivers — cover can become harder or more expensive to find elsewhere.
For brokers and MGAs, the commercial relationship with insurers determines what products they can offer and on what terms, which is why the FCA’s concerns over motor premium finance reach beyond insurers to the wider distribution chain.
Key recent developments among insurers
2026 has been a difficult claims year for insurers. Home insurers paid record weather-related claims in the first half, and motor claims costs pushed insurers toward an underwriting loss in the first quarter, with a reported combined ratio above 100%.
At the same time, the FCA has flagged concerns over motor premium finance, the credit arrangements many insurers and brokers use to let customers pay monthly, adding regulatory pressure on top of rising claims costs.
How to engage with your insurer
Unlike the regulators covered elsewhere on this site, your insurer is the one organisation here you deal with directly — at quote, at renewal and at claim. If something goes wrong, raise it with your insurer’s complaints team first; it must issue a final response, usually within eight weeks.
If you remain unhappy, you can take the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge. See our explainer on who does what to work out whether your complaint sits with the insurer, the broker, or an MGA.
Sources
ABI: UK insurance and long-term savings statistics and weather claims data, 2026. Motor and home claims cost and combined ratio reporting, Q1 2026. FCA MS24/2: Motor premium finance final report. FCA Handbook: ICOBS and Product Governance rules. PRA Solvency UK requirements.