How long will my claim take?

The time it takes to complete a claim varies depending on the type of financial product involved.

Most FSCS claims take between five months and one year.

Some claims may take longer if they are complex or require a firm investigation before we can start working on them.

FSCS will investigate your claim as quickly as possible. As each claim is unique, we can’t predict exactly how long it will be before we can give you a decision.

This page gives information about how long a claim is likely to take in most cases. The details were last updated on 20 July 2026.

Timescales for claims submitted since 1 April 2026

The table below gives an idea of the amount of time it is likely to take from completing your application to receiving a decision.

Claim type	Most customers get their decision within
Pensions	12 months
Investments - self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs)	10 months
Investments - general	9 months
Investments - shares	6 months
Payment protection insurance (PPI)	5 months
Mortgages and home finance	5 months

Timescales for claims submitted by 31 March 2026

The table below gives an idea of the amount of time it is likely to take from completing your application to receiving a decision.

Claim type	Most customers get their decision within
Pensions	12 months
Investments	10 months
Payment protection insurance (PPI)	5 months
Mortgages and home finance	5 months

These timescales are an estimate based on the number and type of claims we received prior to 31 March 2026.

Firm investigations

In some cases, we need to investigate the firm you’re claiming against more broadly before we can look at your individual claim. This could be because we’re checking its financial status or looking into its activities.

Complex firm investigations are required when FSCS encounters claims or firm failures that can’t be assessed through existing processes. Often this is due to new issues, products or legal considerations. We will investigate the firm or issue and design or update the assessment approach.

If this happens:

Your claim will be marked as ‘Firm investigation underway’.

Complex investigations can take many months and are not included in the timescales listed on this page.

Once the firm investigation is complete, your claim will move to ‘Claim in progress’.

Your claim can then be reviewed using the new approach agreed. The timescales listed on this page apply from this point.

Check your claim's current status

If you've already made a claim, you can check its progress at any time by logging in to your account. We’ll keep you updated with emails and phone calls where possible. Once we’ve reached a decision, you’ll get a letter to explain it by email or post.

My claim has been showing the same status for a while, why is that?

You might notice that your claim stays at ‘evidence required’ or ‘reviewing evidence’ for a number of weeks. This may be because:

We're waiting for information from a third party.
Your claim is being reviewed by another team.
We need specialist advice.

These checks can take several weeks or months depending on complexity.

Find out more about our claims process and the different statuses you may see during your claim. Listen to the podcast below to find out how you can stay updated on your claim.