On 19 May 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published terms of reference for a market study into claims management services.

Summary

The FCA set out that they are launching a market study to gather evidence to understand the root causes of practices it has observed by firms in the claims management market and how they impact competition and consumer outcomes and that the study will inform whether interventions are needed to promote effective competition, support customer choice, and ensure the claims management services market serves consumers in the way the FCA expects.

The FCA makes clear that before it starts to gather detailed evidence, it wants views on whether it has identified the correct scope and focus areas, in particular:

  • Consumer journey: The level and nature of lead generation and advertising activities and the extent that it leads to poor consumer choices and other consumer harm. Whether consumers are supported and informed throughout the consumer journey.
  • Pricing-related harms: How price levels and structures are set, the impact of price caps, and whether pricing is contributing to poor outcomes for consumers.
  • Business model incentives: Whether business models, including funding arrangements, create incentives for poor conduct or drive market dynamics that are not in the interest of consumers.
  • Risks created by low financial resilience in CMCs: The extent to which firms are financially and operationally resilient and the risks that firm failure would present to consumers.
  • Incentives created by the regulatory landscape: How current differences in the way firms in the same market are regulated impact firms’ incentives, and how that affects consumer outcomes.

Next steps

The FCA has asked for views on the scope of its market study on claims management services by 19 June 2026.