Reference Case Number: FOI11598
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
Please provide:
• Number of insurance brokers and brokerages in UK from 2015-2024
• Geographical distribution of brokers and brokerages in the UK in 2024
• Market forecasts and trends for the insurance industry for 2024 and beyond
FCA response:
We can confirm that we hold some of the requested information, which is set out below.
- Number of insurance brokers and brokerages in UK from 2015-2024
The table below provides the number of insurance brokers / brokerages we have identified as being active in the UK each year from 2015-2024.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,637 | 6,525 | 6,468 | 6,414 | 6,312 | 6,244 | 6,117 | 5,940 | 5,795 | 5,516 |
- Geographical distribution of brokers and brokerages in the UK in 2024
The FCA does not hold recorded information relating to the geographical distribution of insurance brokers / brokerages in the UK beyond each firm’s Principal Place of Business (i.e. the address displayed under ‘basic details’ on the Financial Services Register[1]).
Annex A (attached) lists the available information specifying the Principal Place of Business (PPoB) of each insurance broker / brokerage firm identified as being active in the UK in 2024.
Please note the FCA is dependent on firms providing accurate details about their PPoB. We have provided the details of each firm’s PPoB as it is held and displayed on the Financial Services Register. Where no county is specified, the other information can be used to locate the firm’s PPoB. We can confirm this data is accurate as of 6 September 2024.
We would also like to clarify that, whilst we hold the records of each regulated insurance broker / brokerage firm’s PPoB, we do not hold information about whether firms have other branches or otherwise operate in any other areas / regions. Therefore, we do not hold information about insurance firms’ presence in any given area beyond the registered PPoB for each firm.
- Market forecasts and trends for the insurance industry for 2024 and beyond
We do not hold any recorded information that is relevant to this part of your request. We do not currently hold any recorded information internally which identifies trends or makes market forecasts for the insurance industry as a whole for 2024 and beyond.
To provide this type of information, various personnel in separate areas of the FCA would be required to formulate and draft such forecasts. We are satisfied that the level of skill and judgment needed to respond to this part of your request would meet the criteria of creating new information, as set out in the relevant ICO guidance[2], which we are not required to do in responding to requests made under FOIA.