Today, a coalition of leading civil society organisations have written joint letters to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) urging them to address the imbalance experienced by Gypsy and Traveller site residents when attempting to access home and contents insurance.
The letters follow a recent report by Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) which found that many Gypsy and Traveller site residents are unable to obtain insurance cover, despite repeated attempts to do so. The findings raise serious concerns about financial exclusion, transparency within the insurance industry and the risk of discrimination.
The letter to the EHRC can be seen here, and the full letter to the FCA, and signatories, can be found below:
“To whom it may concern
Re: Lack of access to home insurance for Gypsies and Travellers living on sites
We write as a coalition of organisations working to protect and promote the rights of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, to highlight persistent barriers to accessing home and contents insurance for residents of Gypsy and Traveller sites.
Friends, Families and Travellers recently published research, ‘They Just Refuse’: Insurance Companies Failing to Provide Cover for Gypsy and Traveller Site Residents, highlights barriers that continue to limit access. Our findings indicate that attempts to obtain insurance for mobile homes and caravans registered at local authority sites frequently result in refusals of cover. The research findings also point to inconsistent underwriting practices, opaque postcode‑based exclusions, and insurance systems that fail to accurately recognise local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites as legitimate permanent residences.
Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers in the UK experience profound and long-standing economic exclusion. Access to essential financial services, including home insurance, is a fundamental component of financial inclusion. Insurance coverage provides a vital safety net, protecting households from unforeseen events and helping prevent financial hardship.
Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers are recognised ethnic groups under the Equality Act 2010 and are therefore legally protected from discrimination when accessing goods and services. However, evidence from our research suggests that, in practice, many insurance companies and brokers refuse insurance cover in ways that may disproportionately impact these communities.As the UK’s financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority plays a central role in ensuring that markets function fairly and that all consumers are treated equitably. We are therefore writing to you given the FCA’s memorandum of understanding with the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We also note that improving access to insurance is a stated priority in 2026 for the FCA, including increasing uptake of home insurance among social renters. This is particularly relevant in this context, as the July 2025 Caravan Count recorded 6,267 caravans on socially rented Gypsy and Traveller sites. Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers have a long, shared history of living in caravans, which is integral to ethnic and culture tenets.
Because of the close link between accommodation type and ethnicity for Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, any insurance company or broker that refuses insurance cover on the basis that an address is located on a Gypsy and Traveller site may risk engaging in indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. This is because such a practice may place members of those ethnic groups at a particular disadvantage compared with others.
In 2022, the Financial Times covered the issue of financial exclusion among Gypsies and Travellers, with interviewees describing being refused cover for their mobile homes. Similarly, a Scotland-based charity has reported ‘countless examples’ of residents on Gypsy and Traveller sites being refused insurance for their mobile homes.
Although the FCA does not handle individual cases, we would nevertheless like to highlight a case referenced in the report that illustrates opaque and exclusionary practices by one insurance company, which we believe may be more widely prevalent. In 2025/26, Friends, Families and Travellers dealt with a case in which a Romany Gypsy resident of a local authority Gypsy and Traveller site was refused home insurance because their postcode was not on an ‘acceptable postcode list’. A complaint was submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service and was ultimately upheld because the insurance company could not demonstrate that it had applied its underwriting criteria fairly in the decision not to provide cover to them.
In light of the concerns and evidence outlined above, we request that the FCA:
- Assess whether providers’ online systems and underwriting processes are fit for purpose and inclusive of local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites.
- Investigate record-keeping on the criteria for excluding postcodes from insurance cover on Gypsy and Traveller sites.
- Work with the EHRC to investigate whether postcode‑based exclusions and system design flaws in the insurance industry constitute indirect discrimination against Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.
- We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the research findings further and to support the FCA in investigating these concerns, to ensure fair and equitable access to insurance for all, without discrimination.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah Mann, CEO, Friends, Families and Travellers
Elizabeth Billington BEM, CEO, Kushti Bok
Josie O’Driscoll, CEO, GATE HERTS
Yvonne McNamara, CEO, The Traveller Movement
Debby Kennett, CEO, London Gypsies and Travellers
Dr Siobhan Spencer MBE, CEO, Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group
Violet Cannot, CEO, York Travellers Trust
Trudy Aspinwall, Team Manager, Travelling Ahead
Liz Watkins, Support Worker, TravellerSpace
Revd Canon Dr Nichola Chater, Chair, Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Friendly Churches”
[END]
Notes for Editor
About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
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Additional Resources
‘They just refuse’: Insurance companies failing to provide cover for Gypsy and Traveller site residents. Friends, Families and Travellers. May 2026. View.
