'Safe' amount per bank account?

[feelingthechill]

I'm due to receive my share from the sale of our house as part of my divorce settlement.

Am I right in thinking that you're only protected up to £80k or so in a bank account?

I will need to deposit a bit more than this and won't need the money for a while. Should I just look for a normal savings deposit account? Have been told that interest rates are so poor, it's not going to bring in much, even if it's a reasonable sum?

I'm not sure these days, MoneySavingExpert website is usually good on this.

It is £85k per name on the account, so £170k in a joint account. (Which I assume is not the case)

the protection is per banking licence, so you need to split the money between licences. Different brands may share a licence.

www.moneysupermarket.com/c/news/who-owns-who/0003118/

for instance, check out the Lloyds group and their brands.

yes, interest rates are dreadful. Most instant access savings accounts will pay 1.3% at most, less than real inflation. You can get better by using current accounts, setting up money to go round between them, but you can't house all your money that way. Here are the current top players - check out the money that needs to go in and also some need direct debits.

Nationwide 5% 2.5k
TSB 5% 2k
Santander 3% £20k
Tesco 3% 3k
Bank of Scotland vantage 3% 5k (up to three accounts)
Club Lloyds 4% 5k

Thanks for replying Funny and Specialsubject, I'll do some research on my options - it's very helpful to have some pointers. Thank you.