Blind FX quotes for insurance firms

Can an insurance broker get FX quotes from several providers without revealing who it is?

Yes. You send the requirement to us once. We take out anything that identifies your firm and put it to several providers on our panel at the same time.

Each provider prices the same requirement in the same window, so the quotes can be compared fairly. You get them back in one table with our notes and you decide whether to take any of them further. If none of them improves on what you have, you have lost nothing and you now know where your current rate sits.

The same works for an MGA remitting premium to capacity providers, a captive funding claims in another currency, a reinsurer settling with cedants or a claims handler paying losses abroad. Most firms start with a flow they already pay for every month, such as US dollar premium receipts converted to sterling or a run of overseas claims payments, because that is where a better rate repeats.

Lloyd's managing agents should start from what Lloyd's already provides. Lloyd's says its Currency Conversion Service translates premiums and claims between currencies at the point of settlement, and that it adjusts rates on its FX services to recover up to 5 basis points. A blind quote is most useful for the flows that sit outside central settlement. More on Lloyd's syndicates and FX.

What do we need to send you?

The currencies, a typical and a largest amount, which flows they are, how often and a few facts about your firm. The form takes about five minutes.

• The currency you sell and the currency you buy, for example US dollars into sterling.
• A typical amount and the largest single amount you expect, and which currency they are in.
• The flows: premiums received, remittances to insurers or capacity providers, claims, reinsurance premiums, recoveries or cash calls, captive funding, commission and fees, or expenses.
• Whether you need spot conversions now or are not sure yet.
• How often: a one-off, a regular flow or occasional amounts such as large claims.
• Your client money position, because it shapes which accounts a provider can offer and what your compliance officer will want to check.
• Settlement needs: where the money must land, deadlines such as settlement due dates or agreed claims payment dates, and any accounts already in place.
• Your firm type and domicile, which decide which providers can onboard you.

What do providers see, and what do they not see?

Providers see the requirement, your firm type and your domicile. They do not see your firm's name, your clients, insureds or markets, or your contact details until you choose them.

Providers that do not win the request never learn who asked. Each provider on our panel agrees confidentiality terms with us before it receives any request. We read the settlement notes before anything goes out in case they mention a name, a policy, a claim or an account. No policyholder or claimant data is needed for a quote.

How do we compare FX rates for US dollar premiums fairly?

Ask every provider to price the same conversion at the same time, then compare the markup to mid rather than the headline rate. A blind quote does that for you.

Rates move all day. A quote taken at 9am and another taken at 3pm can differ because the market moved, not because one provider is cheaper. Comparing headline rates taken at different times tells you very little. Comparing each provider's distance from the market mid at the moment it quoted tells you what you would pay on top of the market.

So we send the same requirement to every provider in the same window and record the mid when each quote comes back. For premiums the right comparison is usually the regular flow: US dollars received each month and converted to sterling, priced at your typical amount and at your largest. Small and large tickets are often priced differently, which is why the form asks for both.

Fees and charges belong in the comparison too. On many small premium receipts a receiving fee on each payment can cost more than the markup. On overseas claims a payment fee and any deduction by an intermediary bank can matter as much as the rate, because the claimant expects the agreed amount to arrive in full. Our FX cost review applies the same arithmetic to what you pay today.

What comes back from a blind quote?

One table with each provider's indicative rate, its markup to mid at the time of quote, fees, receiving and payment charges, cut-offs and onboarding time. It is not an executable price.

Is a blind quote a price we can trade on?

No. A blind quote is indicative. It becomes a live price only once your firm is onboarded with that provider and asks to convert.

That is why the useful comparison is the markup to mid and not the rate itself. A provider that quotes 12 basis points from mid on Monday should be close to 12 basis points from mid when you convert, whatever the rate has done in between. A later cost review checks exactly that, because a markup that drifts upwards after onboarding is how rate creep starts.

What happens between a quote and the first conversion?

You choose a provider, we introduce you with your agreement, and the provider runs its own checks on your firm directly. InsuranceFX does not collect or store your due diligence documents.

1. You choose

   From the quote table, with our notes on each provider's authorisation, how it safeguards funds and its experience of insurance flows.

2. We introduce you

   Only with your agreement, and only to the provider you chose.

3. Your compliance officer checks the fit

   If any of the money is client money, CASS 5 generally requires it to be held in a client bank account at an approved bank, and risk transfer arrangements change the analysis. Your compliance officer and CASS auditor decide how a new provider fits. Our page on client money and FX sets out the questions to ask, and the rules are in the FCA Handbook at CASS 5.

4. The provider onboards your firm

   It asks for its own documents for each entity that needs an account and screens payments against sanctions lists. Your firm keeps its own sanctions obligations as an insurer, broker or claims handler. See the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation for official guidance.

5. A test payment, then the first conversion

   A small payment proves the route works and the money arrives with the right reference. The first real conversion follows at the rate confirmed at that moment.

Money held by a payment or e-money institution is safeguarded, not covered by FSCS deposit protection, and the FSCS does not cover payment or e-money services. The FCA's new safeguarding rules took effect on 7 May 2026. We record how each provider says it safeguards funds. We never tell you a provider is safe.

How is our request kept confidential?

We strip identifying details before anything goes to a provider, and the full request stays on our own systems.

We never share your firm's identity with a provider you have not chosen and we never sell or share your details for marketing. InsuranceFX does not hold client money, make payments or give advice. Every conversion is carried out by the provider you choose, under its own contract with your firm. More on how InsuranceFX works, how we are paid and client money and FX.

How do we request a blind quote?

Fill in the form below. Nothing goes to a provider until we have checked it and removed anything that could identify your firm.