Can a captive manager or Lloyd's broker refer clients to an FX service, and is it paid?
Yes, you can refer a client to us today. Whether a referral fee can be paid, and on what basis, is still being confirmed. No fee is agreed with any partner at present.
A referral is simply an introduction. You tell your client that InsuranceFX can check what it pays to convert premiums, claims or funding, or put a live requirement to several regulated providers without naming it. If the client wants to go ahead, we deal with it directly and keep you informed in the way the client agrees.
If a fee is ever paid to a partner, the client is told in writing who pays it, how much and on what basis before it decides anything, alongside how InsuranceFX itself is paid by providers. More on how we are paid.
Who refers clients to InsuranceFX?
Mainly captive managers, Lloyd's brokers and reinsurance brokers: firms that see their clients' currency flows every month but do not want to run an FX comparison themselves.
- Captive managersCaptives fund, take premium and pay claims in several currencies, often through the bank chosen when the captive was formed. A cost review gives the board evidence that the FX has been tested.
- Lloyd's brokersPremiums from overseas producers and coverholders arrive in US dollars, euros and Canadian dollars. Flows outside central settlement, and the broker's own brokerage and fees, are where a better rate can help.
- Reinsurance brokersReinsurance premiums, claims, recoveries and cash calls move between cedants and reinsurers in several currencies, with settlement dates that cannot slip.
Captive managers often look after several captives in the same domicile, such as Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda or the Cayman Islands, each with a parent paying premium in its own currency and claims flowing back to group companies abroad. Brokers see the same pattern across their clients and their own accounts. In both cases the manager or broker is usually the first to notice that a conversion looks expensive, and the last to have time to fix it.
How does a referral work?
In four steps: you introduce the client, we agree the scope with them, we run the blind quote or cost review, and the client decides.
You introduce the client
With the client's agreement, by email, by phone or through the form below. A one-page introduction you can pass on to a client is available on request.
We agree the scope with the client
Which flows to look at, whether to start with a cost review of what it pays now or a blind quote for a live requirement, and a confidentiality undertaking before any data is shared.
We run the quote or the review
A blind quote goes to several regulated providers without the client's name. A cost review compares each past conversion with the market mid and shows the markup in basis points.
The client decides
It can go ahead with a provider, use the findings to renegotiate with its current bank or do nothing. If it chooses a provider, that provider onboards the client directly and runs its own checks.
What will our client see, and what will we see?
Your client sees everything about its own quote or review, including how we are paid and any fee to you. You see progress, and more only if the client agrees.
| Stage | What your client sees | What you see | What providers see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Your introduction, our terms, how InsuranceFX is paid and any referral fee to you | Confirmation that we have the introduction | Nothing |
| Quote or review | The full quote table or cost review report | That work has started and when it is finished, unless the client asks us not to tell you | The requirement without the client's name, for a blind quote only |
| Decision | Its choice of provider and our introduction to it | Whether the client went ahead, if the client agrees | The client's name only if it chose that provider |
| After onboarding | A later rate check against what was quoted, if it asks for one | Nothing further unless the client agrees | What the provider needs for its own checks, given by the client directly |
We never show you the client's rates, conversion data or report unless the client asks us to. Conversion data is used only for the client's review and deleted afterwards.
Will InsuranceFX take over our client relationship?
No. InsuranceFX does not place insurance, advise on cover or act as an insurance intermediary, so there is no broking or captive management relationship for us to take.
- We talk to your client only about FX and international payments.
- We do not introduce your client to other brokers or captive managers.
- There is no exclusivity. You can refer one client or many, and the client can stop at any point.
- You can join calls with the client if the client wants you there.
- We never hold client money, make payments or send or change payment details, so nothing about how premium or claims money moves through your accounts changes because of us.
Can partners be paid for referrals, and how is it disclosed?
Not until it is confirmed. Whether InsuranceFX can pay a referral fee under the Introvisory arrangements is still being checked, and no partner should assume a fee.
Whatever is decided, disclosure comes first. If a referral fee is ever paid, the client will be told in writing before it decides anything: who pays it, how much and on what basis. It will sit alongside our explanation of how providers pay InsuranceFX, so the client can see every payment connected with its introduction. We keep a record of why each provider was matched to each client, separate from anything anyone is paid.
If you are an insurance, reinsurance or Lloyd's broker, a referral fee may raise conflicts of interest and inducements questions under the insurance distribution rules. Your compliance officer should be comfortable before any fee is agreed, and you may decide to take none. Captive managers will want to check any fee against their management agreement and the captive's own conflicts policy.
What do partners ask before referring a client?
Mostly whether the client pays, what happens with client money and whether captives outside the UK can be helped.
Does my client pay anything?
No. Blind quotes and cost reviews are free to the client. InsuranceFX is paid by providers, and our how we are paid page sets out the basis.
What if my client holds client money?
CASS 5 generally requires client money to be held in a client bank account at an approved bank, and risk transfer arrangements change the analysis. Each firm must check its own position with its compliance officer and CASS auditor before it uses a new provider for any of its flows. We do not advise on it. Our page on client money and FX sets out the questions to ask, and the rules are in the FCA Handbook at CASS 5.
Can you help a captive domiciled outside the UK?
Usually, but which providers can onboard a captive depends on its domicile, its owners and its activity, and a blind quote shows that up front. Introductions are for professional clients only, and some domiciles have their own rules on promoting services to captives, which we check before working with a captive there.
Do we sign anything?
Yes. Before the first referral we agree a short written referral agreement covering what each side does, confidentiality and whether any fee applies.
What does InsuranceFX never do?
Hold client money, make payments, execute trades, give advice, or send or change payment details. Every conversion and payment is carried out by an authorised provider under its own contract with your client. How InsuranceFX works
How do we start a partner conversation?
Tell us a little about your firm and the clients you might refer, and we will call you to talk it through.