Trading insurance is quite necessary to compensate clients in case of unprecedented events. Sadly, not all brokers guarantee such protection.

forex broker insurance

It is common for traders to suffer a big loss as it is a part of the whole deal. This is where broker's insurance comes in. From a trader's point of view, it is important to find a broker that offers insurance, considering they give their broker authority over their accounts.

Some brokers offer insurance to protect traders against unexpected problems. Those including:

  • IC Markets: Their insurance will cover up to $1 million per trader.
  • ThinkMarkets: Protects clients' funds for up to $1 million.
  • RoboForex: implemented a Civil Liability insurance program of up to EUR5,000,000.
  • eToro: Free investment insurance of up to 1 million.
  • FXTM: Each trader will be covered up to EUR20,000 per case.
  • Exness: Offers a Compensation Fund as an insurance policy.

Each of these brokers has a different way of providing insurance for its clients. What kind of insurance service does they provide?

 

1. IC Markets

IC Markets is one of the most popular forex brokers that many regulatory agencies, including ASIC have regulated. This broker is serious when it comes to protecting their clients.

That is why they provide one of the best forex broker insurance coverage. They have added additional protections for the trader's funds in case unexpected things happen. The insurance will cover up to $1 million per trader.

What does this forex broker insurance cover? Since IC Markets offers trading with CFD products, the insurance covers the available balance and open CFD positions. This is also available to all the IC Markets clients of Raw Trading, but it will only be triggered during the event of Raw Trading insolvency.

Website
Established
2007
Leverage
1:1000
Min Deposit
$200
Regulation
ASIC, CySEC, SCB, The Financial Commission, FSA (Seychelles)
Interest rate on funds
Free education
PAMM
MAM
Segregated accounts
Managed accounts
Islamic accounts available
Compensation scheme
Swap
Low spread eur/usd
VPS
Copy trading
FasaPay
Neteller
PayPal
Skrill
Wire transfer

IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.

Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.

The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.

For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.

As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.

To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.

 

2. ThinkMarkets

ThinkMarkets is another broker with great forex broker insurance to consider. This broker is committed to providing their clients a trusted and reliable trading environment.

ThinkMarkets has taken out an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London that protects clients' funds for up to $1 million in the unlikely event of insolvency. However, this broker insurance is only available in certain jurisdictions. Traders can contact the ThinkMarkets customer support team to find out whether their country of origin is included in the scheme.

Website
Established
2010
Leverage
1:500
Min Deposit
$0
Regulation
ASIC, FCA, FSA (Japan), FSCA, FSA (Seychelles), CySEC
Free education
Personal manager
PAMM
MAM
Segregated accounts
Affiliate program
Islamic accounts available
Compensation scheme
Negative balance protection
VPS
Trading via API
Copy trading
Webinar
Neteller
PayPal
Skrill
Wire transfer

As a multi-asset online brokerage, ThinkMarkets present a wide range of trading assets starting from Forex to Precious Metals, Commodities, Indices, Shares, and Cryptocurrencies. The Australian-based broker is established in 2010 and has since opened additional headquarters in London and regional offices throughout Asia-Pacific, Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America.

Along with its history operation, ThinkMarkets has been awarded and recognized many times in various aspects. Most recently, they won the Best Value Broker in Asia at the 2020 Global Forex Awards.

Average FX spreads for traders opening an account in ThinkMarkets start from 1.2 pips for the standard account, while ThinkZero provides the best trading experience with 0.1 pips spread. Still, traders may need to consider that ThinkZero applies commission from $3.5 per side for every 1000,000 trading volumes.

As a global online brokerage, ThinkMarkets operates under various financial regulatory institutions. For example, ThinkMarkets Australia is managed by TF Global Markets (Aust) Limited and is licensed by the Australian Financial Services as well as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) with ABN: 69158361561. ThinkMarkets UK is registered under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by the company name of TF Global Markets (UK) Limited (number: 09042646).

ThinkMarkets consistently try to improve their trading environments with various advanced products. Automatic trading fans are provided with free VPS Hosting, while passionate traders who'd like to experience beyond MetaQuote platforms can try ThinkMarkets' proprietary platform called ThinkTrader.

The trading platform is available on 3 different interfaces specifically designed for Web Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile displays. Furthermore, customized tools such as 80+ drawing tools and more than 125 indicators for technical analysis accessible even through Mobile screens would certainly provide a brand new trading on-the-go experience.

As far as market updates go, trading in ThinkMarkets would be accompanied with news from FX Wire Pro that is known for its strict policy toward upholding objective journalism and delivering critical, trusted information in real-time. Information segments covered by FX Wire Pro include Economic Commentary, Technical-level Reports, Currency and Commodities, Central Bank Bulletins, Energies and metals, together with Event-driven Flashes.

For payment methods, ThinkMarkets offer the gateway via bank transfer, credit card (Visa and MasterCard), Skrill, Neteller, POLi internet banking, BPay, and Bitcoin wallet.

All in all, it is safe to say that for a company that started business since 2010, ThinkMarkets is an accomplished broker in terms of legal standing and innovation in trading technology. As an additional safety assurance for traders, this broker underlines its commitment to provide a $1 million insurance protection program which is made possible by ThinkMarkets' insurance policy with Lloyd's of London that protects clients' funds for up to $1 million in the unlikely event of insolvency.

 

3. RoboForex

RoboForex takes serious measures when it comes to trader's safety. Not only does this broker take responsibility for the safety of their client's funds, but they also have one of the best forex broker insurance.

RoboForex has implemented a Civil Liability insurance program for a limit of EUR5,000,000. This includes market-leading coverage against fraud, omissions, errors, negligence, and other risks that may lead to financial losses for traders.

Website
Established
2009
Leverage
1:400
Min Deposit
$50
Regulation
Belize Financial Service Commission (FSC), The Financial Commission
Bonuses
Trading contests
VPS
MAM
Compensation scheme
Negative balance protection
Segregated accounts
Islamic account
Low spread eur/usd
Copy trading
Affiliate program
Skrill
Neteller

Well-known as one of the most committed brokers in trading technology advancements, RoboForex reaches out to a wide range of traders, from beginners to the more experienced ones who seek sophisticated trading environments with ECN-like spread and execution. The company is established in 2009 and holds a head office in Belize. Registered under the IFSC Belize, RoboForex manages to attract clients with fantastic leverage as high as 1:2000.

Following its commitment to be the forefront in terms of a high technology forex broker, RoboForex provides various trading platform choices including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Social Platform, and its proprietary platform.

Trading instruments range from Currencies to Metals, Indices, Energies, Stocks, and ETFs. Aside from basic service, trading in RoboForex also presents a collection of distinctive features such as the PAMM system and Social Trading network developed with their own brand of CopyFX, ETFs, and stocks that reaches up to thousands as the available trading assets, and tight spreads.

RoboForex also accepts payment through a surprising online gateway besides wire transfer and credit card. The alternative methods are Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, Perfect Money, and other similar online payments.

After opening an account, traders can start with a minimum deposit as low as $10 in Pro Accounts. To specify, here is a short description of each type of accounts that traders can choose from in RoboForex:

Pro-Standard

  • Minimum Deposit: $10
  • Spread: from 1.3 points
  • Minimum order volume: 0.01
  • Leverage: up to 1:2000

ECN-Pro

  • Minimum Deposit: $10
  • Spread: from 0 points
  • Minimum order volume: 0.01
  • Leverage: up to 1:300

Prime

  • Minimum Deposit: $5,000
  • Spread: from 0 points
  • Minimum order volume: 0.01
  • Leverage: up to 1:100

Pro-Cent

  • Minimum Deposit: $10
  • Spread: from 1.3 points
  • Minimum order volume: 0.1
  • Leverage: up to 1:2000

R Trader

  • Minimum Deposit: $100
  • Spread: from $0.01
  • Minimum order volume: 1 stock
  • Leverage: up to 1:200 (during the trading session) and up to 1:4 (after the trading session)

The R Trader account signifies RoboForex's attempt to distinguish forex and stock trading condition. It appears that the platform used in that particular account is RoboForex's in-house product that is specifically designed for stock online trading.

The overall description above depicts RoboForex as a distinguished broker despite its status as an offshore-regulated entity. Not only successful in providing various trading technology, but RoboForex also focuses on stock trading for more conservative traders. However, it is also important to note that RoboForex is one of the few brokers that boldly offer an extremely high perimeter of leverage at 1:2000.

 

4. eToro

Another broker with one of the best broker insurance to consider is eToro. To start with, eToro protects its clients with free investment insurance of up to 1 million in EUR, GBP, or AUD (depending on the region). This insurance is purchased from Lloyd's of London, and it's given automatically to clients.

The eToro protections cover claims of eligible clients suffering losses due to the unlikely event of eToro's insolvency and "event of misconduct." The subjects covered include cash, all CFD positions, and securities. However, crypto assets (non-CFD) are not covered.

Website
Established
2007
Leverage
1:400
Min Deposit
$200
Regulation
CySEC, FCA, ASIC, FINRA, Financial Services Regulatory Authority (Abu Dhabi), FSA (Seychelles)
Accepts US traders
Personal manager
Trading contests
Segregated accounts
Free education
Compensation scheme
Negative balance protection
Swap
Low spread eur/usd
Hedging
Islamic account
Affiliate program
Trading via API
Interest rate on funds
Copy trading
WebMoney
PayPal
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller

eToro established in early 2007, with a mission to make trading accessible to anyone, anywhere, and reduce dependency on traditional financial institutions. The company has head offices in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, USA, and Australia.

eToro (Europe) Ltd operates as a Financial Services Company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license no. #109/10. Meanwhile, eToro (UK) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the license FRN 583263.

As for eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd, the legal standing is acknowledged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial services under Australian Financial Services License 491139.

A broker that belongs to the 4-digit type, eToro offers both short-term options for day traders and long-term options for investors, such as their innovative Smart Portfolios, a fully managed thematic portfolio.

Since 2007, eToro has been at the forefront of the Fintech revolution. The most recent was launched in 2017, which is Smart Portfolios powered by Machine learning Al. Beyond developing Smart Portfolios, the company integrated Microsoft's machine learning technology into Momentum DD.

The new Smart Portfolios investment strategy uses artificial intelligence to find the steadiest traders who are most likely to generate a double-digit return and bundle traders into one fully-managed portfolio. eToro has hundreds of financial assets for trading across several categories including stocks, commodities, crypto assets, currencies, indices, and ETFs. Each asset class has characteristics and can be traded using a variety of investment strategies.

Some positions on eToro involve ownership of underlying assets, such as non-leveraged positions on stocks and cryptos. Employing CFDs will enable a variety of options, such as leveraged trades, short (sell) positions, fractional ownership, and more. For example, traders can invest as little as USD100 in gold, even if a single unit of gold cost USD1,000. Some of eToro's most popular CFD commodities include gold, oil, natural gas, silver, and platinum.

Currencies are traded on eToro only as CFDs. Also, CFDs enable Sell (short) positions and leveraged trade, even for assets that don't offer the option in traditional trading. Some of the popular currencies include EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, and USD/CAD.

Furthermore, An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is a financial instrument comprising several assets grouped to serve as one tradable fund. After opening an account in eToro, traders can invest as little as USD250 in an ETF that costs USD500. Some of the popular ETFs on eToro include SPY, VXXB, TLT, and HMMJ.

However, eToro also offers additional functions using CFD trading. All leveraged ETF positions in the UK are under FCA regulations. Meanwhile, all CFD positions executed by eToro Australia are under ASIC regulations.

The company has other advantages. In all financial assets that can be traded, eToro does not charge any deposit or trading frees other than spreads.

eToro charges a USD25 fee for withdrawals and the minimum withdrawal amount is USD50. Long (Buy), non-leveraged crypto, stock, and ETF positions are not executed as CFDs and do not incur any fees. eToro does charge overnight or weekend fees for CFDs positions, such as leveraged positions and short (sell) orders.

Fee updates always apply to open positions. Fees are subject to change at any given time and could change daily, without prior notice, depending on market conditions.

As a beginner, trader can use CopyTrading eToro. Different from the features of other brokers, traders can copy the strategies of professional traders without fee or profit-sharing. Therefore, 100% profit is fully owned by traders. For example, while trader A who is copied by trader B, produces a profit of 10% this month, then trader B also gets a profit of 10%.

The company is the world's leading social trading network. Since eToro operates in complete transparency, each trader has valuable information on their eToro profiles, so other traders that are interested to copy their trades can have assistance in creating their best portfolios.

Another feature that is unique to eToro is the personalized, social News Feed. Just like on any social media, traders can post their updates on feed, comment on other's posts, and gradually create a feed that is tailor-fitted to trader's trading and investing interests. On eToro social trading platform, traders will also get notifications when a trader writes a new post and many other important updates.

 

5. FXTM

FXTM is a member of the Financial Commission. Therefore, all members of this broker are protected by the Commission's Compensation Fund. This independent external dispute resolution (EDR) organization acts as an insurance policy for traders.

However, traders must understand that funds will only be used for the Financial Commission's judgment. In the compensation scheme, each trader will be covered up to EUR20,000 per case.

Website
Established
2011
Leverage
1:2000
Min Deposit
$10
Regulation
FSC (Mauritius), C113012295, CySEC, 185/12, FCA, 777911, FSCA, 46614, Capital Markets Authority of Kenya, 135
Bonuses
Personal manager
Trading contests
Segregated accounts
Free education
Trading by phone
Compensation scheme
Low spread eur/usd
VPS
Affiliate program
Copy trading
Webinar
WebMoney
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller
QIWI
FasaPay

FXTM was initially launched in 2011 with a unique vision to provide unparalleled superior trading conditions. Opening an account in FXTM would also bring about access to advanced education and sophisticated trading tools in the forex industry.

Now, FXTM is registered under the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK with the number 600475. The company is also regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with CIF license number 185/12, and is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa, with FSP No. 46614

FXTM has 1 million registered accounts with more traders joining every day. The company continually tries to improve their performance and have got many awards such as Best Trading Experience 2019 by World Finance Awards, Best Online Forex Trading Company Nigeria 2018 by International Finance Awards, Reputable Investor Education Forex Broker Award 2018 by Hexun.com, Forex Brand Of The Year China 2018 by Fxeye.Com, and many more.

As a responsible broker, they determine leverage (expressed as a ratio of transaction size relative to trader's buying power) according to the trader's level of knowledge and experience in trading, which is evaluated by the Appropriateness Assessment. The company also enables trading with leverage up to 1:1000.

As for spreads, FXTM offers low spreads starting from 0.1 pip, so traders can withdraw profits at the start of trading. The company, which has headquarters in several countries, uses No Dealing Desk (NDD) technology and partners with credible liquidity providers to provide the best bid and ask prices.

For beginners, there is an automatic trading facility called algorithmic trading provided. When trading in FXTM, traders can develop their trading strategy or adopt other traders' strategies. Furthermore, the strategy is applied to automated trading systems, such as Expert Advisors. The purpose of this system is traders do not have to worry about losing opportunities while not observing the market so that profits can still be earned.

Three types of ECN accounts use the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. There are also mobile and Tablet Apps trading platforms. Aside of providing many account variants, FXTM goes above and beyond to ensure that their client receives excellent support that they deserve, making their trading experience optimal and user-friendly.

FXTM also provides a diverse range of products. In addition to over 50 currency pairs, they provide gold, silver, CFD on commodity futures (oil), CFD on ETFs, and indices.

Education about the basic concepts of the forex industry is also accessible in this broker. Traders can read all the concepts provided in the form of e-books, video tutorials, articles, webinars, and forex seminars. There are 17 languages provided on the FXTM website to make it easier for traders to learn about forex.

Traders are also given various choices for payment methods, including Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro) and E-Wallet (Neteller, Skrill, Western Union). For withdrawing funds, traders are not charged a fee with a length of 2 hours to 2 days. Traders can live chat to ask further questions and contact the admin via email. There is also a question and answer page about forex trading on FXTM.

 

6. Exness

Exness offers a Compensation Fund as an insurance policy for members' clients. The Financial Commission finances the Compensation Fund by allocating 10% of the monthly membership dues. Unfortunately, this fund does not cover traders' losses from self-directed trading. It also does not apply to the entire client base should the broker become insolvent.

Website
Established
2008
Leverage
1:2000
Min Deposit
$10
Regulation
FSA (Seychelles), CBCS (Curacao), FSC (BVI), FSCA, CMA (Kenya), FCA, CySEC, ESMA
PAMM
Trading contests
LAMM
Segregated accounts
VPS
Free education
Islamic account
Copy trading
Compensation scheme
Negative balance protection
Low spread eur/usd
Affiliate program
Trading via API
WebMoney
Skrill
Wire transfer
Neteller

The choice of broker is adjusted to the needs of each trader. If you are a trader who only needs a basic platform and trading features with the best attributes, then Exness can be your best choice.

Exness covers its lack of feature variations with other advantages like low spreads starting from only 0.1 pip. This is very suitable for traders who use scalping strategies (Scalper). Spreads on major pairs in certain account types can also be as low as 0.0 pip, depending on market conditions.

Not only that, but traders can also enjoy other advantages such as automatic fund withdrawals. Exness processes the majority of client withdrawals instantly, without manual checks; however, withdrawals may be subject tos depending on the payment provider or method of choice.

The safety of traders' funds is also guaranteed as Exness is one of the European-based STP/ECN brokers. Exness's ability to become an official partner of the Real Madrid soccer team for 3 years, starting July 2017, also provides evidence that the company has high solidity.

Deposits and withdrawals may be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, it is important to note that the company shall not be liable fors in processing deposits and withdrawals if suchs are caused by the payment system.

Traders do not need to worry about transaction fees when depositing and withdrawing. Exness doesn't charge any transaction fees to traders even though some charges may be incurred depending on the payment provider of choice. A variety of payment methods are provided for traders, including Wire Transfer, Bank Card, Neteller, Skrill, and many others.

The financial reports and metrics on the Exness website are audited quarterly by Deloitte, one of the four largest public accounting firms globally.

Moreover, Exness is one of the mote transparent brokers in the online trading industry. Traders can find out all information about this company on the website, such as trading volume, number of active clients, client deposits, company funds, and many more.

The platforms provided by Exness vary in MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Web, and Mobile platforms. This makes it easy for traders when trading on Exness, as they can also access Exness platforms anywhere and anytime.

Over the years, Exness has developed into a broker that attracts traders. Trader's trust is further enhanced by its compliance with financial regulations like the FCA and CySEC.

One measure of client confidence can be put on the trading volume. By December 2018, their clients' monthly trading volume reached USD348.4 billion and active traders around the world surpassed 50,342.

Through the program offered by Exness, traders also have the opportunity to earn extra income by becoming their partners. From the Introducing Broker (IB) program, partners can earn up to 33% spread commission from every new client that registers with them.

Additional income can also be obtained from Exness Partners. Traders can get a spread commission of up to 25% per transaction made by traders who register through an affiliate link.

When trading with Exness, clients can also make use of its free VPS hosting services. A VPS (Virtual Private Server) offers increased reliability and stability for traders as they can maintain their trades and expert advisors without interruption in the event of unexpected technical issues, such as internet or electricity downtime.

From the review above, it can be concluded that Exness is a favorite broker for traders because of low spreads and flexible account types. This condition is very suitable for traders with limited funds but is in need of more opportunities to get maximum profit. This broker is also well known for its maximum support on both new and existing partners.

 

Understanding Broker Insurance

In the context of a brokerage account, insurance typically refers to a type of protection or coverage offered by the broker or a third-party insurance provider to safeguard certain assets held within the account. This insurance aims to provide compensation or reimbursement in the event of specific risks or losses.

Brokerage account insurance can vary depending on the brokerage firm and the type of account. Here are a few common forms of insurance in brokerage accounts:

  • According to jurisdictions: Each jurisdiction has a different way of protecting clients. For example, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) in place. This covers up to €20.000 per eligible client within the jurisdiction. 
  • Financial Commission: This insurance gives compensation funds for traders during unfortunate events of insolvencies. Normally, they will allocate several percentages of the monthly membership dues.
  • Third-party insurance: Sometimes, brokers buy insurance from a third-party company. For example, eToro uses Lloyd's of London to insure its clients.

It's important to note that insurance in brokerage accounts does not cover every type of risk or loss. For example, it typically does not protect against investment losses resulting from market downturns or poor investment decisions.

It primarily focuses on mitigating risks associated with brokerage firm failures or fraud. That's why it's always safe to choose a broker with clear regulations.