Why Expats and Travelers Use a Broker to Get International Insurance
International brokers can save you money on expat health insurance and travel insurance by negotiating with the coverage provider on your behalf, comparing and analyzing the plans available across the market to find the best deal, and customizing the plan to your needs and budget.
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Global insurance brokers do much more than just save you money. They act as your closest ally and advocate on your insurance journey, from start to finish of your entire insurance policy period.
Are you an expatriate looking to get the most affordable and highest-quality long-term international health insurance? Are you a short-term or multi-annual traveler looking to secure travel insurance for your worldwide adventures? Are you seeking coverage for your business?
Look no further – this blog post is designed for you!
We will introduce you to who an insurance broker is, what they do, and the many ways working with a broker can benefit you and your insurance choices. We’ll also clarify how a broker gets paid and why Pacific Prime is the right brokerage for you!
After reading, contact one of Pacific Prime’s insurance experts to get your questions answered and learn how we can serve you. We are here to help meet all of your international health insurance and travel insurance needs!
Brokers Save You Money on Travel and Health Insurance
International brokers assist expats and travelers in securing the travel and health insurance they need. Global brokers are insurance advisors who partner with both travel insurance and expat health insurance providers and use their connections and market knowledge to get you the best deal.
To help you understand the relevance of insurance brokers in the insurance industry, this article will break down who international brokers are and how they serve expats and travelers.
What an International Insurance Broker Is
An international insurance broker is a professional intermediary who helps individuals and businesses find the right insurance policies for their global needs. They provide a range of services to secure the best insurance coverage possible within the market of your chosen countries.
What a Global Insurance Broker Does
Some key functions and characteristics of international insurance brokers include sharing their market knowledge and expertise with their clients, assessing their clients’ risks, negotiating with insurance companies on their behalf, and assisting with claims submission.
Here’s a brief breakdown of more of the key responsibilities of an international insurance broker:
- Market Knowledge and Expertise: International brokers have extensive knowledge of the global insurance market. They understand the nuances of different insurance products and regulations in various countries, enabling them to provide well-informed advice to their clients.
- Risk Assessment and Management: They assess risks their clients face and recommend appropriate insurance coverage. This involves understanding the client’s business operations, geographic exposure, and potential liabilities.
- Policy Procurement: Brokers negotiate with multiple insurance carriers to obtain the most favorable terms and coverage for their clients. They have relationships with insurers worldwide, giving them access to a broad range of insurance products and markets.
- Compliance and Regulation: International brokers ensure that their clients’ insurance policies comply with local laws and regulations in each country where they live and travel.They stay informed of changes in regulation requirements to help clients know what is expected of them (an example would be how expats in Thailand are required to have health insurance).
- Claims Assistance: Brokers assist their clients in the claims process, advocating on their behalf to guarantee timely and fair settlements from insurance companies.
- Specialized Coverage: They often provide specialized insurance solutions for complex or unique risks, such as political risk insurance, trade credit insurance, and global liability coverage. This is especially true for business insurance needs.
- Cost Savers: By leveraging their market knowledge and negotiating skills, brokers can often get better pricing and terms for their clients than the clients might be able to get on their own.
- Consultation Services: Brokers offer consultation services beyond just finding an insurance policy. Some examples include risk management advice, insurance program design, and strategic planning for global insurance needs.
How a Broker is Different from an Insurance Agent
An insurance broker and an insurance agent both serve as intermediaries between the insurance buyer and the insurance company but differ in their roles, loyalties, and scope of work. Brokers represent the client, while agents represent the insurance provider.
Below are the main differences between an insurance broker and an insurance agent.
Insurance Broker
- Representation: Brokers represent the interests of the insurance buyer (client) rather than the insurance company.
- Independence: They operate independently and are not tied to any single insurance company. This allows them to offer a wider range of insurance 0products from multiple insurers.
- Market Access: Brokers have access to a broader market, enabling them to compare policies from various insurers to find the best coverage and pricing for their clients.
- Client Relationship: The primary duty of a broker is to their clients. They provide advice, assist in risk assessment, and recommend suitable insurance products based on the client’s specific needs.
- Fees and Commissions: Brokers typically earn commissions from the insurers they place business with, but they may also charge clients fees for their services.
- Scope of Services: Brokers often offer additional services such as risk management advice, claims assistance, and consultations about complex or specialized insurance needs.
Insurance Agent
- Representation: Agents represent one or more insurance companies and act on their behalf to sell their products.
- Ties to Insurers: There are two main types of agents: Captive Agents who work exclusively for one insurance company and Independent Agents who represent multiple insurance companies but still have contractual agreements with each.
- Product Range: Captive agents offer products from a single insurer, while independent agents can offer products from multiple insurers, but their range is generally more limited compared to brokers.
- Insurer Relationship: The primary duty of an agent is to the insurance company they represent, aiming to match the company’s products with potential buyers.
- Earnings: Agents typically earn commissions from the insurance companies they represent. They might also receive bonuses or incentives based on sales performance.
- Service Focus: Agents focus on selling policies and providing customer service related to the policies they sell. Their role is less consultative compared to brokers.
These differences make brokers more suitable for clients who want tailored, comprehensive insurance solutions, especially in complex or international situations. Agents are ideal for straightforward insurance needs and personal lines of insurance in a local market.
Why Expats and Travelers Should Use a Broker to Buy Insurance
Expats, digital nomads, and long-term and short-term travelers alike will all want to benefit from the services offered to them by brokers. Buying insurance through a broker can save you money, introduce you to more options, and simplify your navigation of an unfamiliar international market.
Let’s discuss several strong reasons why travelers choose to use a broker when purchasing insurance overseas.
Insurance Brokers Show You More Choices to Consider
Insurance brokers can present coverage plans from dozens of insurance companies to their clients, not to mention they can help you navigate the many plans offered by a single insurance provider. This widens your understanding of how many choices you have so you more clearly see what’s available.
If you’re concerned that having more choices may become overwhelming, don’t worry. Brokers know how to cater the plans they recommend to just the ones that meet your needs so that, in the end, you save yourself a lot of time searching the internet about plans that won’t work for you.
Experienced Insurance Brokers Do the Research for You
Working with an experienced insurance broker saves you time and energy in researching insurance plans yourself. It is easy to get lost in the thousands of insurance policies available online as you sift through hundreds that aren’t anywhere close to meeting your needs.
An insurance broker can weed out all the plans that don’t fit your criteria, so they only present the plans that appeal to you. Brokers can do the plan comparisons and analysis for you and then talk you through the best options that meet your priorities for your situation. They also can help you customize your plan.
Brokers Save You Money on International Insurance
Brokers can save you money on international insurance because they direct you toward the best plans that meet your healthcare needs and have the best monetary value. Brokers can also save you money because they assist you with negotiating your policy criteria and submitting claims.
As brokers advise you on your policy selection and then negotiate with the provider on your behalf, they can save you money by:
- Finding the most cost-effective balance for your budget in terms of your premiums, deductibles, and cost-sharing expenses
- Submitting your insurance claims to make sure you are reimbursed for your qualifying out-of-pocket medical bills
- Leveraging their relationship with the insurance provider to get you a decreased insurance rate
- Comparing and analyzing many insurance policies and providers until they find the most cost-effective plan for you
Brokers Focus on Finding the Solution that’s Best for You
Because insurance brokers represent the insured individual, their focus is on making you happy. A broker’s commitment to finding the best solution for your healthcare needs is a treasure worth cherishing because it so bluntly contrasts an insurance agent’s focus on earning their company money.
This commitment to representing and supporting you allows brokers to give unbiased advice about what would work best for you. They don’t pressure you to purchase from any specific insurance provider since brokers typically partner with dozens of providers, and it doesn’t matter to them which one you choose.
This allows you to take a broker’s hard-earned industry advice and then decide for yourself what is right.
Insurance Brokers Offer Additional Services Without Charge
A global insurance broker’s services do not end when your insurance policy is signed. Instead, they continue to offer many more services without charge.
These services include:
- Submitting and following up on insurance claims you need to make to be reimbursed
- Renewing insurance policies after the policy ends
- Finding a new insurance policy if you want to switch after the policy ends
- Walking you through what your policy does and doesn’t include until you feel confident you understand all of its details
- Answering any questions you have about your policy while in the selection process or throughout the policy period as you seek medical care
- Adapting to post-pandemic challenges in flexible ways
International Brokers Serve as Your Educated Advocate
Expats and travelers abroad gain an educated advocate when they hire an international broker. This is because brokers advocate and negotiate on their behalf with insurance providers, saving you the hassle of talking to your provider, sorting through claims mishaps, and more.
Brokers Compare Multiple Insurance Companies In One Place
A huge resource \you can’t get by going directly to an insurance company is the comparison capabilities of an insurance broker. Experienced brokers like Pacific Prime gather information and quotes from many different insurance companies all in one place.
This differs from how a single insurance company only presents its plans but none of its competitors.
Using a broker’s comparison tools makes it tremendously easier to analyze the intricate differences and similarities between plans, toggle back and forth between how adjusting your deductible or premium for each plan would change your cost, save your favorite plans on the same page, and much more.
Insurance Brokers Can Get You the Same Coverage as Agents
Another benefit is that insurance brokers have access to getting their clients the exact same coverage plans that insurance agents can offer. You won’t have any limited access to insurance plans on the market by using a broker.
On the contrary, you’ll likely know about many more plans than other individuals who don’t work with a broker since an agent will only pitch the plans offered by the company(ies) he/she represents.
Brokers Have Country-Specific Knowledge and Networks
Using a broker is particularly important when purchasing insurance overseas. International brokers have country-specific knowledge, experience, and understanding of what is available and what is legally required. When traveling to a new country, you’ll want the advice of an expert in that region.
Brokers also partner with insurance providers and medical providers all around the world, so they can help you become a member of a well-established network in your country.
How Insurance Brokers Get Paid – And It’s Not By You!
Insurance brokers have partnership arrangements with insurance companies. An insurance company agrees to pay the broker a commission sum if they refer clients to their company. This means that you, the client, do not pay your broker a penny. Your insurance provider does!
You have the great privilege of benefiting from your insurance broker’s knowledge, expertise, and services for free!
It will cost you the same amount of money for insurance coverage if you go directly to the insurance provider’s agents or if you hire a broker to negotiate with them for you, so why not benefit from a broker’s advice and support?
It is also a reality that your insurance policy will not increase in price to accommodate for the commission the insurance company needs to pay your broker. In fact, most insurance companies rely on brokers to bring customers to them—it’s the nature of the insurance market.
So, in short, consulting a broker about your insurance needs is completely free!
Disclaimer: This section describes how Pacific Prime earns an income. Other brokers may choose to charge their clients for their services, so you should ask about their charging policy before hiring them.
Why Pacific Prime is the Right Broker for You
Pacific Prime has been an international insurance broker for over 20 years since 2000! We have established operations all over the globe, including in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, London, New York, and more. We have over 1,000 employees and have insured over 1.5 million people.
Pacific Prime has received many awards, including but not limited to the Cigna Middle East – Individual Broker of the Year Award in 2023, Allianz Partners – Top Individual Producer Award in 2023, and many others from insurance providers MSH China, Pacific Cross, Aetna, and AXA.
We partner with insurance providers who provide solutions for various insurance needs, including:
- International Health Insurance (for individuals and for families)
- Global Maternity Insurance
- Dental Insurance Abroad
- Insurance for Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
- Expat Health Insurance
- Travel Insurance
- Property and Casualty Insurance
- Corporate Insurance Needs
- And more!
Our goal is to simplify insurance for anyone traveling or living internationally. Originating with our very own expatriate CEO, Neil Raymond, we care about expats, travelers, and global nomads alike and want to make getting coverage as easy as it can be.
Pacific Prime may be the right broker for you if:
- You’re moving abroad and want help with the international insurance market
- You want a supportive ally who can assist you with all things insurance while abroad
- You’re looking for the best insurance plan for your situation
- You want unbiased advice from a seasoned industry professional
- You want to save money
To learn more about how we can serve you, reach out to one of our insurance experts today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What do international insurance brokers do?
International insurance brokers help clients find and secure insurance policies across different countries. They provide expertise in global insurance markets and tailored coverage options, and they also support their clients through claims processing and policy renewals.
How do I choose a good international insurance broker?
Choose a good international insurance broker by researching their reputation, experience, range of services, client reviews, and industry certifications. These qualities can give you an idea of the brokers’ reliability, competency, and customer service.
What types of insurance can international brokers provide?
International insurance brokers offer various insurance products, including health, travel, property, liability, expatriate, and business insurance, each of which is tailored to international needs. Brokers may specialize in a specific product, such as how Pacific Prime specializes in expat health.
Are international insurance brokers more expensive than local brokers?
The costs of an international insurance broker will vary. Some brokers might charge higher fees for compensation for their many services, while other brokers do not charge a dime because they make their earnings through insurance providers’ compensation. No reputable broker will charge you.
What are the benefits of using an international insurance broker?
Benefits of partnering with a global insurance broker include access to diverse policies, expertise in global markets, tailored solutions for cross-border needs, and assistance navigating complex international regulations.
Conclusion: How to Find Out More
Now that you have a strong understanding of who a broker is and what one does, you’re ready to find the broker that’s right for you. Pacific Prime is an experienced brokerage that is ready to serve you no matter where you are living around the globe.
We highly encourage you to learn more about our story and to talk with one of our insurance representatives to ask any questions you may have about what it would be like to work with us as you seek your insurance solutions.
We also have written a blog post about how to choose an insurance broker that may be very helpful for you.
If you’re ready to dive in and get a taste of the types of services Pacific Prime can offer you, try out our free online insurance quote comparison tool. You can use it to compare insurance plans side by side, read policy coverage details, get quote estimates, and save your favorite plans to return to later.
Recommended Blog Posts
Other blog posts we recommend reading include our Comprehensive Health Insurance Guide for Foreign Residents and Finding the Best Worldwide Medical Insurance Coverage.
Serena earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As such, she is an avid advocate of mental health and is fascinated by all things psychology (especially if it’s cognitive psychology!).
Her previous work experience includes teaching toddlers to read, writing for a travel/wellness online magazine, and then a business news blog. These combined experiences give her the skills and insights she needs to explain complex ideas in a succinct way. Being the daughter of an immigrant and a traveler herself, she is passionate about educating expats and digital nomads on travel and international health insurance.
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