Pacific Prime is an insurance brokerage firm, not an insurer — it does not underwrite policies but instead helps individuals, families, and companies compare and purchase products from multiple international insurers including Bupa, Cigna, Allianz, AXA, April, MSH, and others. Pacific Prime is particularly well-established in China and was founded in Hong Kong with significant operations across mainland China.
For individual expatriates, Pacific Prime's primary value is in the plan comparison function. Their advisers are knowledgeable about the specific quirks of the China insurance market — including which insurers have the strongest hospital networks in specific cities, how offshore versus domestic policies affect claims in practice, and which insurers have the fastest claims payment records. This comparative knowledge is difficult to obtain when approaching insurers directly.
Pacific Prime earns commission from insurers upon successful policy placement. This means there is no direct advisory fee to the client for comparison services. The commission structure can theoretically influence recommendations, which is why asking advisers to justify their recommendations with specific plan comparisons is reasonable practice.
For employers, Pacific Prime administers group health insurance schemes of varying sizes, from small startups to larger multinational branch offices. Their HR-facing team can advise on compliance with Chinese social insurance requirements, how to structure a benefits package that supplements mandatory local contributions, and how to include expatriate and local Chinese staff under a coherent insurance framework.
Pacific Prime also publishes widely-read annual reports on international health insurance cost trends by country — the China edition is useful context for anyone budgeting for health insurance costs in China.