Orion International Insurance Services

What Orion International is

Orion International Insurance Services is a broker, not an insurer. Its footer describes it as "a highly specialized insurance brokerage focused on International Employee Benefits, Expatriate Health Insurance, High Risk Insurance, High Limit Disability Insurance & Travel Medical Coverage," based at 3790 Via de la Valle in Del Mar, California, with the line "Lic 0B20145". The site does not say which authority issued that license. Its brokers page adds: "For most carriers we are considered a Managing General Agency (MGA)," so Orion places business with insurance carriers and does not carry the risk; the carrier on a given policy depends on the plan chosen.

The homepage gives three reasons to use it. Experience: "over a decade in writing high risk coverage" for clients in war zones including Iraq, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Access: "Orion can access more international carriers and Lloyd's markets than other brokers." Cost: knowledge of niche markets and "what prices should be". Everything is sold by consultation: each product page ends in a contact form, and the homepage offers a free quote and the number 858-345-1405.

Individual international health insurance

The individual page says Orion serves US citizens residing abroad, foreign nationals residing abroad, key local nationals and people seeking top healthcare, with plans "ranging from basic levels of health insurance packages for people with limited budgets to the most extensive levels". Benefits it lists include emergency medical evacuation, local hospitalization, recognition by global provider networks, and online tools for policy information, ID cards and health and safety information.

For US citizens abroad, the page describes a plan it calls unusual among brokers: buyers can keep it on returning to the United States, use Medicare while in the US and overseas care abroad, and the page says it "is up to 40% lower in premium than traditional international health plans." It also offers a HIPAA certificate of credible coverage for a later change of plan. The page explains why it pitches this group: it says US insurers can end an individual or group plan for someone living outside the country "for more than 6 months to a year", that most US plans pay only for emergencies overseas, and that they offer no 24/7 assistance.

For foreign nationals living in the US, the page says home-country travel cover is likely to be capped, to lapse after a period of US residence and to go unrecognized by most US providers, while Orion's international plans are accepted by leading US facilities and carry a network of "100,000s of quality doctors". Two case studies illustrate it. A California winery's Chinese executive moved to China on a plan the page describes as having "unlimited lifetime coverage", and "Orion was also able to have the usual pre existing condition period waived." A California bank's foreign executive on a two-year San Francisco assignment got an international plan that let him take up US residence without breaching residency clauses.

Travel medical, group and high-risk cover

The travel page describes travel medical insurance as a supplement to health cover at home, noting "Medicare offers no overseas benefits for seniors." Group Corporate Plans are for companies sending staff abroad "for less than 6 months", priced on the travel days the whole company projects over 12 months, and "Unlike regular travel medical plans, preexisting conditions are typically covered." The page lists common features across its travel plans: global cover, "24/7 multilingual assistance", "most plans offer coverage from $50K to $1mil or more in total benefits", help finding care, online tools, renewal "for a limited amount of time", and pre-existing conditions "typically excluded but some plans have limited or full preexisting conditions coverage". Typical group clients are schools, corporations, missionary groups and NGOs.

Its case studies include a college prep school with 500 J1-visa students across 4 campuses in 4 states moved onto one travel medical plan, and a retired couple on an annual multi-trip plan where, by choosing a high level of cover, "their preexisting conditions were automatically covered".

High Risk Insurance serves organizations in "war zones, hostile environments, remote locations and disaster zones". Orion lists AD&D, accidental permanent total disability, global medical insurance, on-site clinics, medical and political evacuation, security, high-risk travel medical and help identifying local providers, with partners supplying Defense Base Act, foreign voluntary workers' compensation, liability, auto and property cover. It says products "can include coverage for war and terrorism" and are priced for the location. The page stresses parity between employees' overseas medical cover and what their families keep at home, and a case study describes a US military contractor with staff in Iraq and Afghanistan whose plan "incorporated benefits that included acts of war and terrorism" while families at home used a large US PPO network. The page invites companies, NGOs, mission organizations, security firms and brokers to ask for pricing, including organizations pricing cover in order to bid on contracts.

Disability and employer benefits

The disability page covers High Limit Disability Insurance for high earners "(typically over $350K)", with "benefits of $200,000 a month or more", global cover and "the backing of Lloyd's of London", plus athlete disability cover and expatriate disability cover, which the page says Orion writes for individuals and groups in occupations from construction, mining and oil drilling to accountants, attorneys and executives. Group versions can be written with "no medical underwriting". Its worked example for a client earning $600,000 shows a level benefit of $17,500 a month for 60 months, or an up-front lump sum of up to 10 times income.

For employers, the international benefits page offers plan design for expatriates, travelers, third-country nationals and foreign nationals in the US, carrier marketing, PPACA compliance and renewal negotiation, under a headline saying Orion has lowered renewal premiums by 35%. Related services include international EAP, disaster preparedness and business travel accident cover. Other brokers can use Orion as their international department, and the page says "commissions go to you." A separate page refers employers to Blueback Global, a Cupertino company, for hiring staff abroad without a local entity; that is a referral, not insurance.

Who it suits

Orion fits a US citizen abroad who wants international cover that works alongside Medicare, a foreign national needing cover recognized in the US, an employer sending staff overseas or into high-risk regions, and a domestic broker who needs an international partner. Everyone reaches a price through a consultation rather than an online quote.