Cigna Global health insurance for expats in Asia

Cigna Global Health Options is a modular international private medical insurance (IPMI) plan built around inpatient cover. IPMIAsia explains the four plan levels, the premium levers, chronic-condition support and underwriting, and how the plan fits an expat life in Asia.

The four Cigna Global plan levels

Cigna Global Health Options (CGHO) is Cigna's international plan for expatriates. The design is modular: every policy starts with inpatient cover, and you then choose a cover level, add the modules you want, and decide how much cost to share in return for a lower premium. Cigna Close Care is a narrower, lower-cost plan for people who only need cover where they live.

The main difference between the three core tiers is the annual overall benefit maximum: the most the plan pays for one person in a policy year.

*Platinum is described as paid in full, subject to the annual overall benefit maximum in the plan documentation. Policies run for terms of 3 to 12 months and are renewable.

What the plan covers

Inpatient hospital treatment is the core of every level. The other elements sit on top as tiers or optional modules:

• Inpatient and day-patient: hospital stays, surgery and cancer care, always included.
• Outpatient: GP and specialist consultations, diagnostics and prescriptions, varying by tier or module.
• International Health and Wellbeing: an optional module covering screening and wellness benefits.
• International Evacuation and Crisis Assistance Plus: an optional module for medical evacuation and crisis support.

Compare two things before anything else: the annual overall maximum, and the area of cover. Cigna offers worldwide or worldwide excluding the USA, and leaving out the USA when you do not need it is the single biggest saving. Our guide to inpatient versus outpatient cover explains why the outpatient module is often the decision that matters most day to day.

Three ways to bring the premium down

Cigna gives you unusually fine control over what you pay. There are three levers, and they work together:

1. Deductible. An amount you pay each year before the plan starts paying. The options available depend on your plan currency.
2. Cost share. After the deductible, you pay a percentage of each bill: 0%, 10%, 20% or 30%. The higher the share you take on, the lower the premium.
3. Out-of-pocket maximum. A ceiling on how much your cost share can add up to in a year, so a bad year has a known limit.

Chronic condition support

Cigna's Chronic Condition Management programme is led by specialist nurses and supports members living with conditions such as pre-diabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, musculoskeletal pain and arthritis. The idea is active help with managing the condition rather than simply paying claims after the event.

Do not confuse this with underwriting. Ongoing support is a service the plan provides; whether a condition you already have is covered at all when you join is decided by underwriting, below.

Underwriting and pre-existing conditions

Underwriting is how an insurer decides what it will cover given your medical history. The terms you will meet across the market are:

FMU (Full Medical Underwriting)

You declare your history. The insurer reviews it and sets out, before you buy, what is covered, excluded or charged extra.

Moratorium

No upfront declaration. Conditions from a recent look-back period are excluded, and can become covered after a continuous symptom-free and treatment-free stretch, commonly two years.

CPME (Continued Personal Medical Exclusions)

When switching insurer, your current exclusions carry across unchanged, without fresh underwriting of new conditions.

CTT (Continued or Transfer Terms)

Moving from a previous plan onto broadly equivalent terms, often without being re-underwritten.

Cigna's own policy rules add a few points:

• Any change in your health between applying and your start date must be disclosed. Cigna can then adjust terms, add a loading or exclusion, or decline.
• Deliberately false or incomplete information can void the policy.
• A newborn can be added without medical underwriting, and without a waiting period or congenital exclusion, if at least one parent has been continuously covered for 12 months or more before the birth and you apply within 30 days. Outside that window, the baby is medically underwritten.
• There is a 14-day free-look period: cancel within 14 days of the start date for a full refund, provided no claim has been paid and no guarantee of payment has been issued.

The underwriting basis you are offered determines what is covered from day one. Nomi flags it during a comparison, and an experienced adviser confirms the terms before you buy. See our guide to pre-existing conditions for the fuller picture.

Direct billing and using the plan

• Direct billing: in-network outpatient visits can often be billed directly to Cigna. You show your Cigna Healthcare ID card at the facility.
• Finding providers: the Provider Search tool in Cigna's online Customer Area lists in-network hospitals, clinics and specialists by location and speciality.
• Prior authorisation: most outpatient treatment needs no pre-approval. Exceptions include genetic testing, infertility treatment, physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy beyond 10 sessions, and prescribed drugs beyond 3 months.
• Emergencies abroad: get treated first, show your ID card for direct billing, then contact Cigna's customer care.

Using Cigna Global from Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia

For an expat based in Asia, the area-of-cover decision usually comes down to worldwide excluding the USA. It covers you at home and across the region, including treatment in a neighbouring country, while leaving the US out of the price. Full worldwide cover is there if you spend real time in the United States.

Close Care suits people settled in one country who rarely leave it. It covers your country of residence and country of nationality only, so treatment in Singapore or Bangkok would fall outside it unless that is where you hold citizenship. For a family that moves between Asian hubs, the core tiers are the better fit. Our guide to regional versus worldwide cover in Asia walks through the trade-off.

Plan limits are published in US dollars, and the deductible options depend on your plan currency, so check the currency before comparing cost-share levels. IPMIAsia includes Cigna in every whole-market comparison it runs through Nomi.

Country pages: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan.

Who Cigna Global suits

A strong fit if you want a choice of cover levels, precise control of the premium through the deductible, cost share and out-of-pocket cap, active support for a chronic condition, and a large international network with direct billing.

Worth comparing alternatives if you only need cover where you live (Close Care or a regional plan may be cheaper), you are chasing the lowest entry-level price, or you want a moratorium underwriting option. Compare it with Allianz Care and IMG Global, or browse all insurers.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information, not personal or medical advice, and is based on Cigna Global Health Options plan documentation; exact terms, limits and underwriting are confirmed by the insurer at quote. Prices are indicative. Cigna and the Cigna logo are trademarks of the Cigna group of companies.