Cigna Global health insurance for expats in the Gulf and Europe

Cigna Global Health Options is a modular international plan: an inpatient core, three cover levels plus Close Care, and three levers that move the premium. IPMIEMEA explains how it works and how it fits expats living in the Gulf or Europe.

How Cigna Global is put together

Cigna Global Health Options (CGHO) is Cigna's international private medical insurance (IPMI) for expatriates aged 18 and over. Every plan starts with inpatient hospital cover; you pick one of three cover levels, add the modules you want, and decide how much of each claim to carry yourself. Alongside the three main levels sits Cigna Close Care, a narrower plan that only covers you in your country of residence and your country of nationality.

The level sets the annual overall benefit maximum, which is the most the plan pays for one person in a policy year.

Platinum's "paid in full" remains subject to the annual overall benefit maximum in the plan documents, so read the table of benefits rather than assuming it is unlimited. Cover runs in terms of three to twelve months and renews.

What the core and the modules cover

• Inpatient and day-patient treatment, surgery and cancer care form the core and are always included.
• Outpatient cover brings in GP and specialist consultations, diagnostics and prescriptions, with the detail set by your tier or module.
• International Health and Wellbeing is an optional module for screening and wellness benefits.
• International Evacuation and Crisis Assistance Plus is an optional module for medical evacuation and crisis support.

Two choices shape the price before any module is added: the cover level and the area of cover, which is either worldwide or worldwide excluding the USA. If you will not be treated in the United States, leaving it out is the largest single saving. Our guide to inpatient versus outpatient cover explains the outpatient decision.

Three ways to lower the premium

Cigna gives you three independent levers. Used together they can bring a Gold plan close to a Silver price.

• Deductible. The amount you pay in a year before the plan starts paying. The options available depend on the currency your plan is set up in.
• Cost share. After the deductible you pay a fixed percentage of each eligible bill: 0%, 10%, 20% or 30%. The higher the share, the lower the premium.
• Out-of-pocket maximum. A ceiling on what your cost share can add up to in a year, so a bad year has a known worst case.

Chronic conditions and underwriting

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 aim is active help in managing the condition, not only paying claims afterwards.

Whether a condition you already have is covered when you join is a separate matter, decided by underwriting: Cigna's assessment of the medical history you declare. The policy rules worth knowing before you apply:

• Any change in your health between applying and your start date must be disclosed. Cigna can then adjust the terms, add a premium loading or an exclusion, or decline.
• The application must be accurate and complete. Deliberately false information can void the policy.
• A newborn can be added without medical underwriting, waiting period or congenital exclusion if at least one parent has been covered continuously for 12 months or more before the birth and you apply within 30 days. Otherwise 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.

Our guide to pre-existing conditions sets out full medical underwriting, moratorium and transfer terms in plain English, so you can see where Cigna's disclosure-based approach sits against the rest of the market.

Direct billing, pre-approval and emergencies

• In-network outpatient visits can often be billed directly to Cigna when you show your Cigna Healthcare ID card, so you are not out of pocket.
• The Provider Search tool in Cigna's online Customer Area finds in-network hospitals, clinics and specialists by location and speciality.
• Most outpatient treatment needs no prior authorisation. The exceptions are genetic testing, infertility treatment, physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy beyond 10 sessions, and prescribed drugs beyond three months.
• In an emergency abroad, get treated first, show the ID card so the facility can bill directly, then contact Cigna's customer care.

Using Cigna Global from the Gulf or Europe

Both of Cigna's area options include the Gulf and Europe. Worldwide excluding the USA is the natural starting point for someone based in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Bahrain who travels home to Europe, because the whole of that journey sits inside the area. Full worldwide cover is for people who expect planned treatment in the United States.

Close Care suits a specific profile: it covers your country of residence and your country of nationality only. A British national living in Spain or Portugal would be covered in both countries, with a US$500,000 maximum and a lower premium than the main levels. It is not the right plan if you move between countries or travel widely for work. Our guide to Europe regional versus worldwide cover looks at this decision in more depth.

Cigna's published maximums are in US dollars, and the deductible options depend on the plan currency, so confirm the billing currency at quote.

In the Gulf states, residents generally need a locally compliant health policy, usually arranged by the employer, and an international plan is normally bought on top of it or by people the local scheme does not reach. The rules change, so check the current position with your employer or the local regulator, and read our guide to mandatory Gulf health insurance and top-up cover. In Germany and the United Kingdom the question is instead how an international plan sits beside the public system, which those country pages cover.

Who Cigna Global suits

Cigna Global fits people who want to choose a cover level and then fine-tune the premium with a deductible, cost share and out-of-pocket cap, who value nurse-led support for an ongoing condition, and who want a large international network with direct billing. IPMIEMEA readers most often weigh it against Allianz Care and IMG Global; see Cigna vs Allianz and Cigna vs IMG.

Compare carefully if you only need cover where you live and Close Care does not fit your countries, if the lowest entry price is the priority, or if you want a moratorium or other underwriting basis that Cigna does not offer. Nomi ranks the market on your own details.

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.