Cigna is a global leader in health insurance, offering plans designed for flexibility and mobility. These plans cover illnesses and injuries that require overnight hospitalization, with most options also including additional coverage for outpatient services, maternity, or dental care. Inpatient benefits typically cover room and board, surgeries, treatments, hospitalization, and emergency evacuations. All policies are structured on an annual basis, with premiums covering eligible expenses up to a set limit.

Cigna offers two coverage options: one that provides worldwide protection (excluding the USA) and another that offers full worldwide coverage. If you choose a plan that excludes the USA, you’re still covered for unexpected emergencies and illnesses while traveling there, with a minimum coverage amount of $100,000.

Since health insurance is a for-profit business, individuals with pre-existing conditions are considered higher risk. Insurers use medical underwriting to assess that risk and may exclude certain conditions, add a fee (known as loading), or cover milder conditions with an extra charge. Some plans offer a moratorium period for non-chronic conditions—typically excluding these for about 2 years before coverage begins. For larger employer groups, policies may not require detailed medical histories. Cigna follows a full medical underwriting model, meaning applicants with significant chronic conditions might be denied coverage, while milder conditions can be accepted with loading.

Premiums are set annually and may rise due to factors like medical inflation, the insurer’s past performance, and overall claims experience. Cigna uses a community rating approach, so any premium adjustments apply uniformly across the plan, although factors such as age can also affect the increase. Some plans use age bands, resulting in larger jumps at certain age intervals.

No, Cigna offers direct billing for both inpatient and outpatient services. This means that payments are settled directly between Cigna and the healthcare provider, so you won’t have to pay out-of-pocket at the time of treatment.

While Cigna’s international health plans are based on an annual policy, some plans allow you to pay in installments. However, fees apply—there is a 12% fee for monthly payments and an 8% fee for quarterly payments.

Yes, Cigna offers group health insurance plans for employers. There are two options: one requires full medical underwriting (where each employee’s medical history is assessed) and the other, designed for larger groups, does not require individual medical histories, which is the only option for covering certain conditions. Group plans are available for companies with as few as 3 employees under full underwriting, or 10 employees for the medical history disregarded option.