Cigna health insurance reviews for the UK are mostly reviews of something other than ordinary UK private medical insurance. For people living in the UK, Cigna's own UK documents describe international private medical insurance, sold as the Global Silver, Gold and Platinum plans and a narrower Close Care plan. This page weighs those plans on what the documents print, and uses no star rating. If you are deciding between an international plan and a UK-based one, an FCA-authorised broker can talk that choice through by phone, free, once you submit this page's form.
Which Cigna policy is a UK review really about?
A UK reader meets Cigna in two different ways, and reviews blur them. One is individual cover: the product summaries for UK customers say the Global plans are "International Private Medical Insurance for British citizens and expatriates residing in the UK", and the Close Care summary says it is for "expatriates residing in the UK". The other is group business: Cigna's UK site says it has more than 60 years of experience running international group health programmes for employers and organisations, and that it also provides "health services for globally mobile individuals". A complaint about an employer's expatriate scheme says little about a policy you would buy yourself.
The UK summaries name the insurer as Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V., UK branch, "authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority" and "subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority". Cigna European Services (UK) Limited administers the policy as an appointed representative. The summaries carry the print codes CEIC UK EN 02/2025 (Silver, Gold and Platinum) and CEIC UK EXP EN 09/2024 (Close Care), and each points to the Policy Rules and Customer Guide for full terms, so check the version sent with your quote.
The individual plans are covered in more depth on Cigna individual health insurance in the UK. For how international cover is judged in general, see expatriate health insurance reviewed.
What the tiers mean when you read a Cigna review
Eligibility, the limits for each of Silver, Gold, Platinum and Close Care, and the family and newborn rules are set out on Cigna individual health insurance in the UK, so they are not repeated here. What matters for a review is the shape of the ladder. The product summaries print each limit in dollars, euros and pounds, and no premium is given: international cover is priced individually, so no market range fits it.
The base plans centre on hospital and day-patient treatment. On all three Global plans, specialist consultation fees are covered for hospital stays and day-patient treatment only unless the optional outpatient module is added, and dental, wellbeing and evacuation are separate modules too. A complaint that Cigna refused to pay for a routine appointment may simply mean the module was not bought. As a general rule, a lower overall limit or a smaller module usually brings the premium down. Close Care is narrower again, applying in the country of residence and country of nationality only.
The conditions that decide a Cigna claim
Every restriction below comes from the same UK summaries, so check it against the Policy Rules and Customer Guide you would receive after buying.
- Prior approval. "You must obtain prior-approval before treatment", and for referenced inpatient, daypatient and some outpatient treatment, "we will reduce the amount we pay by 20%" if approval was not obtained.
- Deductible and cost share. If you choose either, you pay it directly to the hospital, clinic, practitioner or pharmacy, and a 10%, 20% or 30% cost share reduces what Cigna pays by that percentage.
- Waiting periods. On Silver, the first 12 months for cancer preventative surgery and major restorative dental treatment, the first three months for preventative and routine dental, and 18 months for orthodontics. Gold adds 12 months for routine maternity and 24 months for obesity treatment.
- Day caps. Per person per policy year, Silver allows 30 days each of home nursing, rehabilitation and mental health care and Gold 60; Platinum allows 90 for rehabilitation and mental health and 120 for home nursing. The rehabilitation and mental health caps apply to inpatient and day-patient care, even on Platinum, where no money limit is printed for mental health.
- The USA. Treatment in the USA outside the Cigna network is reduced by 20%.
- Treatment in your country of nationality. An expatriate is covered there only within a 180-day home cover period, and only if that country is inside the chosen area of coverage, but "For British citizens, you will not be subject to the 180 day home cover period when you are resident in the UK."
The "not insured" lists differ by plan. Silver excludes maternity, sleep disorders and obesity treatment; Silver, Gold and Close Care list infertility treatment as not insured, while Platinum's outpatient module includes infertility investigations and treatment after a 24-month wait; surrogacy is on every list. Close Care also excludes congenital conditions and organ transplants. Because a review rarely says which plan its author held, an exclusion complaint is only meaningful once you know the tier.
Pre-existing conditions and the medical history you give
The summaries state that "You must provide full medical history as required". On existing conditions, the Silver summary says: "We may agree to include certain pre-existing conditions at an additional premium in some circumstances". Cigna's own cover explainer adds that medical history is reflected in the price, and that a plan may or may not include pre-existing conditions. Neither passage promises that a given condition will be accepted, so put a condition-specific question to Cigna in writing before you buy, and keep the answer.
Service features Cigna documents, and how complaints run
Reviews are usually about service, so these are the claims Cigna makes for itself. They are Cigna's statements, not measured performance. Its UK page says: "We aim to process claims within 5 working days after we receive all necessary documentation." It also says "Direct billing available in most cases", and every plan lists unlimited Global Telehealth consultations.
The UK Policy Rules for both Global Health Options and Close Care send a complaint to Cigna first and then say: "If the complaint is not resolved, the complaint may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman at:" the Financial Ombudsman Service in London, whose decision binds Cigna but not you. Cigna's online complaints procedure, which it says is for customers served by a European licence, aims to acknowledge a complaint within 5 working days and to send a final written decision, or a letter explaining the delay, within eight weeks.
Reading a Cigna review: four checks
- Which plan: Close Care, Silver, Gold or Platinum, and was the outpatient module added?
- Which country: the reviewer's cover may have been for treatment abroad, where the network and rules differ.
- Which route: individual policy or an employer's scheme.
- Which edition: benefits change from one version of the documents to the next, so an older review may describe different limits.
Whether a UK-based plan would suit you better is outside what a review can settle. Setting an international plan beside private medical insurance sold only to UK residents is a comparison a broker can walk through; the expat health insurance and UK citizens living abroad pages cover the wider decision.
Six things to get in writing from Cigna
- Which plan and modules is the quote for, and what is each annual and per-benefit limit?
- What deductible or cost share is chosen, and how does it change the premium?
- Would my existing conditions be included, excluded or loaded, in writing?
- What are the waiting periods and day caps on the benefits I care about?
- Which hospitals are in the network, and does direct billing apply to them?
- How is the premium reviewed at renewal, and in which currency?
Other things UK readers ask about Cigna
Is Cigna authorised to sell health insurance in the UK?
The UK summaries name a UK branch of a Belgian insurer, authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA, with limited PRA regulation. The UK Policy Rules name the same UK branch. Cigna's corporate site, cigna.co.uk, separately names a Guernsey company, Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, as its underwriter, so check which insurer your Certificate of Insurance names.
Is Cigna's cover the same as a UK company health scheme?
No. Employer group schemes are arranged separately from the individual plans described here, so a review of one does not describe the other.
Do I have to be an expat to ask about Close Care?
Yes. Clause 1.1 of the Close Care Policy Rules (print code CEIC UK EN 09/2024) says: "This policy is only offered to beneficiaries who are expatriates." The summary adds that it covers you in your country of residence and country of nationality only. A British citizen living in the UK would look at the Global plans instead, which the UK Policy Rules offer to British citizens residing in the UK as well as to expatriates.
The single next step is a written quote for the exact plan and modules you would buy, read against the conditions above. If you want that quote set beside UK-based cover, send the enquiry form and the broker this site introduces will ring you to compare it.