Bupa sells five bundled tiers. Cigna sells one core plan plus four optional modules. Compare them tier-name to tier-name and you get the wrong answer, because you're comparing different products.
All figures USD, per person, per policy year.
At a glance
| Bupa Global | Cigna Global | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual limit | $3.4m Major Medical · $1.7m Select · $2.55m Premier · $5.1m Elite · unlimited Ultimate | $1m Silver · $2m Gold · unlimited Platinum |
| Outpatient | Inside the tier: none on Major Medical, then $12,800 · $25,500 · $85,000 · unlimited | Separate paid module: $15,000 · $35,000 · unlimited |
| Maternity | Elite and Ultimate only. 18-month wait | Gold and Platinum only. 12 months — 24 months in Hong Kong or Singapore |
| Routine delivery | $17,000 (Elite) · full (Ultimate) | $7,000 (Gold) · $14,000 (Platinum) |
| Complications | $34,000 (Elite) · full (Ultimate) | $14,000 (Gold) · $28,000 (Platinum) |
| Newborn care | $31,250 (Elite) · $62,500 (Ultimate) | $75,000 (Gold) · $156,000 (Platinum) |
| Evacuation | Included on every tier, paid in full | Optional paid module |
| Inpatient mental health | Paid in full, every tier | $5,000 / 30 days · $10,000 / 60 days · 90 days |
| Deductibles | Up to $22,550. Major Medical: UK residents only | $0–$10,000 plus 0–30% cost share. All residents |
| Free children | Ultimate only — two per parent, under 16 | None |
| Family discount | Select and Premier only — 10% / 15% | None published |
Three things the brochures don't advertise
Bupa's ladder goes down before it goes up. Major Medical carries a $3.4m limit — higher than Select ($1.7m) and Premier ($2.55m) above it. Transplants follow the same shape: $850,000 versus $340,000 and $680,000. Major Medical is a pure catastrophe plan, so Bupa can afford the height. If your real fear is a cancer episode rather than GP bills, Select is a downgrade, not an upgrade.
The catch for Asia: Major Medical's deductible options are restricted to UK and Channel Islands residents. In Hong Kong or Singapore you cannot use a deductible to bring that premium down.
Evacuation is included on all five Bupa tiers and is a paid add-on at Cigna. Almost every price comparison online ignores this. A Cigna quote without the module is not comparable to any Bupa quote.
Cigna's outpatient limits contain sub-limits. Gold's $35,000 headline caps consultations at $5,000, drugs at $3,000, diagnostics at $5,000. A Singapore family that uses outpatient care normally exhausts the sub-limit, never the limit. Bupa's outpatient benefit has visit counts but no separate money cap on consultations.
Maternity: the rule that decides it in HK and Singapore
Cigna's published wait is 12 months. But its own footnote states that for maternity treatment incurred in Hong Kong or Singapore, the benefit applies only after 24 continuous months of cover. The same applies to pre- and post-natal care.
Bupa's wait is 18 months, everywhere. So in your two most likely markets, Bupa's "longer" wait is six months shorter.
On limits, there is no single winner. Bupa Elite beats Cigna Platinum on the delivery ($17,000 vs $14,000) and on complications ($34,000 vs $28,000). Cigna Platinum beats Bupa Ultimate on newborn care by two and a half times ($156,000 vs $62,500). A private delivery is a cost you can estimate; a premature baby in neonatal care is the one that ruins people — and that claim lands under newborn care.
Two lines almost nobody reads:
- Bupa covers caesarean only where medically essential. Elective by maternal choice is not covered.
- Bupa's child-born-into-policy-without-underwriting benefit sits on Elite and Ultimate. Cigna states the newborn may require underwriting. If your baby is born with a congenital condition, that line decides whether the child is insurable at standard terms for life.
Families: Bupa's two cost mechanisms never overlap
Free children are Ultimate only. The 10%/15% discount is Select and Premier only. Elite gets neither — a family of four on Elite pays four full premiums at the least efficient point on the whole ladder. Ultimate is often closer in price than expected.
The verdict
Bupa if you want evacuation and full inpatient mental health as standard, you're planning a baby in HK or Singapore, or you want maximum catastrophic limit for minimum premium (Major Medical).
Cigna if newborn cover is your priority, you want real deductible control as a non-UK resident, or you want a high inpatient limit without paying for outpatient you won't use.
Neither yet if maternity is the whole reason you're buying — quote Now Health and Allianz alongside.
Before signing, verify three lines on your own quotation: the maternity wait for your country of treatment, whether evacuation is actually included, and the exact wording of any loading applied to your medical history.
EM DATA — median annual premium, age 40, HK and Singapore, single / couple / family of four, worldwide excluding US, standard underwriting.
“Ask Mira to compare Bupa and Cigna for your age, country and family plans — real 2026 premiums at matched coverage, not brochure headlines.”
Written and verified by Jean-Marc Herbet — Managing Director, Expat Medicare. Thirty years advising expatriates on international private medical insurance across Asia. Expat Medicare is a licensed IPMI brokerage. General information from the insurers' published 2026 schedules, not personal advice. Limits, waiting periods and sub-limits vary by underwriting entity, market, currency and policy year. Refer to the policy documents issued with your quotation.
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