Cigna Global vs Allianz Care: International Health Insurance Comparison 2026

How do Cigna Global and Allianz Care compare at a glance?

Cigna Global and Allianz Care differ most on evacuation, underwriting, entry age and cancellation. The table uses the same 17 rows, in the same order, as our Cigna Global vs Bupa Global and Bupa Global vs Allianz Care comparisons.

Who insures you with Cigna Global and Allianz Care?

Cigna Global is underwritten by Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited in Guernsey, regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Singapore policies are the exception: they are underwritten by Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V. Singapore Branch. Cigna Global is still part of The Cigna Group, whose second-quarter 2026 filing reports the international health business inside Cigna Healthcare. The exit Cigna announced in April 2026 concerns US Individual and Family Plans, not Cigna Global Health Options.

Allianz Care is a brand. The insurer is AWP Health & Life SA, a French company acting through its Irish branch in Dublin, regulated by France's Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR). Allianz's regulatory information page states that the policy "is governed by French law unless otherwise required". If you ever need to complain or dispute a claim, those are the rules and the regulator that apply.

How do the annual limits compare?

Cigna Global has the wider range at both ends: a smaller local plan at the bottom and no ceiling at the top.

Tiers do not line up one to one, so compare the tier you would buy, not the tier with the same position. Cigna's Close Care is a different product from the rest: it covers only your country of residence and your country of nationality, with US$40,000 for emergencies on temporary trips elsewhere. On Cigna's other plans that exclude the USA, emergency treatment outside your area has its own cap: US$100,000 on Silver, US$250,000 on Gold, paid in full on Platinum.

What is in the core plan, and what do you add?

Cigna Global and Allianz Care both start with a compulsory core hospital plan. What differs is how much comes in that core.

Cigna Global: the core, International Medical Insurance, covers inpatient and daypatient treatment, and maternity on Gold and Platinum. On Silver, Gold and Platinum, four modules are optional:

• International Outpatient: GP visits, specialists and tests outside hospital
• International Medical Evacuation: evacuation, repatriation and repatriation of mortal remains, paid in full
• International Health and Wellbeing: screening and preventive care
• International Vision and Dental: on Silver, Gold and Platinum

Cigna's Close Care plan takes no modules. It builds in outpatient cover up to US$5,000 a year, has no maternity cover and covers road ambulance only.

Allianz Care: the Core plan includes medical evacuation and repatriation on all three tiers. In the insurer's words, "where necessary treatment is not available locally, we will evacuate the insured person to the nearest appropriate medical centre". Two add-ons are optional, and they must match your Core tier:

• Outpatient plan: up to £8,300 on Care Base, £20,750 on Care Enhanced, no limit on Care Signature
• Dental plan: up to £995 on Care Base, £1,543 on Care Enhanced, no limit on Care Signature

Allianz does not let you buy outpatient or dental on their own, or mix tiers. The practical check is the same on both: read the quote line by line and confirm that evacuation and outpatient are there if you want them. On a Cigna quote, evacuation is only there if you added it.

How do they underwrite pre-existing conditions?

Allianz Care publishes three routes. Cigna Global publishes one.

Allianz Care, per its plans page and benefit guide:

• Full medical underwriting: you complete a medical questionnaire and Allianz sets terms before cover starts.
• Moratorium: no medical questionnaire. A pre-existing condition becomes eligible once you have completed "a continuous 24-month period after your start date and have not had symptoms, needed or received treatment, medication, a special diet or advice" for it.
• Your previous insurer's terms carried over (CPME/CTT): "the continuation of the same underwriting terms, including any special exclusions and/or surcharges, that applied with your previous insurer."

Cigna Global asks for a medical questionnaire. It "may decide to add special exclusions to your plan", and "may agree to include certain pre-existing conditions at an additional premium". Cigna does not publish a moratorium or a carry-over route on the pages we read.

What this means in practice. If you are moving from another international insurer with a condition already accepted, Allianz's carry-over route is the one to ask about first, because a fresh application at Cigna starts the underwriting again. If you want to skip the questionnaire, Allianz is the one of these two that publishes a moratorium, and the condition stays excluded until you clear 24 months without it.

Is there an age limit to join?

Cigna Global has none. Its seniors page states "No upper age limit" and welcomes "applications up to any age".

Allianz Care accepts new applicants "up to the day before their 76th birthday" with full medical underwriting, and "up to the day before their 65th birthday" on a moratorium. Both limits are in the definitions section of Allianz's Individual Benefit Guide, not on the plan pages, so check the guide before you plan around them.

So a 70-year-old can join either insurer, but only with full medical underwriting at Allianz. A 77-year-old applying for new cover can join Cigna and cannot join Allianz Care's annual plans. Both insurers renew automatically once you are in: Cigna says future premiums "aren't based on your claims history", and Allianz says it will not add restrictions or exclusions personal to you at renewal for medical conditions that start after you join, provided you gave the information it asked for and have not applied to increase your cover. Premiums on both still move with age and medical inflation.

Which has the shorter maternity waiting period?

Both wait 12 months, unless you give birth in the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore on a Cigna plan, where Cigna's wait is 24 months.

Allianz's planning a family page states that Care Enhanced and Care Signature "include routine maternity, complications of childbirth and complications of pregnancy" and that "a 12-month waiting period applies". It publishes no location exception. Cigna's footnote, in its February 2026 brochure, sets 24 months "for treatment incurred in either the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore", and its optional benefits page adds that waits "may be 12 or 24 months depending on your insurance entity". Confirm the figure on your own quote.

The published limits differ by tier. Allianz's routine maternity pays up to US$6,750 per pregnancy on Care Enhanced and US$13,500 on Care Signature. Cigna's pays up to US$7,000 on Gold and US$14,000 on Platinum. For expats in Singapore or Hong Kong, the 12-month difference in the wait is the number to plan around. Allianz also covers fertility treatment, on the Care Signature outpatient plan only, after 12 months. More in our guide to maternity and family cover.

How do they handle treatment in the United States?

Neither insurer includes the USA by default. Cigna Global offers "Worldwide including USA" as an option and pays out-of-network US treatment at 20% less. Allianz Care includes the USA only on its Worldwide area of cover, and in the USA access runs through a partner network on a direct-billing basis, according to its benefit guide.

Allianz also sells regional areas that Cigna does not: Europe only, or Africa only. Cigna's regional answer is Close Care, which covers your country of residence and your country of nationality. If you do not spend time in America, choose an area that excludes it on either plan.

Can you cancel, and what does paying monthly cost?

Allianz Care gives you 30 days to change your mind, then locks the policy until renewal. In its words: "After this, the policy may not be cancelled until renewal, regardless of whether a monthly or annual payment frequency is chosen."

Cigna Global's Guernsey-issued policies carry a 14-day statutory right to cancel and a three-month minimum term, after which you can end the policy with 14 days' written notice, according to its product information document. Singapore-issued Cigna policies may differ, so ask.

On payment frequency, Allianz publishes its loadings: 0% annual, 3% half-yearly, 4% quarterly and 5% monthly. Cigna says annual and quarterly payment is "slightly lower" than monthly and does not publish a percentage.

Staying less than a year? Allianz sells FlexiCare on policy terms of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. It does not renew automatically and does not cover pre-existing conditions.

How much do Cigna Global and Allianz Care cost?

What you pay depends on your age, area of cover, deductible, tier, add-ons and medical history, so the same person can be quoted very differently depending on those choices. We do not publish price comparisons between insurers. Our expat health insurance cost guide explains what moves a premium and where the published evidence sits.

The deductible options are in the documents. Cigna's hospital deductible runs from US$0 to US$10,000 in seven steps. Allianz offers none, US$1,350, US$4,050 or US$8,100, and its Table of Benefits prints the premium discount each one earns: 10%, 20% and 30%.

Which published facts matter for you

We do not rank the two. Each line below sets out what both insurers publish on one term. Match the lines to your own age, medical history and plans, then get both quoted with matching benefits.

• Age at entry: Cigna Global publishes no upper age limit; Allianz Care accepts new applicants up to the day before their 76th birthday under full medical underwriting, and up to the day before their 65th birthday on moratorium.
• Pre-existing conditions: Cigna Global uses a medical questionnaire, may add exclusions or cover a condition at extra premium, and publishes no moratorium; Allianz Care offers full medical underwriting, a 24-month moratorium, or your previous insurer's terms carried over (CPME/CTT).
• Overall annual limit: Cigna Global runs from US$500,000 (Close Care) to paid in full (Platinum); Allianz Care runs from US$1,350,000 (Care Base) to US$5,000,000 (Care Signature).
• Area of cover: Cigna Global offers worldwide including or excluding the USA, and Close Care covers your country of residence and nationality only; Allianz Care offers worldwide, worldwide excluding the USA, Europe, or Africa.
• Hospital deductible: Cigna Global offers US$0 to US$10,000 in seven steps; Allianz Care offers none, US$1,350, US$4,050 or US$8,100.
• Maternity: Cigna Global covers maternity on Gold and Platinum after 12 months, or 24 months for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore; Allianz Care covers it on Care Enhanced and Care Signature after 12 months.
• Medical evacuation: Cigna Global sells it as an optional module on Silver, Gold and Platinum, and Close Care covers road ambulance only; Allianz Care includes it in the Core plan on every tier.
• Cover for less than a year: Cigna Global sells an annual contract, with a 3-month minimum term on Guernsey-issued policies; Allianz Care sells FlexiCare on policy terms of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, not renewed automatically and with no cover for pre-existing conditions.
• Cancellation and paying monthly: Cigna Global's Guernsey-issued policies carry 14 days to cancel, and Cigna says annual or quarterly payment is "slightly lower" with no figure published; Allianz Care gives 30 days, then the policy is fixed until renewal, and loads 5% monthly, 4% quarterly, 3% half-yearly and 0% annual.

Where these terms come out the same for you, for example if you are under 65 and giving birth outside the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, the quote, the hospital you would use and the insurer's direct-billing arrangement there are what separate the two.

What should you ask before buying either plan?

Five questions, answered in writing:

1. 1Is evacuation on this Cigna quote? It is a module, so it is only there if added.
2. 2Which underwriting routes are open to me with my history? At Allianz, ask about moratorium and carry-over terms before you complete a questionnaire.
3. 3What maternity wait applies to my policy? Cigna's depends on where you give birth and on the insuring entity.
4. 4Does the insurer settle directly with the hospital I would use? Direct billing is agreed hospital by hospital.
5. 5What happens if I want to leave early? Allianz locks the policy after 30 days. Cigna's Guernsey policies have a three-month minimum.

How we compared them

• Insurer documents only: every figure comes from Cigna Global's and Allianz Care's own plan pages, benefit tables and guides, read on 28 September 2026.
• Same 17 rows on every comparison: this page, the Cigna vs Bupa page and the Bupa vs Allianz page use one rubric and agree.
• Gaps stay gaps: where an insurer does not publish a term, the table says so.
• No prices: no premium or price comparison appears here.
• No winner: published facts for both insurers, term by term, not a ranking.