Cigna Global vs Bupa Global: International Health Insurance Comparison 2026

How do Cigna Global and Bupa Global compare at a glance?

Cigna Global and Bupa Global differ most on structure, maternity timing, evacuation and age at entry. The table uses the same 17 rows, in the same order, as our Cigna Global vs Allianz Care and Bupa Global vs Allianz Care comparisons, so you can read across all three.

Who insures you with Cigna Global and Bupa Global?

Cigna Global is underwritten by Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, a Guernsey company regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, except in Singapore, where policies are underwritten by Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V. Singapore Branch. That second detail matters if you live in Singapore, because the regulator and the complaints route follow the insurer on your certificate.

Cigna Global is still owned by The Cigna Group. Its second-quarter 2026 filing reports the international health business, which serves "globally mobile individuals", inside Cigna Healthcare with no sale announced. The exit Cigna announced in April 2026 is from US Individual and Family Plans, a different product. Two earlier disposals, the Medicare business to HCSC in 2025 and an Asia life and accident business to Chubb in 2022, did not include Cigna Global Health Options.

Bupa Global is Bupa's international health insurance division, and the insurer behind it depends on where your policy is issued. UK and Channel Islands policies are written by Bupa Insurance Limited. EEA policies are written by Bupa Global DAC in Ireland, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. In Hong Kong, Bupa Global plans are insured by Bupa (Asia) Limited, a separate product set with its own limits, so a Hong Kong resident should compare against the Hong Kong plan documents, not the table above. The legal notices page lists every entity.

How do the annual limits compare?

Cigna Global and Bupa Global both sell a plan with no overall annual ceiling, so the limit only separates them further down the ladder.

Cigna Global, per its plans in detail:

• Close Care: US$500,000, covering your country of residence and your country of nationality only
• Silver: US$1,000,000
• Gold: US$2,000,000
• Platinum: "Paid in Full"

Bupa Global, per its plan comparison and April 2026 brochure:

• Select: £1,000,000 (US$1,700,000)
• Premier: £1,500,000 (US$2,550,000)
• Major Medical: £2,000,000 (US$3,400,000), a hospital-focused plan with no outpatient cover
• Elite: £3,000,000 (US$5,100,000)
• Ultimate: unlimited, sold through Private Client by Bupa

Read the limit against your likely worst year, not against the biggest number. A seven-figure limit is sized for a serious admission. An unlimited one is about years of treatment for something like cancer, and never having to read the limit again.

One Cigna detail is easy to miss. On the plans that exclude the USA, emergency treatment outside your area of cover has its own cap: US$100,000 on Silver, US$250,000 on Gold, paid in full on Platinum and US$40,000 on Close Care. If you travel for work, that is the number that applies on the trip.

How are the plans built?

Cigna Global is modular: every plan starts with International Medical Insurance, the core. On Silver, Gold and Platinum you choose whether to add four modules on top. Close Care takes no modules: it builds in outpatient cover up to US$5,000 a year, has no maternity cover and covers road ambulance only.

• International Outpatient: GP visits, specialists and tests outside hospital
• International Medical Evacuation: transport to the nearest suitable facility, and repatriation
• International Health and Wellbeing: screening and preventive care
• International Vision and Dental: on Silver, Gold and Platinum

That makes it easy to buy exactly what you want, and just as easy to under-buy. A Silver core with no outpatient module leaves every GP and specialist bill with you.

Bupa Global is tiered. You pick a level and the benefits come with it. Major Medical covers hospital treatment only. Select adds outpatient up to £7,500, Premier up to £15,000, Elite up to £50,000, and Ultimate without a limit. Premier and Elite add dental and optical, Ultimate includes dental too, and Elite adds maternity and fertility. Select, Premier and Elite fund a health check after 10 months (£750, £1,250 and £1,500), and Ultimate funds £5,000 with no wait. Bupa also publishes rehabilitation days per tier: 45 on Major Medical, 30 on Select and Premier, 60 on Elite and 90 on Ultimate.

The trade is simple. With Cigna Global you choose each benefit. With Bupa Global you choose a level, and you cannot take one benefit from a higher tier without moving up.

Which has the shorter maternity waiting period?

It depends on where you give birth. Cigna Global covers maternity on Gold and Platinum after 12 months on the plan, but for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore the wait is 24 months. Bupa Global covers maternity on Elite and Ultimate only, after 18 months, wherever you are.

So an expat in Singapore or Hong Kong waits six months longer on Cigna than on Bupa. An expat in Dubai or Thailand waits six months less on Cigna. Cigna's footnote is in its February 2026 brochure: the benefit is "only available once the mother has been a beneficiary under this policy for a continuous period of at least 24 months" for treatment in those three places. Cigna's optional benefits page adds that the wait "may be 12 or 24 months depending on your insurance entity", so confirm the figure on your own quote.

The tier matters as much as the wait. Cigna reaches maternity on Gold, its second tier from the top. Bupa needs Elite or Ultimate. Bupa Elite's maternity limits are £10,000 for a normal birth, £10,000 for a caesarean and £20,000 for complications. If a pregnancy is anywhere in your next two years, buy before you conceive, and see our guide to maternity and family cover.

How do they treat pre-existing conditions and older applicants?

Cigna Global asks for a medical questionnaire and may add "special exclusions" for conditions you declare, or "may agree to include certain pre-existing conditions at an additional premium". Cigna does not publish a moratorium option on the pages we read.

Bupa Global excludes pre-existing conditions "unless you have applied for cover that includes a medical loading to cover these conditions". In other words, some can be covered for a higher premium. Bupa's individual application form states that the policy is "fully medical underwritten", and no Bupa document we read offers a moratorium.

On age, Cigna Global states "No upper age limit" on its seniors page and welcomes "applications up to any age". Bupa's target market statement (May 2026) says "There is no upper age limit" for plans issued by Bupa Insurance Limited. Bupa does not publish an entry age for policies issued by its other insurers. If you are applying in your late sixties or later, ask Bupa which insurer would issue your policy and get its age rule in writing before you plan around it.

Both renew automatically. Cigna says future premiums "aren't based on your claims history". Bupa says it will not cancel a policy because of your claims pattern or history. Neither promise means your premium stays flat: premiums still move with age and medical inflation at every renewal.

Is medical evacuation included?

Bupa Global includes medical evacuation on every tier, paid in full. Cigna Global sells it as a separate module, International Medical Evacuation, on Silver, Gold and Platinum, which pays evacuation, repatriation and repatriation of mortal remains in full once you add it. Cigna's Close Care plan cannot take the module and covers road ambulance only.

If you live somewhere a serious case means a flight to another country, check that the module is on a Cigna quote before you sign. On a Bupa quote it is already there. Non-medical evacuation sits on Bupa's Ultimate plan only.

How do they handle treatment in the United States?

Both insurers make US cover a choice, not a default. Cigna Global offers "Worldwide including USA" or "Worldwide excluding USA", and pays out-of-network US treatment at 20% less. Bupa Global offers worldwide or worldwide excluding the US, and on the excluding-US option you still get 28 days of emergency US cover. Bupa is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which is its route into US providers.

If you do not spend time in America, you do not need to pay for it. If you do, ask each insurer which US providers are in network for you before comparing quotes.

How do claims and direct billing work?

Cigna Global pays providers directly "where possible" and, in its own words, aims "to process your guarantee of payment within one hour and your claims within 5 working days". Treatment without prior approval, where approval was needed, is paid at 20% less.

Bupa Global's network facilities "offer cashless settlement for hospital treatment", and members get a MembersWorld app. Both insurers describe a network of over 2 million providers or practitioners.

Direct billing is decided hospital by hospital. Before you need it, ask whichever insurer you choose whether it settles directly with the specific hospital you would use, and get the answer in writing.

How much do Cigna Global and Bupa Global cost?

What you pay depends on your age, area of cover, deductible, tier, modules and medical history, and the same person can be quoted very differently by the two insurers 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.

Two levers are visible in the documents. Cigna's hospital deductible runs from US$0 to US$10,000 in seven steps. Bupa's runs up to £5,000 on Select, £7,500 on Premier and £10,000 on Elite, with no deductible on Ultimate. Bupa offers Major Medical deductibles to UK and Channel Islands residents only. The cost guide explains how a deductible changes what you pay, and Cigna says annual and quarterly payment is "slightly lower" than monthly.

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, location and plans, then get both quoted on the same details.

• How the plan is built: Cigna Global sells a core hospital plan plus up to four optional modules on Silver, Gold and Platinum, and Close Care has built-in outpatient cover; Bupa Global sells fixed tiers, with outpatient built in from Select upwards.
• Age at entry: Cigna Global publishes no upper age limit; Bupa Global publishes no upper age limit on plans issued by Bupa Insurance Limited (target market statement, May 2026) and does not publish one for its other insurers.
• Maternity: Cigna Global covers maternity on Gold and Platinum after 12 months, or 24 months for treatment in the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore; Bupa Global covers maternity on Elite and Ultimate after 18 months.
• Medical evacuation: Cigna Global sells it as an optional module on Silver, Gold and Platinum, and Close Care covers road ambulance only; Bupa Global includes it, paid in full, on every tier.
• Outpatient: Cigna Global sells it as an optional module on Silver, Gold and Platinum, and Close Care builds in US$5,000; Bupa Global has none on Major Medical and runs from £7,500 (Select) to unlimited (Ultimate).
• Area of cover: Cigna Global offers worldwide including or excluding the USA, and Close Care covers your country of residence and nationality only, with a US$500,000 limit; Bupa Global offers worldwide or worldwide excluding the US, and Select, Premier and Elite also offer Europe.
• United States: Cigna Global pays out-of-network US treatment at 20% less; Bupa Global is a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association licensee, and its excluding-US option carries 28 days of emergency US cover.
• Health checks and rehabilitation: Cigna Global sells International Health and Wellbeing as an optional module on Silver, Gold and Platinum; Bupa Global funds a health check on Select (£750), Premier (£1,250) and Elite (£1,500) after 10 months and on Ultimate (£5,000) with no wait, and publishes rehabilitation days of 45 (Major Medical), 30 (Select, Premier), 60 (Elite) and 90 (Ultimate).
• Pre-existing conditions: Cigna Global uses a medical questionnaire and may add exclusions or cover a condition at extra premium; Bupa Global excludes pre-existing conditions unless a medical loading is agreed, and its individual applications are fully medically underwritten.

Neither publishes a moratorium, so the terms each offers are only visible when you apply to both with the same disclosure.

What should you ask before buying either plan?

Five questions, and get every answer in writing:

1. 1Which company is my insurer? The entity on the certificate decides the regulator and the complaints route.
2. 2What is the maternity waiting period where I will give birth? For Cigna Global it changes by location.
3. 3Is evacuation on this quote? Included on Bupa Global. A module on Cigna Global.
4. 4Can a pre-existing condition be covered, and at what loading? Bupa's individual applications are fully medically underwritten, and Bupa publishes no moratorium.
5. 5What is the cooling-off period, and is there a maximum age to join? Cigna's Guernsey-issued policies carry 14 days and Cigna has no age limit. Bupa publishes a 30-day full refund, if you have not claimed, on Ultimate only, and no upper age limit only for plans issued by Bupa Insurance Limited. Ask which Bupa insurer would issue your policy.

How we compared them

• Insurer documents only: every figure comes from the insurer's own plan pages, brochures or product documents, read on 28 September 2026. Fact IDs and source URLs are logged.
• Same 17 rows on every comparison: the rubric is fixed, so this page, the Cigna vs Allianz page and the Bupa vs Allianz page agree.
• Gaps stay gaps: where an insurer does not publish a term, the table says "Not published".
• No prices: premiums depend on your profile, so no premium or price comparison appears here.
• No winner: we set out the published facts for both insurers, term by term, not a ranking.