Cigna Global Health Thailand Plans: Should I Get It?

Cigna Global, one of the world’s largest international insurance providers, offers a specific plan for expats in Thailand. In this review article, we will break down everything you need to know about Cigna Global Health Thailand plans, including cost, coverage, claim procedures, and much more, to help you make an informed decision on whether it is a suitable health insurance plan for you.

Coverage Plan

The following are the core coverage plan options that you can choose from:

• Silver Health – coming with 35,000,000 baht annual limit 
• Gold Health – coming with 70,000,000 baht annual limit 
• Platinum Health – coming with 150,000,000 baht annual limit 

In addition to annual limits, your overall coverage (including optional coverage) will be based on your chosen plan.

For example, the limit set for advanced medical imaging (MRT, CT, and PET scans) procedures under the Silver Health plan is 165,000 baht.

For the Gold Health plan, it’s 330,000 baht, while it’s unlimited for the Platinum Health plan, as long as the procedure cost falls within the plan limit. 

For a private single room, the Silver Health plan has a 12,000 baht per-day limit. For both Gold Health and Platinum Health plans, there is no limit as long as it falls within the annual limit. 

In general, even their Silver Health plan gives you sufficient coverage at Thailand’s premier hospitals such as Bungrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Hospital for basic procedures.

However, in case of a complicated case, such as a major surgery or ICU, you may need to pay a slight excess.

Based on our talks with brokers, Silver plan is the most popular plan for expats in Thailand since it is enough to adequately cover your stay at Thailand’s private hospitals, provided you don’t want to stay at the fanciest suites.

A platinum plan can be overkilled. You should consider it only if you plan to get treatment in a more expensive country such as the United States or Switzerland.

Please note that all of their plans come with full coverage on cancer care, intensive care, and transplant with inpatient and day-patient treatments only.

If you need outpatient treatment, medical evacuation, dental coverage, vision coverage, and maternity coverage, you’ll need to purchase additional coverage. 

To put it simply, Cigna Global coverage, even their starting plan, is enough for healthcare in Thailand.

Area of Coverage

Cigna Global Thailand olans can be split into three categories by area, namely:

• All of Asia (excluding China, Hong Kong, and Singapore)
• Worldwide excluding the USA
• Worldwide 

Your area of coverage limit increases with each plan, with the Asia package being the cheapest and the Worldwide being (naturally) the most expensive.

If you’re not much of a traveler and looking to spend most of your time in Thailand, you can probably save yourself some money by just purchasing the Asia-only plan. 

But in case you travel regularly outside of Asia, you should probably consider splashing out on the more expensive but much wider-ranging options.

Emergency Coverage

One great thing is that each plan also provides short-term out-of-area emergency coverage.

Such coverage applies to emergency treatments that you may need while you are on a holiday or business trip, for a maximum number of 21 days per trip and 60 days per period of cover. This should be enough for those who do not travel frequently.

Another great thing about Cigna’s area of coverage is that all plans come with 180 days home coverage – which means you can get treatment at your home country but your country needs to be within the selected area of coverage.

For example, if you are from the US and need health coverage from the US, you need to select Worldwide area of coverage in your plan.

Please note that there is no territorial limit for death, loss of sight, and total permanent disability caused by an accident. 

Additional Coverage

There are five available additional coverages that you can purchase on top of your main plan:

• Outpatient treatment
• Medical evacuation and repatriation 
• Health and wellbeing 
• Vision and dental
• Mother and baby care 

Outpatient Treatment

Outpatient treatment comes with the below annual limit:

• 350,000 baht for the Silver Health plan
• 850,000 baht for the Gold Health plan
• 2,500,000 baht for the Platinum Health plan. 

There’s a sub-limit on each outpatient treatment. For example, there’s a 3,500-baht limit per visit, up to 15 doctors visits per year, 16,500 baht on medications and dressings, 65,000 baht on physiotherapy treatment, and so on. 

The higher-tier plans come with a higher limit, as you’d expect.

The 3,500-baht limit per visit from the Silver Health plan is normally enough for a visit in a private hospital in Thailand.

Depending on the condition of your sickness, it might also be enough for fancy hospitals.

Medical Evacuation and Repatriation

Medical evacuation and repatriation coverage is the same across all plans. 

Under the plan’s annual limit, you get the full coverage for medical evacuation, medical repatriation, repatriation of mortal remains, and travel costs for an accompanying person. 

You are also covered on travel costs for compassionate visits for 40,000 baht per trip, up to 5 trips per lifetime. In addition, you get living allowance costs for 5,000 baht, up to 10 days per visit. 

Medical evacuation and repatriation is recommended if you travel abroad regularly. 

If you mainly stay in Thailand, you might not need this extra package since local ambulance and air ambulance service is already included in the main plan.

Health and Wellbeing

The Health and Wellbeing package covers health check-ups. 

For example, the Silver Health plan comes with a 7,500-baht limit for every routine physical examination, pap smear, prostate cancer screening, breast cancer screening, and so on. This is just about adequate for basic tests at fancy hospitals.

For the Gold Health plan, you get a 15,000-baht limit. 

For the Platinum Health plan, you get a 20,000-baht limit on physical examinations and unlimited coverage for other types of health screenings, as long as the procedure cost falls within the plan’s annual limit.

You also get dietetic consultation coverage for up to 4 consultations per period of cover. 

Generally, it might be cheaper to pay for a health check-up yourself.

Vision and Dental

You can pay extra to get vision and dental coverage. Under the Silver plan, you’re covered for up to THB3500 for an eye test and around THB5000 for spectacles, as well as up to THB40,000 for dental work.

While the vision care package should cover most eventualities, the dental package is likely to fall short if you need any intensive procedures such as root canal work in Thailand.

If you have a lot of problems with your teeth, you might want to consider upgrading to the Gold (which covers around THB85,000) or Platinum plan (which covers around THB190,000).

Please note that dental coverage has a waiting period of 3 to 18 months and Cigna Global doesn’t refund you in full. Instead, it gives you 40% – 80% refund depending on the plan and treatment.

Mother and Baby Care

Coverage for Mother and Baby Care is quite comprehensive.

Plans cover routine maternity care (THB150,000 under the Silver plan, paid in full under the others – all include a single private room), routine newborn care (from THB16,500 under the Silver Plan to THB66,000 under the Platinum plan), and premature newborn care (from THB825,000 under the Silver Plan to THB5,000,000 under the Platinum plan), among other coverages.

If you plan to have a baby, it’s recommended to get Mother and Baby Care coverage. 

It is comprehensive and doesn’t only include the cost of baby delivery, but also routine check-up, complications during pregnancy, pre-natal and post-natal care, routine newborn care, and even premature newborn care.

Even the Silver Health Plan should adequately cover all expenses here at Thailand’s top hospitals.

Please note that there’s currently a waiting period of 12 months for Mother and Baby Care coverage. 

Additional Benefits

In addition to all this, all Cigna’s Thailand plans also offer:

• Global Telehealth to help you get an initial consultation with a general practitioner within 24 hours
• Access to the Cigna Wellbeing app to help you schedule a Global Telehealth call and enable you to manage your own health information.
• Local Thailand phone number for emergency assistance

This is a useful feature that might not be offered easily by other international insurance providers.

In fact, Cigna Global is known for their support that’s easily accessible and helpful. 

They can quickly recommend which hospital and doctor you should go to, provide health advice, and have a fast claim.

Deductible and Cost Share Options

To decrease the cost of your health insurance plan, there are a wide range of deductibles (from 12,500 baht to 330,000 baht) and cost sharing options (10%, 20%, 30%) that you can opt for. 

You can choose to have both deductible and cost share at the same time. 

It’s also possible to have deductible and cost share for core coverage but not have them for optional coverage. 

Personally, we would recommend you to use this feature to decrease the cost of your insurance, especially if you plan to have insurance mainly for in-patient health benefits.

Is It Easy to Make a Claim?

Yes. You can easily make a claim with Cigna Global by uploading your bill and medical certificate to the Cigna Global online member area. After that, you should expect to be reimbursed within five working days.

If you know ahead of time that you’re going to spend time in the hospital, it’s a good idea to contact Cigna support first and get pre-authorization for any medical treatment. During this time, 

Cigna might even be able to recommend a hospital and doctor for you.

Disadvantages

Cigna Global is not perfect. There are two main disadvantages:

First, it can be more expensive than other providers out there except for those who need US coverage.

Second, if you need international medical evacuation coverage, it will cost you extra.

So, if you are on a budget, you might want to look elsewhere. But in case you want to get reliable insurance that actually pays and doesn’t kick you out of the plan, Cigna Global is a good option.

Should I Get It?

Cigna Global is a good choice for expats in Thailand. Even their basic package is already comprehensive and sufficient for getting treatment at a good private hospital in Thailand.

In addition, Cigna Global support is also good and the company has a good reputation. It won’t easily go bankrupt or suddenly cancel your plan.

You can explore their deductible and cost share options to decrease your price.

How Much Does It Cost?

Since Cigna Global Health Thailand plans are highly customizable, determining how much you need to pay for a plan may not be straightforward. 

Here’s a rough estimate for the Silver Health plan: 

• Age 30 to 39: US$1,481 to US$3,909
• Age 40 to 49: US$1,890 to US$5,283
• Age 50 to 59: US$2,518 to US$6,927

Please note there are also various factors that affect price, including age, health conditions, area of coverage, coverage option, optional coverage, cost sharing, deductible, and so on. 

To get a precise quote, you can fill out this form from the Cigna Global website directly. After that, you should expect to get a quote within 24 hours. 

More Affordable Plans

If Cigna Global is still out of your budget, you can take a look at Luma Health. They have various plans for expats in Thailand that’s more affordable, but also less comprehensive as well.

For example, it may come with an annual limit of 5,000,000 baht instead of 35,000,00 baht as provided by Cigna Global. And they only pay for treatment in Asia except Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.

Alternatively, you can check out our expat health insurance comparison page.

Disclaimer

*While we try our best to provide you with up-to-date and accurate information, the volatile nature of the health insurance business means some of the information above may be subject to change. Please use the following information only as a guideline, and if you have any doubts, it’s best to check directly with Cigna Global or an insurance broker. 

We are not an insurance broker and can’t offer individualized advice. We can only connect you with people who we would consult in your situation, and who we found to be professional, knowledgeable, and ethical in their dealings with clients.

This said, it’s important to note that these providers sometimes provide us with financial incentive to refer new clients to them. This happens at no cost to you and helps us cover some of the expenses of running this website.

Please be aware that while we do our best to select the most suitable providers, we’re unable to provide any guarantees or accept any liability resulting from your interactions and transactions with our partners.