Bupa Global vs Cigna in Hong Kong (2026): Maternity, Limits and Area of Cover

Bupa Global and Cigna both sell high-end health insurance to expats in Hong Kong, but their plans are built in different ways. Choose Bupa Global if you want worldwide cover with outpatient care already included, or if you plan to have a baby and can wait 18 months: maternity is an optional extra on the Elite plan. Choose Cigna's Elite 360 if you only need cover in Asia, want to add outpatient and dental cover one by one, or want a fixed deductible from HK$15,000. Cigna's plan has no routine maternity cover.

This guide compares the four Bupa Global Health Plans sold to Hong Kong residents (Major Medical, Select, Premier and Elite) with the Cigna HealthFirst Elite 360 Medical Plan, Cigna's high-end plan in Hong Kong, sold by Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited. Cigna also sells its Cigna Global Health Options Platinum plan in Hong Kong; that is a different product and is not covered here.

Bupa Global vs Cigna at a glance

Sources: Bupa Global Hong Kong plan page and Cigna HealthFirst Elite 360 brochure (April 2026), checked 30 October 2026. Full list at the end of this article.

Maternity: optional after 18 months with Bupa, not covered by Cigna

This is the biggest difference for couples. On Bupa Global, maternity cover is an optional benefit on the Elite plan only. It pays for pregnancy and childbirth, including complications, once the mother has been covered on the plan for 18 months. Bupa also pays for newborn care in the first 90 days after birth, within the plan's limits.

Cigna's Elite 360 brochure has no routine maternity benefit. It covers pregnancy complications with no dollar limit, but only after a 1-year waiting period. A normal delivery is not covered.

If a baby is part of your plans in the next two to three years, Bupa Global Elite with the maternity option is the only one of the two that pays for the birth itself. Because of the 18-month wait, it needs to start well before the pregnancy. Our guide to expat maternity insurance compares other insurers' waiting periods.

Where you are covered: only Cigna offers Asia-only cover

Every Bupa Global Health Plan sold in Hong Kong covers you worldwide, or worldwide excluding the US. There is no Asia-only option.

Cigna offers three areas: Asia only, worldwide excluding the US, and worldwide. Cigna's Asia covers Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates, among others. With the Asia plan you can choose a semi-private room in Hong Kong and Macau (annual limit HK$30M) or a standard private room (HK$50M). If you choose semi-private and then stay in a standard private room in Hong Kong or Macau, Cigna pays 50% of the eligible costs.

If you live in Hong Kong and travel mostly within Asia, Cigna's Asia plan covers you without paying for cover in Europe or the Americas. If you go home to Europe or the US for treatment, or travel widely, both insurers offer worldwide cover.

Outpatient care: included with Bupa, an add-on with Cigna

Bupa's Select, Premier and Elite plans include out-patient cover, such as prescribed medicines and dressings and, on Premier and Elite, physiotherapy and vaccinations (up to HK$5,800 on Premier and HK$11,700 on Elite). Major Medical is Bupa's in-patient plan.

Cigna's Elite 360 starts as a hospital plan. You then add the optional outpatient benefit if you want it. It includes:

• up to 40 visits a year in total to a general practitioner, specialist, physiotherapist or chiropractor, or for home consultations, with no dollar limit;

• prescribed Western medicine up to HK$10,000 a year;

• diagnostic imaging and laboratory tests up to HK$10,000 a year;

• Chinese medicine, bone-setting and acupuncture, at HK$800 a visit for up to 10 visits.

Dental cover and a pharmacy benefit for medicines prescribed for a critical illness are separate options.

The choice depends on how you use doctors. If you see a doctor often, a Bupa plan with outpatient care built in is simpler. If you mostly want protection against large hospital bills, a Cigna hospital plan without the outpatient option keeps the cover to what you need.

Annual limits: HK$78M on Bupa Elite, HK$50M on Cigna

Both insurers set high limits. Bupa Global Elite pays up to HK$78M per person per year, Premier HK$39M, and Major Medical and Select HK$35M each. Cigna Elite 360 pays up to HK$50M with a standard private room, or HK$30M on the Asia plan with a semi-private room. That limit covers the hospital benefits and the optional outpatient benefit together.

Long cancer treatment is where a limit matters most. Both insurers cover cancer treatment. Cigna's brochure lists chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, proton therapy, gamma knife and cyberknife. Inside the annual limit, some benefits have their own caps. On Cigna, for example, in-patient psychiatric treatment is capped at HK$80,000 and 30 days a year, and the optional pharmacy benefit has a lifetime limit of HK$500,000. See what private hospitals charge in Hong Kong for room and surgery costs.

Claims and renewal: two different approaches

Bupa Global states that making a claim will not increase your individual premium.

Cigna gives 5% off the basic premium at renewal once you have gone 2 or more policy years in a row without a paid claim under the basic policy. Cigna's plan is guaranteed renewable for life, and its premiums rise with age and are adjusted at each renewal.

Cigna also lets you lower your deductible once when you retire, within 30 days before the policy anniversary on or after your 55th, 60th, 65th or 70th birthday. Its deductible options are HK$15,000, HK$25,000, HK$50,000 and HK$75,000 a year. Elite 360 has no zero-deductible option. Our guide to deductibles and coinsurance explains how the deductible changes what you pay.

Which one to choose

• Choose Bupa Global Elite if you plan to have a child and can start cover at least 18 months ahead, or if you want the highest annual limit of the two (HK$78M).

• Choose Bupa Global Select or Premier if you want worldwide cover with outpatient care and health checks included, and do not need maternity cover.

• Choose Cigna Elite 360 on the Asia plan if you live and travel mainly in Asia and do not want to pay for worldwide cover.

• Choose Cigna Elite 360 without the outpatient option if you mainly want hospital cover with a deductible, and are happy to pay for GP visits yourself.

Questions to ask before you buy

• Which deductibles can I choose with Bupa Global, and how do they change my premium? Bupa's Hong Kong plan page does not list them. Cigna's are HK$15,000 to HK$75,000.

• How will my existing conditions be treated? Cigna excludes pre-existing conditions unless you declare them on the application and Cigna agrees to cover them. Ask both insurers for their decision in writing before you cancel your current policy.

• Which waiting periods start again if I switch? On a new policy, Bupa's maternity option starts after 18 months. Cigna applies 1 year for pregnancy complications, 2 years for palliative care and 5 years for HIV/AIDS treatment.

• How long do I have to change my mind? Cigna gives 30 days to cancel with a refund of the premium. Ask Bupa for its cooling-off period on your plan.

• Will I claim the VHIS tax deduction? Cigna sells its VHIS plans as a separate series in Hong Kong. Ask whether the plan you choose qualifies before you count on the deduction.

Alea's view

Both are strong plans with high limits. The choice usually comes down to two questions: will you have a baby in the next few years, and do you need cover outside Asia? If the answer to either is yes, start with Bupa Global. If both answers are no, Cigna's Asia plan with a deductible covers large hospital bills, and you can add outpatient and dental cover if you want them. Your age, health history and the deductible you choose will change the premium, so compare quotes for your own situation. Our comparison of expat health insurance in Hong Kong covers the other insurers.

How we compared them

We used the insurers' own documents: Bupa Global's Hong Kong plan page for the Bupa Global Health Plans, and Cigna's HealthFirst Elite 360 brochure (April 2026) and product page. Both were checked on 30 October 2026. We could not find Bupa's Hong Kong membership guide online, so where a figure is not on Bupa's Hong Kong page, the table says so. This is a summary. The policy wording of each insurer decides what is covered.

Alea is a licensed insurance broker in Hong Kong and compares more than 50 insurers, including Bupa Global and Cigna. We are paid by commission from the insurer, and your premium is the same whether you buy through us or directly. No insurer represents more than 20% of our revenue.

Get a free comparison of Bupa Global and Cigna for your age and needs.

Sources

1. Bupa Global, Private Health Insurance with International Cover, Hong Kong, checked 30 October 2026.

2. Cigna Healthcare Hong Kong, Cigna HealthFirst Elite 360 Medical Plan brochure, reference CA/Brochure/0051/0426_E_GI (April 2026).

3. Cigna Healthcare Hong Kong, Elite 360 product page, checked 30 October 2026.

4. Cigna Healthcare Hong Kong, Medical and health plans, checked 30 October 2026.