Cigna International Medical Insurance-valid in Switzerland?

I got an advertisement in my e-mail through English Forum about Cigna Medical insurance. I find the offer quite tempting and I already ordered a quote from them but I am now wondering if I can replace my Swiss insurance with this one? Does anyone use this insurance yet? Thanks for your help.

We have health insurance from Cigna, but as Ex-pats. Don't know if this makes a difference. So far seems to be great as they indicate they cover 100% of most things. Just spent the weekend filing claims - we pay out of pocket and then are reimbursed. Just have to scan receipts to claim - VERY easy. Have not been reimbursed yet, but have heard from a fellow colleague that it is great. Our plan is considered a Cigna International Expatriate plan. HTH

I had Cigna expat insurance before and they were great. But now have switched to a local Swiss contract and thus joined Sympany insurance, so far so good...

Yes, I use them. My company has given me CIGNA and its fantastic. Global coverage that includes dental too. But it all depends on the type of policy.

The only thing I would suggest is before using a service, get them to find you a physician/dentist/hospital etc and have them pay the provider directly. Else the bill will be sent to you directly and you will have work with them to get the payments sorted.

I hope this helps.

And one another thing - you have to convince the cantonal authorities that Cigna insurance provides you with good coverage. else they will force-sign you for a Swiss provider.

Same case applies to me and it looks really good to be honest. Has somebody had any sucess in Basel?

Dr Madhu, any ideas about how to secure a smooth transition with the cantonal authorities?

Back in the day...

It wasn't up to us to secure a smooth transition - it was a matter between the canton and OH's company. So assuming the rules haven't changed (have they?) speak to your HR folks as they will likely need to deal directly with the canton.

(International plans replacing Swiss health insurance are usually only accepted when one is on a time-limited expat contract, max 5 years, specific conditions may apply. After 5 years one is usually required to switch to the Swiss system.)

I got a quote from Cigna, found it interesting called the hotline and was guaranteed it was going to be accepted by the Swiss authorities (Kanton Schaffhausen). Ingenuously, I accepted and payed the full one year premium: as other things in life, I found out it was too good to be true.

2 months of fights with the authorities had started: Cigna coverage is NOT RECOGNIZED. Cigna through the office in Zurich and in the UK did not offer any help, except the following mantra over the phone and over the internet: " buy dental coverage and they will accept it".

These people are jokers, salesman who do not know what they are talking about and do not care if they give the wrong information: they kept mentioning rules that only apply to researchers and students, despite clearly explaining if was not my case (employee with Swiss employment contract).

Result: Kanton Schaffhausen did not recognize the validity of Cigna and subscribed a Swiss one on my behalf which turned out to be expensive (400CHF/month for basic coverage with Progress). Only after 3 weeks of painful negotiations, I could cancel the Progress policy and subscribe a new one.

And Cigna? Nothing from their side, only the information that I would have lost all my money if I cancelled the policy.

I promised them that they would have paid for what I believe is a scam: broken nail? Doctor and medicines. Light headache? Doctor and medicines. Stomachache? Doctor and medicines. Pain in the back: Doctor, Ultrasounds, Massage and medicines.

And they keep paying in their unique style: without saying anything.

Hey 24thfloor,

I'm surprised that Cigna paid for your massage?

I normally get the cheapest Swiss cover for my family just to shut my Gemeinde up (Basel Land) and then use Axa PPP International. I've calculated that it is cheaper to get both Swiss and Int Cover for all the bells and whistles I need than to pay for a Swiss Medical Insurance with all the bells and whistles.

My current Int cover with Axa PPP seems to taking the p*ss by increasing the premiums by 15% every year, so I'll give Cigna a try this year and see how their premiums compare to Axa PPP.

That person last posted in 2013 so don ́t expect an answer

Thanks, Meister. Could you explain this in more detail, please, perhaps with some [anonymised] examples? Thank you.

this is exactly what i have calculated too, taking the lowest swiss "Franchise" and then basically getting full (almost) worldwide cover, with an international insurer, im looking into april international. But i am worried that at some point the international insurer might decline the service if they realize you are LIVING now in switzerland? Do you have any experience here?

I think the problem is more with the municipality. You have to prove you have Swiss insurance to obtain a residence permit here.