When Global Health Insurance Fails: What My 18-Month Ordeal with Cigna Reveals, and What Needs to Change

I never imagined I’d be writing a post like this.

I’m a long-term customer of private health insurance. I’ve paid over £35,000 in premiums to Cigna across four years without ever making a single claim... until January 2024, when I was admitted to an Italian hospital in a medical emergency.

That’s when the real ordeal began.

This post isn’t about complaining for the sake of it. It’s about what happens when a healthcare insurer fails its duty of care, and what that means for expats, professionals, families, and anyone who puts their trust and their health in the hands of a global provider.

What Happened?

• I was admitted as an inpatient emergency case to Brindisi Hospital in Italy.

• Cigna confirmed that I was covered and instructed the hospital to send the necessary documentation.

• For months, nothing happened.

• I chased, and chased and chased. I provided contact details. I followed every procedure.

• Cigna claimed documents hadn’t arrived.

• Eventually, I travelled back to the hospital, paid to retrieve a 90-page medical report, scanned it, and sent it myself.

Even then, Cigna’s system failed to process the file properly. The claim stalled yet again. After 18 months of follow-up, unanswered emails, repeated complaints, and escalating distress, the claim was eventually reviewed but was wrongly refused. It was only after I challenged the decision once more that Cigna admitted they had made a mistake.

The Real Issue: A Pattern of Failure

This wasn’t a one-off glitch. It was a systemic failure across several dimensions:

▪️Communication Failure.  No response to repeated emails.
▪️Process Failure. Repeated requests for documents already submitted.
▪️Transparency Failure. My claim was flagged as “SIU Declined” (a term typically associated with suspected fraud) and shared with the hospital, with no correction or apology until I demanded one.
▪️Benefit Denial. A valid benefit, the hospital inpatient cash allowance, clearly listed in Cigna’s own Customer Guide, was denied without justification after being ignored for a year.
▪️Accountability Failure: Despite contacting the CEO’s office directly, I’ve seen no evidence that my case was ever reviewed by senior leadership.

What Cigna Says — vs. What I Experienced

From the Cigna Close Care Customer Guide (2023):

“We aim to process claims within 5 working days after receiving all necessary documentation.”
“We put YOU at the heart of everything we do.”
“We strive to continuously improve our service to you.”

“We will make a cash payment directly to a beneficiary when they:
• receive treatment in hospital which is covered under this plan;
• stay in a hospital overnight; and
• the hospital does not charge any fees for the room, board and treatment costs…”

I met every one of those criteria.
And yet — the promises didn’t match the delivery.

Why I’m Sharing This

I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m looking for change.

We need to discuss accountability in private healthcare, particularly for individuals residing or working abroad.

If this can happen to me, someone highly organised, professionally connected, and experienced in navigating systems, then it can happen to anyone.

What Needs to Change?

1. Transparency: Customers should have clear, trackable visibility into the claim process, not chase shadows for months.

2. Communication: Every missed email or unacknowledged message adds to patient stress, especially post-hospitalisation.

3. Internal Review Standards: Errors like "SIU Declined" should not be sent without cause and must be corrected promptly and transparently.

4. Benefit Clarity: Insurers must honour the benefits they advertise, and proactively inform members of their entitlements, not avoid them.

5. Executive Accountability: Escalated complaints should be reviewed by someone with authority, not lost in the same customer service loop.

What Can You Do?

▪️If you rely on private health insurance, review your provider's complaint process now.
▪️If you're a business offering Cigna or similar providers to employees, ask hard questions about what happens when claims go wrong.
▪️If you’ve experienced similar treatment, don’t stay silent; regulators and ombudsmen exist for a reason.
▪️And if you're in leadership at Cigna, please don’t wait for a post like this to go viral to take action.

A Final Word

Health insurance is about trust.
When that trust is broken, it leaves more than a paper trail; it leaves real people unwell, unheard, and unsupported.

If this post helps even one person challenge poor treatment or think more critically about their cover, then it’s done its job.

I’ll continue to press for the resolution I deserve,  and I won’t stop sharing this experience until real accountability is shown.