How much in dollar figures and percentages of Cigna's annual gross revenue goes to paying claims and how much of it goes to paying salaries?

Answer 1

While I don't have the numbers for you, for the most part the money Cigna uses to pay claims is not from their revenue at all. Most employers maintain a bank account of their funds which Cigna uses to pay claims. This is referred to as A.S.O. (administrative services only) funding. Cigna's pocketbook is not impacted by the claims paid or denied for these accounts, which make up the vast majority of their claim volume. In fact, paying a claim is less costly than denying a claim, as no one calls the insurance company regarding the claims that have been paid, just the ones denied. So the more claims denied, the more customer service agents Cigna must pay for. The financial incentive is actually to pay claims rather than to deny.