Jan 30 (Reuters) - Cigna ( CI ) forecast annual profit

below Wall Street expectations on Thursday and missed estimates

for the fourth quarter, hurt by higher medical costs for a type

of employer-sponsored healthcare plan.

The plan, called "stop-loss insurance", entails the insurer

covering for employers' self-funded plans when their costs

surpass a certain threshold due to catastrophic or unexpected

medical claims.

The company forecast annual profit per share of at least

$29.50, below analysts estimates of $31.50 per share, according

to data compiled by LSEG.

Cigna ( CI ) manages employer-sponsored healthcare plans, and

unlike its peers, has a smaller presence in the Medicare

Advantage market, where insurers have been grappling with

increased medical costs driven by demand for healthcare services

among older adults.

The health insurer is in the process of selling its

Medicare Advantage business to Health Care Service Corp. The

divestiture, announced last year, is expected to close in the

first quarter of 2025.

For the quarter, its medical care ratio - the percentage of

premiums spent on medical care - came in at 87.9%, up from 82.2%

a year ago. Analysts expected a ratio of 84.84% for the reported

quarter.

"While higher medical costs in our stop-loss product

impacted fourth-quarter earnings, we are taking corrective

actions to address these near-term pressures," said CEO David

Cordani.

On an adjusted basis, Cigna ( CI ) posted fourth-quarter profit of

$6.64 per share, compared with estimates of $7.82.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)