Don’t Overpay for Individual Dental Insurance
February 24th, 2009Dental insurance is a nice, but non essential type of coverage to have. Because individual dental insurance plans will almost invariably have low annual limits on coverage, dental insurance does not protect against a catastrophic event.
No Catastrophic Coverage
A typical dental insurance plan might have an annual cap of $1,000 to a few thousand dollars a year. While a thousand dollars is nothing to sneeze at, the level of coverage on a typical dental plan pales in comparison to that of a typical auto or health insurance policy. This means that the impact of not having dental insurance when you need it is small.
Beware when purchasing dental insurance!
Individual stand alone dental insurance policies often have significant waiting periods, big deductibles and other cost shares. This is because if these policies paid more in benefits people would often purchase coverage when they need dental work done and drop the coverage when the work is done. This can in many cases mean that you are better off paying for your dental work out of your pocket and not purchasing a dental plan at all.
Dental insurance when purchased through a good group insurance plan through an employer can often be a good deal. If your employer offers you an option to participate in a Blue Cross Blue Shield Dental insurance in Illinois, you may be offered a good deal. However if you are offered individual dental insurance in North Carolina from a no-name company, you might not be. Stand alone individual dental insurance often isn’t a good deal.
Also dental and health insurance when purchased together as part of an individual plan can be a good deal. You may find that a well priced alternative to dental insurance is an individual dental discount plan.
Before purchasing a dental insurance on your own, be aware of the annual and lifetime limitations of the coverage, the waiting periods, the cost shares such as deductibles and the cost. Do the math and see if you aren’t better of just paying for your dental expenses out of your pocket.