Should I Get Dental Insurance?
This is a question patients frequently ask me.
Usually the patients have just lost a company policy or are concerned about extensive work they may need.
My standard answer has been to compare what you pay (your premium) to what you get (reimbursement for treatment).
This usually reveals that you will never get out of the policy as much as you pay into the policy.
I recently saw a commercial about private dental insurance and decided to find out if it really made sense.
This plan was called Encore.
Encore, like most private plans, makes it very hard to compare what you pay to what you get.
I told them from the beginning of the call that I wanted something mailed to me with specifics of the plan.
He said, "Sure, I just need to get some information to know where to send it.
" I gave him some basic information, and then had to listen to a two to three minute sales pitch which, or course included incentives to sign up right now with a credit card.
When I told him that I was not sure whether it would be of interest to me until I reviewed the specifics of the policy, he told me that he could not send out any specifics unless I signed up right now.
He said they could send me a brochure, but it would not have any of the specifics of the policy.
Sending out a copy of the policy for review would involve "extra mailing expenses" that they could not afford.
The message was clear.
They did not want me to know all of the specifics before I signed up for the policy.
From what I could calculate, based on the limited information I could get, this plan is mostly the same as others plans.
They did not give me specifics about the maximum fees allow for a procedures, but from the ones they did give on the commercial, the maximums seem to be about 20-40% below what most dentists would charge for the procedures.
Even if you take maximum advantage of the plan (most people will not) after the twelve month major coverage waiting period, you will never get back what you pay in.
Keep in mind that it will not, unlike most other types of insurance, fully cover a major accident.
Your best dental insurance is to keep up with your regular exam and cleanings to avoid major problems.
Usually the patients have just lost a company policy or are concerned about extensive work they may need.
My standard answer has been to compare what you pay (your premium) to what you get (reimbursement for treatment).
This usually reveals that you will never get out of the policy as much as you pay into the policy.
I recently saw a commercial about private dental insurance and decided to find out if it really made sense.
This plan was called Encore.
Encore, like most private plans, makes it very hard to compare what you pay to what you get.
I told them from the beginning of the call that I wanted something mailed to me with specifics of the plan.
He said, "Sure, I just need to get some information to know where to send it.
" I gave him some basic information, and then had to listen to a two to three minute sales pitch which, or course included incentives to sign up right now with a credit card.
When I told him that I was not sure whether it would be of interest to me until I reviewed the specifics of the policy, he told me that he could not send out any specifics unless I signed up right now.
He said they could send me a brochure, but it would not have any of the specifics of the policy.
Sending out a copy of the policy for review would involve "extra mailing expenses" that they could not afford.
The message was clear.
They did not want me to know all of the specifics before I signed up for the policy.
From what I could calculate, based on the limited information I could get, this plan is mostly the same as others plans.
They did not give me specifics about the maximum fees allow for a procedures, but from the ones they did give on the commercial, the maximums seem to be about 20-40% below what most dentists would charge for the procedures.
Even if you take maximum advantage of the plan (most people will not) after the twelve month major coverage waiting period, you will never get back what you pay in.
Keep in mind that it will not, unlike most other types of insurance, fully cover a major accident.
Your best dental insurance is to keep up with your regular exam and cleanings to avoid major problems.
Source...