Finding personal dental insurance

[sshafran]

wow, and you're an insurance agent? early 30's and know's how to beat the insurance companies out of a few hundred bucks. i'm curious do you teach those in your training videos or just to your clients?

This whole forum has numerous posts about how dental insurance for the individual is a racket. Get over it.

I'm a free market guy.

If a stupid insurance company is going to offer guaranteed issue dental insurance, with no waiting period on preventative, and no requirement to keep the plan - for something my dentist schedules 6 months in advance - do you really think it should come as a shock to them that people might just buy the policy for their scheduled appointment then cancel?

Don't blame me - blame the carriers for a poor plan design. If I could schedule my homeowners insurance around hail storms & fires and schedule coverage around the events, I would do that as well .

But, I'm not paying $85/mo (or more) for a family of four for dental insurance . In the mean time, I'll continue to pay for a week or two of coverage then my $50 deductible per person. It still costs $200 for the 4 of us to get the teeth cleaned and looked at.

I love your little dig on my free training - that's cute. I bet you felt like a big boy typing that one.

 

[rcduggan]

This whole forum has numerous posts about how dental insurance for the individual is a racket. Get over it.

I'm a free market guy.

If a stupid insurance company is going to offer guaranteed issue dental insurance, with no waiting period on preventative, and no requirement to keep the plan - for something my dentist schedules 6 months in advance - do you really think it should come as a shock to them that people might just buy the policy for their scheduled appointment then cancel?

Don't blame me - blame the carriers for a poor plan design. If I could schedule my homeowners insurance around hail storms & fires and schedule coverage around the events, I would do that as well .

But, I'm not paying $85/mo (or more) for a family of four for dental insurance . In the mean time, I'll continue to pay for a week or two of coverage then my $50 deductible per person. It still costs $200 for the 4 of us to get the teeth cleaned and looked at.

I love your little dig on my free training - that's cute. I bet you felt like a big boy typing that one.

free market guy? more like free loader guy.

people like you don't deserve an insurance license. your response about P&C and how you would buy homeowners during those events only proves your lack of insurance knowledge.
really, how do you think those expenses are offset in time like that?

 

[sshafran]

free market guy? more like free loader guy.

I pay a premium for the time coverage needs to be in effect. They offer it - I buy it. I'm within my rights to cancel it. Deal with it.

Would you buy car insurance on a car that you are keeping in the garage for the next 6 months and not driving? If you do - then you're stupid.

Just because others do doesn't mean I should.

 

[somarco]

Scott Mansfield #sman posted something similar in a thread on the forum. I believe he used a discount plan, maybe in conjunction with an insured plan. Maybe he will wander in here and enlighten us.

 

[rcduggan]

I pay a premium for the time coverage needs to be in effect. They offer it - I buy it. I'm within my rights to cancel it. Deal with it.

Would you buy car insurance on a car that you are keeping in the garage for the next 6 months and not driving? If you do - then you're stupid.

Just because others do doesn't mean I should.

you didn't answer my question but i'll answer yours. yes, i buy full coverage auto insurance even though my car is inside a garage (and has been for 3 years along with a handful of motorcycles) and yes the car is paid off. if the car was damaged or stolen i couldn't afford to come out of pocket and replace it.

 

[sshafran]

you didn't answer my question but i'll answer yours. yes, i buy full coverage auto insurance even though my car is inside a garage (and has been for 3 years along with a handful of motorcycles) and yes the car is paid off. if the car was damaged or stolen i couldn't afford to come out of pocket and replace it.

Fair enough - I'll answer your question. Claims are paid by premiums. And I fully understand if everyone did what I (and others) do that either (a) premiums would go up, (b) guaranteed-issue would be eliminated, (c) a waiting period on preventative would be added, or (d) dental insurance would be a thing of the past.

And I understand with your car example - you'd insure them because they have value well above the premium. I guess the analogy broke down with vehicles costing more than a 2xs per year cleaning.

It also breaks down in that the premium out-weighs the risk when it comes to dental, at least for me. In your case, the premium is worth it for your vehicles.

 

[LostDollar]

I am glad to see that premium vs risk has finally come up. While trying to think about dental insurance, it has seemed like most of the discussions have approached it as an investment rather than insurance.

 

[Chazm]

My UHC dental plan covers $1k in coverage for roughly $360/yr in premium. I think of it as, "i better get my "free" teeth cleaning in".
In the last two years I haven't needed more than that but it has helped in fillings and one root canal/crown.

 

[rcduggan]

I am glad to see that premium vs risk has finally come up. While trying to think about dental insurance, it has seemed like most of the discussions have approached it as an investment rather than insurance.

there's a fine line in dental insurance with regard to risk vs premium. i've said this in the past and i'll say it again, do the math. if you take care of your teeth relatively well, it would be more cost-effective to self-insure. however, i know of a number of examples where people sometimes just need to know they're paying for something in order to use it. also, those oh no moments where you you wished you had it, but that's really insurance in general. paying a month a premium for dental insurance to receive free cleanings and then terming the policy is just shady, especially being an agent. he some how gets it but has no concern other than himself (even though he is an insurance agent and clearly shows he understands there's a pool).

 

[somarco]

Individual dental insurance is virtually risk free to the carrier. They design the plans and premium in such a way as to generate a guaranteed profit on the line of coverage. That is why so many carriers offer dental. They are falling over themselves to bring out another "me too" product.