Can I have secondary dental insurance?
Have you considered secondary dental insurance?
Secondary insurance policies are fairly common with health insurance and other types of personal insurance, but you may have wondered about the need for secondary dental insurance. Some people have asked if it’s possible to carry two insurance policies for dental services. We’ll answer these questions and see what benefits secondary dental insurance can provide.
Is secondary dental insurance or coordination of benefits allowed?
Some have asked if secondary dental insurance is allowed. The answer is typically yes with most dental insurance plans. Most dental plans refer to secondary insurance as Coordination of Benefits. Coordination of benefits states how an insurance plan will coordinate with other insurance policies that may offer similar coverage.
It’s important to note that not every dental policy allows for coordination of benefits with another dental plan. However, there are many dental insurance plans that do allow for coordination of benefits with another dental policy or secondary dental plan.
You can usually check for this in your dental plan’s summary of benefits. There should be a clause regarding Coordination of Benefits that will explain how your plan works with other dental plans.
Why would I need two dental insurance plans?
Secondary dental policies can make sense for members who are needing a larger amount of dental work. Patients who need treatments like root canals, crowns, bridges, and dental implants can find that these procedures are very expensive.
Dental plans typically have an annual maximum benefit amount that they will pay each year. Sometimes a member may need more dental treatments than their plan will cover. This is where a secondary dental plan can help with coverage for charges that are remaining once the primary dental benefits have been exhausted. This additional insurance coverage can help offset the high costs of larger dental treatments.
How does secondary dental insurance work?
The most common scenario for secondary dental is for members who carry primary dental insurance through their employer. Members can then purchase secondary dental coverage in the private market to get access to additional benefits. Typically the plan you’ve had first will be considered primary and the newer plan would be secondary coverage.
It’s important to keep in mind that most dental plans that are secondary will not make payments until the primary plan has exhausted it’s payment for a treatment. However for someone needing a larger amount of dental work, secondary coverage can make a lot of sense.
Plans available as secondary policies
Regardless if you have primary dental coverage through your employer or with an individual policy, anyone can purchase additional dental coverage in the private market. Most plans offered with EasyDentalQuotes have coordination of benefits provisions that will allow additional dental insurance. Plans offered with Delta Dental and Renaissance Dental allow for coordination of benefits as a secondary policy, and may be a good fit for additional dental benefits.
Choose the best coverage strategy for your situation
While secondary dental coverage is possible, it might not be right for everyone. If you only need regular dental exams and basic dental maintenance, then a singe dental plan may provide enough coverage to meet your needs.
However, if you expect to have a larger amount of major dental work that will exceed your plan’s annual maximum, then a secondary dental plan can make sense to help with the additional cost that you may incur. The main goal is to make sure that you can obtain the necessary dental services that you need to maintain proper oral health. Then you can be confident that you’ve got the best dental coverage to meet your needs.
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