Pam Whelan explains what intermediaries should know about the wider benefits of promoting good dental health.
A popular benefit
According to a recent survey, 62% of employees without a dental plan would consider one if their employer offered it and 31% of people would be attracted to a new employer by a dental plan.
Employees prioritise cost and value for money as the key deciding factors when considering benefits, but there is a strong second tier of factors including the potential to cover emergencies (75%) and how often they use the benefit (75%).
It seems that employees are not alone in the demand for dental benefits either, with 46% of companies reviewing their benefits considering adding dental. Furthermore, not only do 83% of employers recognise that dental plans enhance employee wellbeing, but 68% believe that a dental plan helps to manage staff absences and time taken off for sickness.
The research suggests that there is not only significant demand for dental as a benefit among employees and employers alike, but there is also a clear need for increasing dental care access in the wider public health agenda.
Why is it then that dental benefits continue to be treated as a separate entity to healthcare benefits? The evidence so strongly shows that dental healthcare can be a key indicator in the detection and early diagnosis of many more serious illnesses. Surely it is time to recognise that dental benefits should be used as a key preventive healthcare benefit, rather than a bolt-on for PMI.
Placing dental at heart of employee benefits
One of the most important things for intermediaries to ensure is that the providers they recommend to their clients have the same dedication to customer service as they do, as well as being expertly placed to offer advice and assistance.
We believe intermediaries thinking of recommending dental as part of a company benefit scheme should talk to expert dental companies rather than general insurance providers. This ensures that any advice given to employees will reflect the latest developments in the dental industry and any products are specifically tailored to promote preventive dental care.
A company with a focus on a wellbeing strategy will want to ensure their employee benefits deliver healthy outcomes. For intermediaries the challenge is finding the most company-friendly, cost effective and useable benefits for their clients. Dental benefits can not only be a viable option, but one which will help look after the general wellbeing of a wider range of people, as well as their teeth.
Pam Whelan is head of corporate at Denplan
