Guardian Makes Dental Coverage Available Online

NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 9, 2015 — The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), one of the nation’s largest dental insurers, today announced that consumers who do not have access to dental coverage through an employer or an exchange can now attain dental insurance directly from Guardian at https://mydental.guardianlife.com. With more than 130 million people having no form of dental insurance¹, making dental coverage more widely available will provide all consumers with the opportunity to better protect the health of themselves and their families.

Without dental insurance, consumers may either neglect their dental health or pay higher dental fees since these have not been negotiated on their behalf. Consumers can save up to 30 percent off standard dental fees with Guardian dental insurance. Depending on the plan, check-ups and cleanings may have little or no out-of-pocket expenses and participants can expect cost-reductions for more advanced procedures like root canals or crowns. Regardless of which plan the consumer chooses all consumers will experience easy enrollment and the ability to purchase online with choice of payment method. In addition to Guardian plans, online dental offerings will be provided by Access Dental and Premier Access, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Guardian.

Guardian is offering consumers the same range of coverage options available through employers and exchanges.  Consumers can choose a:

• Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan which provides the most flexibility when picking a dentist. Through a PPO, a consumer can choose a dentist from a network of providers, or choose to see a non-network provider. PPO plans will pay a non-network provider, although it may be at a lower rate and cause some out-of-pocket costs for the consumer.
• Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) plan which requires the consumer to use a selected dentist within a particular network. DHMOs are made up of providers that have agreed to lower their rates for plan members and also meet quality standards. But unlike a PPO plan, care is covered only if consumers see a provider within the DHMO’s network.

"Guardian wants to make it easy for all Americans to obtain affordable dental insurance coverage, how, when and where they prefer. We believe that expanding the availability of dental coverage to those who don’t have access to it through an employer, association or an exchange, will profoundly improve America’s access to dental insurance,” said Marcia Vannuccini, Second Vice President, Head of the Direct to Consumer Business at Guardian.

Consumers can purchase dental insurance online in the following states: AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NC, NY, NJ, OH, TX, UT and VA.

For over 150 years, Guardian has been focused on providing quality products, networks and services to consumers and evaluating the delivery of these to meet consumers’ best interests. In addition to direct online purchases, Guardian dental products are also available through the American Health Benefit Exchange (AHBE); individual public exchanges managed by states, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace and private exchanges. The availability of dental benefits online, through exchanges and at the workplace allows consumers to purchase comprehensive health coverage on their choice of platforms.

For additional information, please visit https://mydental.guardianlife.com.  

About Guardian

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America^® (Guardian) is one of the largest mutual life insurers, with $6.8 billion in capital and $1.3 billion in operating income in 2014.  Founded in 1860, the company has paid dividends to policyholders every year since 1868.  Its offerings range from life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and investments for individuals to workplace benefits, such as dental, vision, and 401(k) plans. The company has approximately 6,000 employees and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 70 agencies nationwide. For more information about Guardian, please visit www.GuardianLife.com.

1. A report from Chairman Bernard Sanders Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, February 29, 2012.