Dental Insurance

dizzyf

What is your claim limit - do you know? tesco is 80% of £2000.00 per year claim. Is that a reasonable amount? NHS is unlimited, including check ups/polishes etc. Can any dentists advise?

Toothsmith

I don't like advising on dental insurance products.

I fix teeth, I'm not an expert in all the insurance products.

2000 should easily cover most routine work for most people in a typical year.

Is there a seperate (higher) limit for damage caused by accidents? If you slip up and break a couple of teeth, things can get very dear very quickly.

Denplan (The product I like my patients to be signed onto) has a very good accident cover section, but Denplan isn't really an insurance product like he Tesco one is.

I don't know enough about the different products available to recommend one above another.

whatatwit

dizzyf wrote: »

What is your claim limit - do you know? tesco is 80% of £2000.00 per year claim. Is that a reasonable amount? NHS is unlimited, including check ups/polishes etc. Can any dentists advise?

Dizzy, without looking at the Tesco site, i'm not sure, but as I had already registered with my new dentist :A and was looking at paying 100% of the charges, anything Tesco refund me (after my premiums obviously) is a bonus :T
So, if you were to visit your NHS dentist and have a check up and then he sends you to the hygienist who charges you separately, do Tesco pay both? From some of the threads on here that is what appears to happen.
I rang the helpline number to query a couple of points, and they were very helpful.

dizzyf

From what I can see, the check up, hygenist etc is only covered on the NHS plan.
The private one only covers treatments.

My dentist covers both NHS and private, but I think much more than a filling or extraction and they try to treat you privately. Last time they said NHS wouldn't cover a crown, just a denture, which is why I went private.

Rang and they said you can't get both covers.

I'm getting a headache instead of toothache!!!;)

whatatwit

This would appear to be a quick comparison of the 2 plans, copied from the tesco site. As I read it, I can claim 100% of my check ups and 80% of treatment.


Premium Cover.

Here are some situations when this plan may be suitable for you:

• You attend a private dentist
• You receive private dental treatment
• There is a chance your NHS dentist may only offer private dentistry one day - this plan moves with you

This table details what the cost of Premium Cover is. What's more the prices are fixed regardless of your age or the condition of your teeth.

IndividualJointFamilySingle Parent FamilyMonthly premium£16.95£31.95£37.95£22.95

• Maintenance, (e.g. check-ups, x-rays, hygienist). 100% reimbursement to maximum annual value of £200, NHS or private
• General dental treatment (e.g. fillings, crowns, bridges) - 80% reimbursement to annual value of £2,000, when treated privately
• Dental emergency (UK and worldwide) up to £400 per year (up to £200 per incident), NHS or private
• Dental injury (UK and worldwide) up to £10,000 per year (up to £2,500 per incident), NHS or private
• NHS cash benefit per night you stay in hospital as an NHS patient for your teeth - £60 per night
• Treatment of mouth cancer up to £12,000 for one course of treatment, including smokers

For joint or family policies, the annual limits are per person.
Case study

Mr Knowles goes to a private dentist for a routine check up and discovers he needs a filling, scale and polish. With Premium Cover, Mr Knowles will be able to claim back 100% of the cost of the check up, scale and polish (up to £200), and 80% of the cost of the filling.
Core Cover

If you receive dental treatment on the NHS this may be suitable for you.
However, if your NHS dentist provides treatment not ordinarily available on the NHS, e.g. white fillings, then Premium Cover may be more appropriate.
Similarly, if your existing dentist was to change from NHS to private, Premium Cover could be more suitable.
This table details how much Core Cover costs. The prices are fixed regardless of your age or the condition of your teeth.

IndividualJointFamilyMonthly premium£8.95£16.95n/a¹

• All NHS dental appointments and courses of treatment in the UK - 100% reimbursement
• Dental emergency (UK and worldwide) up to £400 per year (up to £200 per incident, NHS or private)
• Dental injury (UK and worldwide) up to £10,000 per year (up to £2,500 per incident, NHS or private)
• NHS Cash Benefit per night you stay in hospital as an NHS patient for your teeth - £60 per night
• Treatment of mouth cancer up to £12,000, including smokers

For joint policies the annual limits are per person.
Case study

Mrs Brodie receives dental treatment on the NHS. At a routine check up she discovers she needs a filling as well as a crown. With Core Cover, Mrs Brodie will be covered for the cost of the check up as well as the treatment and can claim 100% of the cost back.
For some benefits, you will not be eligible for cover until you have had your policy for one month (Core Cover) or three months (Premium Cover).

dougz_2

whatatwit wrote: »

General dental treatment (e.g. fillings, crowns, bridges) - 80% reimbursement to annual value of £2,000, when treated privately

This seems slightly ambiguous to me. Does "value" mean the total of the dentists bills, or does it mean the amount Tesco actually pay to you in reimbursement? Put another way, does it mean the maximum they would pay out is only 80% of £2000 which would equate to a maximum of £1600 back, or the full £2000 back which would correspond to 80% of £2500 in bills?

Another point that I could not seem to understand from the T&C:

Maintenance, (e.g. check-ups, x-rays, hygienist). 100% reimbursement to maximum annual value of £200, NHS or private

Does this also cover all kinds of joining fees, or only when they are worded on the bill as being for a regular "check-up"? For example, one dentist I looked at charges an extra annual fee if you are 'pay as you go' instead of on their own dental plan, would Tesco reimburse for that element?

shoperholicnot

I am having problems with HSA at the moment and am wondering if anyone else is experiencing problems with claiming.

last year i took out dental insurance, i took it out because i wanted a new dentist (old one was a butcher) and the dentist that was recommended to me would only take me as a private patient.

anyway it turned out that i needed a fair bit of work (that I did not know about) mostly fillings and some root canal. I had the work done and HSA paid no problem.
I broke a tooth and dentist said this would need to be crowned, he said that one other needed to done as well. had them both done and sent in a claim a month ago. 2 weeks later HSA sent me a letter saying that they wanted my dental records going back TWO YEARS, before they would consider my claim!!
why 2 years worth?? I have not been with this dentist 2 years, and have not seen a dentist before that for over 2 years. I sent them my dental records from present dentist and now have been told that it can take up to 4 weeks for them to look at them!
the crowns i had done were not cosmetic and i really needed them done. i am so fed up now. my insurance is coming up for renewal and i want to tell them to stuff it but am worried they wont pay if i dont renew. oh and the new terms of the new policy is only 1 crown or bridge a year! - how can they say that when the policy is meant to cover you for £2,000 of treatment????

what should i do? I have been put off dental insurance for life now

shoperholicnot

has anyone got Tesco dental insurance, and are they any good?
thanx

Keeping_Motivated

This is the same situation as me, they have payed all my treatment but this last treatment of a crown and a bridge they have asked for records and xrays. Like you I only had the records from this dentist so I have sent them and also been told it will take up to 4 weeks as they have a back log. Apparently this is just their policy with crowns so I suppose as long as they pay up once they realise the treatment wasn't cosmetic then its fair enough.

My policy runs out in July so I will continue to pay til then as I have been pleased with the service all year (until this). The reason I won't renew is because they have changed their payout for crowns from £2000 to £500 so I will try Tesco dental insurance next year.

SparkyG

I also changed to Tesco insurance for the above reasons, and they have paid out for claims with no fuss at all. In fact the only trouble I have had is with the dental surgery who do not give itemised receipts which Tesco require. As there is no detailed claim form to fill out, and not even the dentist has to sign it, you have to have a receipt that shows exactly what has been done, especially the difference between 'maintenance' and actual treatment. Our dentist's till receipts just say 'dental treatment' and the cost, which is not acceptable. Think I have got it sorted out now after having a word with the practice manager.

When I told HSA I ws not renewing I had a claim outstanding, but they paid up without any problems.