Costco offers dental insurance to its members within select states in the US. In addition, Costco is in partnership with Delta Care to provide its users with Dental HMO plans and dental discount plans. In this article we talk about Is Buying Private Dental Insurance Through Costco A Good Value.
Costco offers dental insurance to members in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
Members who wish to enroll under Costco’s dental plan will have to find an in-network dentist to attend to them because it is mandatory. This is the case with HMO-style plans.
The policy covers a wide array of services at affordable costs, but Costco’s dental plan may not cover some services at all.
Plan Coverage
It is easy to assume all insurance plans are the same, but this isn’t the case. Typically, insurance policies are tasked with covering a portion of your medical expenses or the entire cost, depending on your coverage.
The same applies to dental insurance; however, dental insurance policies are not as extensive as other health policies. So you must have a clear idea of your policy’s coverage.
Any dental insurance plan should cover three areas:
1. Routine and Preventive Care
2. Emergency Care
3. Complex Care
Costco’s dental insurance plans cover routine and preventive care procedures such as cleaning for little to no co-pay. However, many users found this unusual because most dental insurance policies free preventive and routine procedures.
The insurance plan also covers complex procedures such as orthodontics, braces, and dentures.
But like many dental plans out there, their plan does not cover every service. For example, dental implants are not covered under Costco’s insurance plan.
It is advisable that your revise what is covered in any insurance policy you wish to subscribe to.
However, Costco advises you to speak with your dentist before receiving treatment from anyone else. Your dentist is authorized to refer you to another practitioner in case of an emergency.
In addition to this, if you cannot contact your dentist, you are expected to call Delta to care in the USA for a referral.
Sometimes, you cannot reach either your dentist or a Delta care agent. In such cases, policy users have limited to $100 per emergency / out-of-state treatment as part of their insurance benefit.
Cost
Any insurance plan you register under should be affordable. Many people can argue that affordability is relative.
In this context, affordable means any amount that is inexpensive to you. You can pay it without your bank account taking a hit.
While the company website doesn’t explicitly mention the cost of their insurance plans, we assume they are inexpensive based on other factors.
The most important factor is the number of people subscribed to Costco’s insurance plan via DeltaCare. If so many people can subscribe to it, it must be affordable and of good quality.
However, we came across a customer review that mentioned their cost on Costco’s dental plan totaling $90/year.
This may not be the case today, as the comment was three years ago. The best way to find out what you will be paying for Costco’s dental plan is to get a quote.
Other Benefits- Waiting Period, Annual Deductibles, And Annual Maximums
Three benefits that make Costco stand out from other companies are that you enjoy no waiting period, no annual deductibles, and annual maximums.
A waiting period is the amount of time you have to wait before your coverage comes into effect. For example, this period could be 6-12 months. 6 months for routine and preventive care, and 12 months for complex and emergency care. Costco’s no waiting period means you can enjoy your insurance benefits immediately.
Most insurance policies have limitations, such as deductibles and maximums. Deductibles are specified amounts you pay before your insurance company takes up your costs.
Some insurance providers have high deductibles that clients may not exhaust before their policy year runs out.
Because of this, they never get to enjoy the benefits of their insurance plans. For example, Costco Dental Insurance doesn’t have deductibles meaning they chip in on your dental bills right away.
And the last great thing about Costco’s dental plan is the no annual maximum feature. This means that there is no dollar limit on how much they can spend on your dental costs within a year.
This could come in handy if you were going through some major procedures. However, they are usually expensive and could quickly exhaust your annual maximum.
Once an insurance company reaches your dollar limit for the year, you go back to covering your costs out-of-pocket.
Your Dental History
Before opening your wallet to pay for dental insurance, the last thing to consider is your dental history.
Some might say this is the most important thing to consider when registering for dental insurance.
The objective of any insurance policy is to indemnify the insured in case of an unforeseen event, usually a negative one.
Insurance companies are hopeful that you won’t need to claim on your policy, and truthfully, so do you. Nobody wants to get in an accident or lose their property to a fire breakout.
If your dental health is nothing to worry about, you may not need to get insurance. It would be more advisable to continue with your oral hygiene practices and use your money on something else instead of premiums.
But as we mentioned earlier, insurance covers probable events. So there is a 50% chance that it may never happen and an equal possibility that it will.
So to truly get value for your money, try to determine the likelihood that such an event will occur.
Final Thoughts – Costco Dental Insurance Is A Good Value
| Pros | Cons |
| Affordable | Members-only |
| No waiting period, deductible, and annual maximum | Limited to few states |
| Wide coverage | HMO style plan |
| Emergency/Out of State Benefit | Paid Preventing care |
In our opinion, Costco’s dental insurance is of good value; not only is the plan affordable, but it also has a wide coverage.
Costco skips waiting periods, deductibles, and annual maximums, unlike most plans. This allows customers to enjoy their benefits right away without limitations.
Not to mention there is provision for out-of-state or emergency treatments.
On the downside, the plan is limited to Costco members within a few states in the US. It is also mandatory you use a dentist within the plan’s network.
This may cause you to replace your long-time dentist if they aren’t part of the network’s plan.
If you can overlook these negatives, Costco’s dental plan is a plan to subscribe to. I sincerely hope you find this “Is Buying Private Dental Insurance Through Costco A Good Value?” article helpful.
Katherine Morrissey is the lead writer at InsuranceBlogX.com, specializing in life insurance and financial planning. With over 12 years of experience in the insurance industry, Katherine has a proven track record of helping individuals and families secure their financial future. She works as a Life Insurance Agent at Insurance Agents – USA and is a licensed insurance sales agent. Connect with Katherine on Facebook at @Katherine Morrissey and Instagram at @katherine56_morrissey for expert insights and updates.