Group Dental Insurance Bloomfield Hills Employees Will Actually Use

We are CFH Insurance Consultants, an independent employee benefits consulting firm on Woodward Avenue. We have been in business since 2007, and no carrier owns us. We help employers in Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield and across the whole state of Michigan pick dental and vision plans that fit their people.

Dental Insurance

Most dental plans come in two main types.

• PPO dental lets employees see any dentist. They pay less when they stay in the network. Most employees like the choice.
• HMO-style dental, often called a DHMO, costs less. Employees pick one dentist from a smaller list, and care outside that list usually is not covered.

Coverage usually works in tiers. Preventive care, like cleanings, exams and X-rays, is covered most fully. Basic work, like fillings, comes next. Major work, like crowns and bridges, is covered at a lower share.

The annual maximum is the most the plan will pay for one person in a year. Many plan maximums have barely moved in decades, while dental prices keep climbing. A higher maximum costs more, but it matters to anyone who needs major work.

A waiting period is time a new member must wait before some services are covered. It often applies to major work and orthodontia. When you change carriers, ask if the new carrier will waive waiting periods for people who already had coverage. Some will, with proof of prior coverage.

Orthodontia means braces and aligners. It often has its own lifetime maximum. Many plans cover it for children only. Parents usually check this line first.

Dental can be employer-paid, shared, or fully voluntary. Voluntary means employees pay the whole premium through payroll. Some dental plans also have participation rules, which means a minimum share of eligible employees must enroll. We check those rules before you pick a plan.

The network only helps if dentists are near where employees live, not just near the office. We check the network against your employees’ ZIP codes, from Troy and Rochester Hills to Novi and Detroit. As your group dental insurance Bloomfield Hills broker, we compare plans, read the fine print and help keep you ERISA compliant.

Vision Insurance

Vision plans are simple and low cost. Most pay for a yearly eye exam. Then they give an allowance toward glasses or contacts. The allowance is a set dollar amount, and the employee pays anything over it.

Vision is usually voluntary. That means employees pay the premium through payroll, but they still get a group price. Adding vision next to the group dental insurance Bloomfield Hills employees already use is an easy way to offer a benefit people notice.

We check the frame allowance, the contact lens allowance, how often new lenses are covered, and which local eye doctors and stores are in the network. Putting dental and vision with one carrier can make enrollment simpler. It is not always cheaper, so we quote both ways.

More on Vision Insurance →

Who’s the best group dental insurance broker near me?

Look for a broker who asks where your employees live and what they complain about. The right partner for group dental insurance Bloomfield Hills employers offer compares networks, not just prices.

Look for independence too. A broker that no carrier owns can show you several options side by side. And look for a team. For proper coverage of an account we work in teams of 5: an account executive, an account manager, a plan analyst, customer service and IT. When an employee has a claim question, someone picks up.

Our office is at 41000 Woodward Avenue, Suite 350 East, in Bloomfield Hills. We are a member of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber, and our clients can reach a chat assistant around the clock.

What do I do if employees say our dental plan doesn’t cover enough?

Start by asking what they mean. The complaint is usually one of three things, and each has a different fix.

1. The annual maximum is too low. You can raise it, or offer a richer “buy-up” plan next to the base plan. Employees who want more coverage pay the difference.
2. Their dentist is out of network. A different carrier, or a PPO in place of an HMO-style plan, may fix it.
3. A big bill surprised them. Tell employees to ask for a predetermination before major work. That is when the dentist sends the treatment plan to the carrier first, so everyone knows what the plan will pay.

Make plan changes at renewal. Most January 1 renewals arrive in October and November, and open enrollment is in the fall. Group dental insurance Bloomfield Hills employers change in the fall is ready for employees on day one of the new plan year.