Dental insurance is insurance designed to pay the costs associated with dental care. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) bill which was put forward in the winter session of the Lok Sabha (2008) focused on increasing the foreign investment share from the existing 26% to 49% in the insurance companies of India. This will allow the multibillion dollar international insurance companies to enter the Indian market and subsequently cover all aspects of insurance in India. Dental insurance will be an integral a part of this system. Dental insurance is a new concept in Southeast Asia as very few countries in Southeast Asia cover this aspect of insurance. It is important that the dentists in India should be acquainted with the different types of plans these companies are going to offer and about a new relationship which is going to emerge in the coming years between dentist, patient and the insurance company.
Unlike most western countries, specific dental insurance plans are not common in India.
Oral health is normally integrated with the general health insurance schemes. The efforts of the Indian Dental Association to bring out a comprehensive Indian dental insurance scheme have seen partial success so far.
Indian dental insurance plans are mainly of two types:
Stand alone dental insurance plan: This type of plan covers the expenses related to general dental problems such as periodontitis and extraction of permanent teeth due to ailments such as caries. The amount of expense to be reimbursed as well as the period of such cover is fixed. This type of plan is generally provided by the popular dental care product companies in association with one of the insurance companies. The first of its kind dental insurance scheme in India was launched through oral care brand, Pepsodent (HLL) in 2002. This plan was in partnership with the New India Assurance; the plan offered a dental insurance of Rs. 1000 on purchase of any pack of Pepsodent. Insurance cover against expenses for the extraction of teeth due to caries and periodontitis was also provided.
But this plan was time bound and also did not cover other aspects of dental rehabilitation.
Dental insurance cover as part of general health insurance plan: This type of dental insurance is provided by the general insurance companies as part of their own general health insurance schemes such as health advantage policy or student medical policy. One can claim dental expenses along with the other kinds of reimbursements such as the cost of medicines or hospitalization. These plans also offered tax benefits up to a certain fixed amount under the income tax act.
.
