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Guardian® Dental Insurance Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 9.8 / 5 ()
164 Customer Comments & Reviews - see all comments
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Guardian Direct is a division of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, which is among the largest mutual insurance companies in the nation. Founded in 1860 and headquartered in New York, Guardian offers a wide array of products, including dental insurance. Guardian employs numerous agents across the country and holds a superior rating with the BBB and excellent ratings for financial stability.

Guardian Direct® Dental Insurance - Overview

Guardian Direct's dental insurance is part of a series of comprehensive individual insurance products offered on guardiandirect.com, including accident, critical illness, vision and pet insurance. 

Guardian Direct dental insurance plans can cover regular exams, cleanings, x-rays, root canals, crowns, implants, and braces. Consumers can choose from a number of Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans or a Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) plan based on their needs, budget, and state.  


 

Qualification

Consumers interested in dental insurance from Guardian Direct can enroll immediately through their fast, safe and secure website guardiandirect.com.  Guardiandirect.com also provides a provider lookup to help find a dentist in the Guardian network or confirm their existing dentist is a part of the network. 

After providing their zip code, applicants are shown the plans that are available for them in their area.  To purchase, they need only enter who needs to be covered, home address, phone number, gender, birthdate and email address along with a valid form of payment.  


Plans

Through Guardian Direct, consumers have access to three tiers of PPO dental insurance plans. The first, Bronze, is for people who are only expecting to get cleanings and the occasional filling. The second, Silver, works best for those who anticipate needing dental work beyond the occasional filling. And the third, Gold, is best suited for people who want the maximum amount of coverage possible. In the states of FL, IL, NY, and TX, DHMO plans are also available. The PPO plan tiers' offering is as follows:

Coverage

Preventive services include the most routine dental services, such as oral exams, cleanings, and X-rays.

Basic services include dental services, such as fillings and simple extractions.

Major services include more complex dental services such as crowns, oral surgery, and implants.

 

GUARDIAN DIRECT PAYS

PLAN BENEFITS

GOLD ADVANTAGE

SILVER ADVANTAGE

BRONZE ADVANTAGE

Preventive Services

100%, No Waiting Period

80%, No Waiting Period

100%, No Waiting Period

Basic Services

70%, After 6 Month Waiting Period

50%, After 6 Month Waiting Period

50%, After 6 Month Waiting Period 

Major Services

50%, After 12 Month Waiting Period

50%, After 12 Month Waiting Period 

0% (Not Covered)

Implants

50%, After 12 Month Waiting Period

50%, After 12 Month Waiting Period

0% (Not Covered)

Child (under 19) Orthodontia

50%, After 12 Month Waiting Period

0% (Not Covered)

0% (Not Covered) 

DEDUCTIBLES

 

 

 

Preventive Services

$0 In-Network

$50 Out-of-Network

$0 In-Network

$50 Out-of-Network

$0 In-Network

$50 Out-of-Network

All Other Dental Services 

$50

$50

$50

MAXIMUM PAYOUTS

 

 

 

Total Benefit Maximum

1st Year Max: $500

2nd Year Max: $750

3rd Year Max: $1,000

4th Year & Beyond Max: $1,500

1st Year Max: $500

2nd Year Max: $750

3rd Year Max: $1,000

4th Year & Beyond Max: $1,000

1st Year Max: $1,000

2nd Year Max: $1,250

3rd Year Max: $1,500

4th Year & Beyond Max: $1,000

Implant Maximum

Lifetime Max: $1,000

Lifetime Max: $700

Not Covered

Child (under 19) Orthodontia Maximum

Yearly Max: $500

Lifetime Max: $1,000

Yearly Max: $500

Lifetime Max: $1,000

Not Covered

Dental Insurance at Guardian Direct

Guardian Direct's easy online enrollment process, comprehensive plan breakdown, and supplementary research material all make for a solid choice of dental insurance. After consumers answer a few questions designed to determine which plans best suit them, they can begin the enrollment process. Since Guardian Direct is highly rated by the BBB, consumers should have confidence that the company can meet their dental insurance needs.


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164 Customer Comments & Reviews

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B
BSOM
12/30/2017
Presently Guardian is in a business relationship via a "leaseable" contract arrangement with DenteMax Discount Dental Plan whereby their preferred providers are having their arms twisted into accepting even ridiculously lower fees. In the long run they are separating their members from their family dentists who were already preferred providers of their dental insurance plans. This can be likened to an airline selling the seat of someone who offered to be bumped and then taking off without them. The rationale is that the willing traveler has identified themselves as a person that has flexible plans and can be exploited for profit.


S
S V
12/12/2017
Above is NOT true. "Fine Print Crowns, Inlays, Onlays and Labial Veneers are covered only when caused by decay or injury, and only when the tooth cannot be restored with amalgam or composite filing material." Was denied coverage because it hadn't been 10 years since my original crown was put on. Mind you the crown cracked and my tooth was exposed. So, I asked, "leave it exposed and endure pain and get a root canal and then a crown, would that be covered?" Yes, Abigail, from Guardian Dental insurance said! Beware of the quality or lack of quality their insurance is. Their fine print above, is NOT true.


T
Tony S
12/7/2017
Absolute worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. I could write a lot here but why bother wasting peoples' time. Dentist submitted charge for a PORCLN Inlay; once they knocked it down to the considered charge of $544.00 they agreed to pay $36.90!! I did not use any portion of my 2,000 annual benefit and the deductible was only $50. Oh yes I went through the usual wait a few months and then have your dentist send in more X-Rays and then wait a couple more months for this!! I am going to ask my company to take me off their plan and buy something myself or just pay out of my pocket!!


V
Vildana
11/29/2017
The worst insurance ever. They don't cover anything.


M
Molly S
11/17/2017
Absoluely terrible! I have called customer service 4 times and they have not followed through with anything they promised me. The coverage is a complete joke. They will do everything they can to not cover crowns. The review process is 28 days.


M
Marlene
11/15/2017
The only dentist I found that were in network are all western dental. I chose my dentist so not as much is covered. Because the dentist is not in network the insurance basically told me that since some info was wrong that the dentist office did not do correctly I had to deal with the dental office. If it was in network they would be happy to do it. But because I chose a dentist out of network(all they offer is western dental) I have to deal. Worst insurance ever!


T
Thomas H
10/16/2017
The insurance does not pay for crowns if the tooth is cracked, only if it is broken. When a tooth is broken you will need a root canal! They only paid $14 for the x-ray. The dentist submitted photos of the tooth to no avail. I DO NOT recommend Guardian! Also, when you call them, you are talking to people from India.


L
Laura
9/19/2017
Customer service stinks, they don't speak english. Hard to get a point across. We had the misfortune of having to file fraud claim on a dentist. Took 5 months for them to review and make a decision. During which we could not contact ANYONE even the woman handling our cliam (mail box was always full). I don't feel that they truly "investigated". From what i understood they only called the office to ask if my daughter had the root canal they billed for done. In the end it was determined, she didnt finish it and they re-coded the charges, resulting in a difference of almost $600. Amazingly an emergency root canal thst was" never finished," never hurt again and only needed a permenent filling...Read More


Nicole D
9/16/2017
This coverage is terrible. The communication is awful, customer service can't speak English and therefore has trouble communicating information. They said they'd cover 80% for out of network fillings, then they tell me it's 80% of the rate THEY decide, not what the dentist charges. They didn't even cover the full cost of my cleaning. If you have another option, choose it. also, it won't let me rate anything below very good, what a scam!


M
Mya R
9/11/2017
As mentioned by other customers the lack of communication from Guardian regarding coverage is appalling. I am a dependent under my mothers insurance and every single time I've made an appointment I always received the "you're not covered" response immediately. When I call Guardian they all give me excuse as to why I'm not covered. Previously before the laws changed to dependents being covered until the age of 26 the policy was I needed to be a full time student. I was a sophomore in college so I was already a student for 2 years and instead of contacting us before ending my coverage they always ended it without giving us any notice on any action that needed to be done. This happened multi...Read More



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