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Guardian Direct® Dental Insurance Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.9 / 5 (Excellent)
157 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.
 
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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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157 Customer Comments & Reviews

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M
me
6/26/2017
I have never in my life had such a bad experience. From being in pain for weeks and weeks with no real help and now I have a broken tooth and NO ONE is available for a month. Thanks for nothing.

K
kachua
6/1/2017
The fluent English costumers service call center is HORRIBLY RUDE when I called to find a dentist in the network. Called again, a different call center with accent English speaker was much more polite. The website for finding a dentist is a TERRIBLE NOT-USER-FRIENDLY site. I was forced to speak to a rude American CSR after 30 min repeatedly getting the same searching criteria screen. I was told I had to use the Advance search by the rude CSR. It still gave me the same original screen with additional criteria boxes. The plan covers only $2000 a yr and has rude English speaker CSR. We have to deal with bad dental ins and dental crooks trying to create dental problems to get our money and... Read More

Y
yumna
5/31/2017
The worst dental insurance ever! It is just not worth it. They are too difficult about covering your treatment and provide very minimal coverage anyway. They denied coverage for my wisdom tooth extractions by an oral surgeon reasoning that the general practitioner can do it in his office when the general practitioner was the one that referred me to an oral surgeon. I kept phoning the insurance and visiting offices of oral surgeon and my dentist back n forth for 3 months, in pain, but my matter was not resolved. My dentist wouldn't do it saying I need to go to the oral surgeon and I couldn't get it done from the oral surgeon because this insurance won't cover it. I ended up terminating the... Read More

D
DR S
5/16/2017
THE WORST DENTAL INSURANCE. I CAN NOT BELIEVE MOST DENTIST ACCEPT THIS PSEUDO-INSURANCE. THEY AUTOMATICALLY DENY EVERY SINGLE NON-PREVENTIVE CLAIM THAT WE SEND.

A
Albany399
5/3/2017
I would give this company a zero if I could. They are the WORST DENTAL COMPANY IN 30 YEARS I have ever had! They processed a claim in for October 2016 and re-processed in MARCH 2017!!! That is 5-6 months later and then demands money back from my child's dentist saying they processed the claim wrong. Funny that every review I read says the same thing. They only sent the EOB stating that everything was covered. They Never sent an updated EOB in March that they reprocessed the claim. So we bring our kids in for a cleaning today and owe them over $250. This was for a basic cleaning for 2 children under 6. They say they changed their fee schedule for 37.50 for a cleaning!!! Are you joking me!!!... Read More

L
Luz
4/26/2017
They don't cover much of anything! They received an estimat from my dentist and said they would only pay but for a bacteria test and at the end they didn't now I owe and I can't get my painful tooth problem fixed!!! Canceling my coverage!!

Lonnie E
4/24/2017
The summary says Guardian Dental is reputable. Not in my experience! I work for a small business, and things are complicated with third-party providers and fourth-party managers, but Guardian dropped coverage for several employees, and no one knew until claims started being rejected. Guardian also refuses to answer questions. They fall back on the excuse of claims handling. If no coverage, no help, no consideration. Guardian admitted the mistake to the company, but it is painful. Guardian may pass audits, but they sure care nothing for their real customers, the little guys. I say plainly, Guardian sucks! Guardian did not check with their contacts. Guardian did not notify members. Guardian... Read More

J
Jean
4/5/2017
The policy states that one must see the dentist to which one is assigned. I made an appointment for my husband with the dentist to which we are assigned, but this dentist sees patients at an address that differs from the address he is listed at in the provider directory. Guardian denied the claim because the address was different. I was told that if my husband had seen a dentist at the assigned ADDRESS then they could make an exception. However, right dentist, wrong address is a deal breaker. This bait and switch makes me feel angry and helpless. Naturally, one cannot speak to anyone with any more authority than the customer service representative. So, now I will have to soak up $600... Read More

G
Gratzman
2/17/2017
Signed up for plan through marketplace. On that site it said there was a $75 deductible per person then it paid 90% of out of network preventive charges. My wife had our dentist (out of network provider) submit their bill and they paid nothing. Now their customer service says there is a $150 deductible (still shows $75 deductible on gov't site) per person and they only allow $89 for the services billed, and even after the deductible is met, they would only cover 90% of what they "allow", not what the dentist charges. It is all a lot of lies and deceit with this company. Very poor coverage and very poor foreign customer service, barely speak English.

William W
2/2/2017
I used to have another dental insurance, but due to the company I work for being cheap, they switched to Guardian Dental. I was in the process of getting dentures, but due to the switch my dentist had to resubmit the claim and Guardian refused to cover it. They took a high out-of-pocket cost and turned it into an astronomical out-of-pocket cost, one that I cannot afford. Guardian sucks. They are quite willing to take money out of my paycheck each week, but they give you nothing for it.

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  • Unlimited Use
  • Pre-Existing Conditions Included in Plan Savings
  • Plans Start at $99/Year for Discounted Rates on Dental Procedures
  • 100,000+ Dental Access Points Nationwide
  • A+ Grade with the BBB
  • Voted #1 in Ethics by Dallas Morning News
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