The Four Kinds of Supplemental Insurance to Know

NEW YORK, March 9, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Aflac: Your employer likely offers you a basic amount of health insurance at an affordable rate through your job. But they may not offer the amounts or policy types you need. In that case, you may want to shop around and compare external insurers for supplemental health insurance. In this article, we'll cover some common types of supplemental health insurance policies you should know when determining your insurance needs. 

1. Dental insurance

Dental insurance is a supplemental health insurance policy that helps cover dental procedures. Many basic dental policies help cover two routine cleanings, exams or X-rays per year under the assumption that you'd get one every six months. These policies may also help cover some of the costs of specific procedures, such as scaling or root planing and crowns. You may be able to help cover more of these costs by paying higher premiums.

2. Vision insurance

Vision insurance helps you to cover costs associated with your eye health. These will typically help cover some of the cost of your yearly eye exam. Additionally, they may partially reimburse you for prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses.

More comprehensive policies can cost more but may help cover extras like anti-reflective coatings on eyeglasses. These policies could also provide discounts on elective procedures such as LASIK.

3. Hospital indemnity insurance

Hospital indemnity insurance pays you cash — as a lump sum or fixed payments, based on your preference — to help cover the costs of a hospital stay that your health plan may not cover. Typically, these policies aren't good enough on their own. They're smaller than traditional health insurance and only cover certain costs. However, they can be an excellent way to supplement your workplace health plan if it doesn't offer enough.

4. Travel medical insurance

Getting medical coverage in a different country with your regular insurance plan can be more complex. That's where travel medical insurance could come in handy. This policy can help cover medical costs while you're on a trip, and can also pay for emergency evacuation if you need to return to your home country for medical care. Plus, your insurer may be able to facilitate communications with health providers in the country you're in if the local language is different.

Travel medical insurance comes in single-trip or multi-trip policies. The latter is often more expensive but can work better if you have several trips planned within a short enough timeframe.

The bottom line

If your workplace plan doesn't provide the right types and amounts of coverage, you can always go to outside insurers and find supplemental health insurance. Dental and vision are two of the most important types. These help cover your routine dentist and eye doctor appointments and help you pay for more specific products and procedures.

As for your regular medical policy, you can supplement it with hospital insurance to help cover hospital stays and travel health insurance if you're away from home. All that said, weigh your insurance needs to determine which policy types are best for you. From there, shop around with multiple insurers to lock in the best rates on supplemental health insurance.

This is a brief product overview only. Coverage may not be available in all states including but not limited to Idaho, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York or Virginia. Benefits/premium rates may vary based on plan selected. Optional riders may be available at an additional cost. Policies and riders have limitations and exclusions that may affect benefits payable. For costs and complete details of the coverage, please contact your local Aflac agent. Dental — In Delaware, Policies A82100R-A82400R. In Idaho, Policies A82100RID-A82400RID. In Virginia, Policies A82100RVA-A82400RVA. Vision — In Delaware, Policy VSN100. In Idaho, Policy VSN100ID. In Oklahoma, Policy VSN100OKR. In Virginia, Policy VSN100VA. Hospital Confinement Indemnity — In Delaware, Policies B40100DE and B4010HDE. In Idaho, Policies B40100ID and B4010HID. In Oklahoma, Policies B40100OK and B4010HOK. In Virginia, Policies B40100VA and B4010HVA.

Aflac insurance coverage is underwritten by American Faily Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, coverage underwritten by American Faily Life Assurance Company of New York.

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Source: Aflac