Guardian Acquires Preferred Dental Network

NEW YORK, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), a leading provider of employee benefits, today announced that it will expand its dental PPO network coverage with the acquisition of Nevada-based Preferred Dental, LLC (Preferred Dental Network).

Guardian has one of the largest national dental PPO networks with over 70,900 dentists at more than 131,500 locations – with a proprietary network in every state.

"This acquisition demonstrates Guardian's commitment to our flagship dental business and the continued growth of our PPO network both nationally and in Nevada," said Jim Pogue, Senior Vice President, Group Insurance.  "A strong proprietary network helps us to meet our overall goals of developing more competitive products with flexible pricing that enables business owners to build a plan that meets their unique needs."  

"Our network strength is a key reason why we have been able to bring innovative, flexible products to employers while keeping our costs competitive," said Chris Swanker, Vice President, Group Dental.  "Backed by the strong network, Guardian continues to be the smart choice for dental benefits as our features allow planholders and members to get more value from their benefits. This includes annual maximum rollovers, empowering employees to save dental benefits that were previously lost at the end of the year if they didn't use them.  Plus, our service and support makes it easy to do business with us, allowing our customers to focus on growing their own businesses."

The company states that Preferred Dental Network dentists will be listed on Guardian's online provider search at www.GuardianLife.com.  

Guardian states that this deal has both long-term and short-term benefits including:

• Improved dental PPO network discounts in Nevada by 6%
• By adding more than 800 dentists to the DentalGuard Preferred Network with Preferred Dental Network, the result will be more than 1,050 unique network dentists available in Nevada.
• Additional Nevada-based resources to continue commitment to network growth.
• Stability and consistency for existing Guardian customers as a result of having more direct control over this key element of dental plan design.  
• Ensures established national policies and procedures are followed which the company believes will lead to increased member and dentist satisfaction
• Helping Guardian to increase the share of both large and small businesses that select its dental plans.

"This acquisition allows Preferred Dental Network to add significant resources provided by a financially strong leader in the local and national dental benefits industry," said Bruce W. Green, Nevada Regional Manager and Leasing Client Representative, Preferred Dental Network. "We've been working closely with Guardian to ensure a seamless transition for our clients and network dentists."

About Guardian

A mutual insurer founded in 1860, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries are committed to protecting individuals, business owners and their employees with life, long-term care, disability income, group medical and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), annuities and other financial products. Guardian operates one of the largest dental networks in the United States, and protects more than six million employees and their families at 120,000 companies. The company has more than 5,400 employees in the United States and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com

SOURCE The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America