UnitedHealthcare Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Dental Plan Insurance

Overall Customer Satisfaction Declines, Primarily Driven by Challenges with Communication

News provided by

Nov 17, 2015, 09:00 ET

J.D. Power corporate logo.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UnitedHealthcare ranks highest in customer satisfaction with dental plan insurers for a second consecutive year, performing particularly well in the coverage, cost, and communications factors, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Dental Plan Satisfaction Report^SM released today.

The report, now in its second year, measures customer satisfaction with dental plan insurance based on five factors (in order of importance): cost, coverage, communications, customer service and reimbursement. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

Overall satisfaction among dental plan members declines to 717 in 2015 from 723 in 2014. The decline in satisfaction is attributable to a significant 12-point drop in satisfaction with the communications factor to 690 from 702 in 2014.

"It can be challenging for dental insurance companies to communicate effectively with their members given the relationships members have with their employers, who sponsor dental plans for their employees," said Rick Johnson, director of the healthcare practice at J.D. Power. "A solid communication plan helps members better understand their dental coverage and can impact their perception of their plan's value. The employers, dental plan carriers, and members all benefit when dental insurance companies communicate with their members on a regular basis."

KEY FINDINGS

Communication Important to Plan Members: Across all dental plan carriers, 42% of members indicate they have not received any information about their plan from their insurer. Overall satisfaction among these members is 662, compared with 758 among those who did receive some type of information from their carrier—a 96-point gap.
Satisfaction Drives Plan Member Loyalty: Among dental plan members who rate their overall experience 10 (outstanding) on a 10-point scale, 87% say they "definitely will" choose their current carrier in the future, compared with the report average of 43%.
Outstanding Plan Experience Influences Recommendations: Among dental plan members who rate their overall experience outstanding, the average number of positive recommendations is 4, compared with 1.6 for the report average.

Dental Plan Rankings:
UnitedHealthcare (754) ranks highest, followed by DentaQuest (736).

The 2015 Dental Plan Satisfaction Report is based on responses from 2,449 dental plan members.
The study was fielded from September through October 2015.

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores		J.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings™
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)		For Consumers

UnitedHealthcare Dental	754		5
DentaQuest	736		4
HumanaDental	727		3
United Concordia Dental	720		3
Report Average	717		3
Aetna Dental	714		3
MetLife Dental	709		2
Guardian Access Dental/Premier Access	706		2
myCigna Dental	701		2

Note: Report average includes dental plan providers that do not meet report requirements to be ranked individually. United Concordia scores do not include scores from BlueCross BlueShield plans that they administer

Power Circle Ratings Legend
5 – Among the best
4 – Better than most
3 – About average
2 – The rest

Award-Eligible Dental Plans Included in the Report

Company Name	Executive Name	Company Address
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated	Stephen Hemsley	Minnetonka, Minn.
Renaissance Holding Company	Robert P Mulligan	Greenwood, Ind.
DentaQuest Ventures, Inc.	Steven Pollock	Boston, Mass.
Humana Inc.	Bruce Broussard	Louisville, Ky.
United Concordia Dental	Merkel, F.G "Chip"	Harrisburg, Pa.
Aetna Inc.	Mark Bertolini	Hartford, Conn.
MetLife, Inc.	Steven Kandarian	New York, N.Y.
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America	Deanna Mulligan	New York, N.Y.
Cigna Corp.	David Cordani	Bloomfield, Conn.