Dental Insurance Articles
Ways To Spot A Dental Insurance Quote Scam
2011-01-10
Although most of the dental insurance quotes available online tend to be accurate and worthwhile, this isn't always the case. Some dental insurance quotes are from scam artists or companies who have no intention of providing the coverage listed in their quotes. They'll accept premium payments from policy holders, but they'll reveal themselves as a dental insurance scam when a major claim is made. While a dental insurance scam is illegal and state and federal authorities should be immediately involved when one is found, avoiding scams is the best course of action for dental insurance buyers. Here are a few tips for spotting and avoiding a dental insurance scam.
One of the best ways to avoid a scam is to make sure that you're getting your dental insurance quotes from a reliable source. Dental insurance quotes are available from hundreds of sources online, but the best sources are either the insurance company websites themselves or non-partial websites which return several insurance quotes at a time. At least several of these quotes should be from major insurance providers. Major dental insurance companies tend to be very well regulated and stay in compliance with state and federal law. Choosing to use a major insurance company as your dental insurance provider is a wise decision and will help you to avoid scams--not to mention the fact that your insurance policy is likely to be more valuable and dependable when a major insurance provider is offering it.
A dental insurance scam website will often have a contract that looks very different from a typical insurance contract, and may shy away from using certain words (for instance "coverage" or "co-payments") that are common in other dental insurance quotes. Scam websites may also be relatively unknown on the Internet, which is a major red flag; in general, you should be able to find a few user reviews about a reputable insurance website with a quick online search if it's legitimate. Dental insurance scams may also be run from out-of-country addresses, which allow them to escape prosecution under United States or Canadian insurance fraud law.
If you find a dental insurance scam, report it to your state's insurance commissioner right away. They'll investigate the scam and try to find ways to either penalize the company running it or to prevent dental insurance buyers from losing money by accessing the website. Above all else, you should look for dental insurance quotes regularly, as this can be the best way to avoid a scam. By learning about insurance, you'll learn more warning signs that can help you to spot a bad deal or an outright dental insurance scam.