News releases

WELLESLEY, Mass. and KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life U.S. is now offering increased maximums for annual dental and lifetime orthodontia benefits, reducing the risk of members hitting or exceeding their plan maximums. These plans can reduce out-of-pocket costs (aside from copays and deductibles) for non-preventive dental care, giving members more for their benefit dollars.

"Industry research shows that people with dental insurance are more likely to see a dentist, even for regular preventive care," said Dr. Michael Pink, D.D.S., senior dental consultant, Sun Life Financial U.S. "It is important that people seek consistent preventive dental care and get the treatments or procedures they need when they need them – and spend less out-of-pocket."

In a recent general consumer survey conducted by Sun Life, 51 percent of insured dental consumers with two or more children said they delayed or split up necessary dental procedures, such as crowns, root canals, or tooth extractions to avoid hitting their maximums. Forty-four percent of families with two or more children exceeded their annual maximums by a total of $500 or more, and 48 percent of families with two or more children exceeded their lifetime orthodontia maximums by a total of at least $1,000.

Stacia Almquist, vice president of Dental & Vision for Sun Life U.S. said, "Although preventive care alone will not typically exceed a plan max, non-preventive dental care or orthodontia can go beyond traditional plan maximums. Offering higher maximums is just one way Sun Life Dental plans can help ease the financial impact of such treatment."

Other plan options available through Sun Life Dental that help to stretch benefit dollars are Preventive Max Waiver®, which keeps cleanings and other preventive care from counting toward the annual maximum, and Family Share Max®, which allows a family to cost share the coverage dollars should one family member require more dental care than others.

Sun Life offers one of the largest PPO dental networks in the country based on unique dentist count, according to September 2018 data from Netminder. Sun Life works with members to recruit non participating providers into the network, which can result in meaningful savings for members – and fewer dollars applied to plan maximums. According to Sun Life's survey, 17 percent of respondents were either unaware or unsure of the fact that seeing an in-network provider could result in lower costs.

Sun Life Dental with increased maximums are available and ready for quoting in all states. For more information, contact a local Sun Life Employee Benefit Representative or visit www.sunlife.com/us/dentalandvision.

Group Insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.) and Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.).

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2018, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$951 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life employs approximately 6,000 people in its U.S insurance and asset management businesses. Group Insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.) and Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contact:

Devon Fernald
Sun Life Financial
781-416-7151
Devon.portney.fernald@sunlife.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sun-life-introduces-higher-annual-and-orthodontia-maximums-for-group-dental-insurance-to-reduce-costs-for-consumers-300806065.html

SOURCE Sun Life Financial U.S.