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Articles
Delta Dental Alliance Expands Network
Broker News Online
Need Claim Forms?
VanBrunt Named Vice Chairman of Delta
Dental Plans Association
Marketing Contacts Now Online
Staff Spotlight: Tina Sparrow
Product Spotlight: DeltaCare Dental HMO
New Web Feature: Online Directions to Dental
Offices
Standard & Poor's Rates Delta Dental 'Very
Strong'
For the past three years Delta Dental Plan of New
Jersey has enjoyed a unique marketing relationship
with The United States Life Insurance Company in
the City of New York (U.S. Life), member of the American
General Financial Group. We are pleased to announce
that two Delta Dental products will now be offered
in New Jersey through American General Financial
Group. DeltaPreferred Option (or NJ TruDent Preferred
Dental Plan as it's called by American General) is
available to employers with 2-99 employees and DeltaPremier
(called the NJ TruDent Premier Dental Plan) is available
to employers with 10-99 employees. Patients in the
TruDent programs receive full DeltaPremier or DeltaPreferred
Option benefits, including access and referrals to
each plan's participating dentists. The programs
are marketed through American General Assurance Group
and U.S. Life, members of the American General Financial
Group, and administered by Delta Dental. As with
all our dental programs, Delta Dental's Customer
Service Department handles all claim and benefit
inquiries. "Wider distribution will enable Delta
Dental to offer its products to more prospective
clients in the 10-99 employee-size market," says
Mark Nadeau, Delta Dental's Director of Marketing. "We
see this as a way to expand our distribution to this
vital market." American General's Dale Brockman,
Vice President-Group Sales in New Jersey, says these
programs offer brokers generous commissions and eligibility
for the group producer bonus program. Interested
brokers should contact their general agent or the
American General Financial Group, New Jersey Regional
Group Sales Office, 3600 Route 66, Mail Stop 1-N,
P.O. Box 1580, Neptune, NJ 07754; phone (877) 233-4615;
fax (877) 233-4616.
Have you misplaced your past issues of Broker News?
Current and past issues of Broker News, Dental News,
and Subscriber News are now available online, at www.deltadentalnj.com.
Publications are available in both text and PDF formats.
Did you know that subscribers can now e-mail us
their request to have a supply of claim forms mailed
to them? They can also download a copy of the claim
form from their computer. To e-mail a request or
download forms, visit our website at www.deltadentalnj.com/claimform/main.html.
Delta Dental President and CEO Walter VanBrunt has
been named Vice Chairman of the Delta Dental Plans
Association (DDPA), the nation's largest national
network of independent not-for-profit dental service
corporations. VanBrunt, who was elected during the
association's annual meeting in Colorado Springs
last month, will serve a two-year term as the Vice
Chairman. VanBrunt was also named to the DDPA Executive
Committee during the annual meeting. In his new positions,
VanBrunt will assist in the supervision of the DDPA's
overall operations. The Delta Dental system covers
35 million Americans and includes the participation
of more than two-thirds of the nation's dentists.
Named president and CEO of Delta Dental Plan of New
Jersey in 1998, VanBrunt has maintained the company's
position as the state's largest dental benefits carrier.
Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey provides coverage
to more than one million people in New Jersey and
Connecticut through a participating network of more
than 7,000 dentists. VanBrunt joined Delta Dental
Plan of New Jersey in 1993 as senior vice president
after more than 25 years in the insurance industry. "There
has been marked improvement in our nation's oral
health in the past 20 years. This is due in large
part to dental plans that educate people on the importance
of proper oral care and afford them the opportunity
to undergo regular dental exams," said VanBrunt. "Delta
Dental has been a leader in providing dental plans
during this time and my goal as a board member will
be to provide plans that will allow these positive
trends to continue."
Need to reach someone in Delta Dental's Marketing
Department? Our website now includes a complete list
of Marketing contacts. The Key Contacts page includes
contact names and their direct-dial telephone numbers,
fax numbers, e-mail addresses, areas of responsibility
and biographical information. Visit our website at www.deltadentalnj.com.
To access the Key Contacts page directly, go to www.deltadentalnj.com/broker_portfolio/phone.html.
Tina Sparrow joined Delta Dental's Marketing Department
March 13 as the account executive responsible for
Hunterdon, Warren, Somerset and Mercer counties.
Tina brings more than 14 years of managed-health-plan
experience to Delta Dental. She previously worked
for ConnectiCare, Oxford Health Plans and Kaiser
Permanente, all in Connecticut. Making the switch
from medical benefits to dental benefits "is a fresh
challenge, with different products and services to
learn about," she says. "It's all new, and it's exciting." Another
challenge facing Tina is learning to navigate New
Jersey's road system. She recently relocated to New
Jersey from Connecticut with her husband, Greg, and
their infant daughter, Rose. Tina spends many days
on the road, traveling to introduce herself to brokers
throughout New Jersey. "I'm the type of person who
can't get out of my cubicle without a map!" she laughs. "The
brokers have been great, helping me get to know different
areas of the state."
Tina pledges to do everything she can so brokers
can keep their customers satisfied. "If you're relying
on me to do something, I will get it done," she says. "It's
my reputation, and I stand by it. I want to help
you get business in the door."
Dental benefits consistently rank among the top
benefits desired by employees. In fact, 56% of employees
without dental benefits indicate that it is the most
desired benefit. But how can companies concerned
about managing benefit costs also offer a benefit
package that will attract and retain employees? One
answer is DeltaCare, a dental HMO program administered
by Flagship Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of
Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc. DeltaCare provides
employees with a comprehensive dental program that
features:
- No claim forms.
- No deductibles.
- No dollar limit of dental benefits.
- No restrictions on pre-existing conditions (except
work in progress).
- Specialty services, including periodontics, endodontics
and oral surgery.
The cost per employee for DeltaCare coverage is as
little as $12.64 per month. More information about
the DeltaCare program is available on our website (www.deltadentalnj.com/
broker_portfolio/care_rates.htm), or by contacting
E.J. Sebelle, Marketing Coordinator, at (973) 285-4232
or esebelle@deltadentalnj.com.
Subscribers in search of a participating dentist near them
can throw away their maps and instead log onto Delta Dental's
website. The website not only helps patients identify participating
dentists who practice near their home or workplace, but can
now tell them how to get there. The site now offers free
instant maps and customized directions to participating dental
offices. To check out this service, go to www.deltadentalnj.com/deltasearch/main.html and
follow the prompts. Please note that maps and directions
are accessible only if you indicate in Step 3 that you want
to search the directory to find a convenient dentist. The
map and direction option is not available if you indicate
you want to look up a particular dentist.
Standard & Poor's recently assigned its AA- counterparty
credit and financial strength ratings to Delta Dental Plan
of New Jersey. The AA- rating means that S&P considers
Delta Dental a very strong company. S&P cited Delta Dental's
extremely strong capitalization, excellent earnings, good
business position and conservative investment policies. The
rating indicates that Delta Dental clearly has the financial
capacity to meet policyholder obligations. Delta Dental Plan
of New Jersey has been designated by S&P as a Security
Circle insurer, which means that it voluntarily underwent
S&P's most comprehensive analysis and was assigned ratings
in one of the top four categories for financial security.
In the analysis, S&P noted that Delta Dental is extremely
well capitalized, as indicated by an S&P capital adequacy
ratio in excess of 400%. It also noted Delta Dental's strong
consolidated GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
income, leading market position as a dental benefits carrier
in New Jersey and Connecticut, extremely strong liquidity
and low business risk. "Our commitment to being a value-plan
dental carrier offering high-quality services through an
extensive dental provider network has been validated by earning
such a high rating from a premier independent organization
such as Standard & Poor's," said Delta Dental President
and CEO Walter VanBrunt. "It also shows the soundness of
our business philosophy and the stability of our company.
Our clients know that when they partner with us, they are
with an organization that is established and can satisfy
their dental benefit requirements."
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