DELTA DENTAL PLAN OF NEW JERSEY RECEIVES HIGH RATINGS FROM BENEFITS MANAGERS' ANNUAL SURVEY

PARSIPPANY, NJ (December 1, 2003) – Nine out of ten benefits managers said their companies are "extremely satisfied" or "very satisfied" with Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey (Delta Dental) overall, and eight in ten felt their employees are "extremely happy" or "very happy" with Delta Dental. These statistics are among the findings of the 2003 Benefits Managers' Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Brownstone Information Resources, Inc. for Delta Dental.

The Satisfaction Survey is conducted annually to track benefits managers and member satisfaction levels with Delta Dental. The process includes telephone interviews with 250 benefits managers in New Jersey and Connecticut to collect feedback. According to the survey:

• More than nine in ten benefits managers would recommend Delta Dental to other administrators.
• Of the benefits managers who contacted Marketing Services in the past year, nine in ten found Marketing Services to be "extremely helpful" or "very helpful."

More than eight in ten benefits managers said the following statements describe Delta Dental "extremely well" or "very well":

• Claims are processed accurately
• Claims are processed quickly
• Employee/member can choose own dentist
• Monthly billing is accurate
• Billing issues are handled accurately and quickly by Billing Department
• Customer Service agents are courteous/pleasant/empathetic
• Eligibility changes, additions and deletions are processed accurately and quickly

The survey also tracks how much time benefits managers spend assisting employees or members with claims or problems. More than nine in ten said they spend "about the right amount of time" or "less time than expected" providing assistance. Almost nine in 10 benefits managers said they spend less than one hour per week assisting employees/members with claims or problems.

"We continue to invest in programs and technologies that allow us to respond to clients both quickly and accurately," said Walter VanBrunt, president and CEO. "The Brownstone reports provide valuable feedback, letting us know what we're doing well and where we might be able to make improvements."

The survey also looked at factors that influence a company's dental carrier selection. Important factors identified by benefits managers included size of dental network, plan flexibility, ease of administration, few complaints from employees and cost. When asked what other factors were important, about one in ten added reputation and past experience as important factors. In addition, about half feel that contributions of the Delta Dental Foundation are important.

Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc., is New Jersey’s and Connecticut's leading dental benefits carrier, providing coverage to more than one million people through contracts with employers in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Delta Dental Plan system is a national network of independently operated, not-for-profit dental service corporations specializing in providing dental benefits programs for employee groups throughout the country. For more information visit us on the Web at www.deltadentalnj.com.