When asked which employee benefits are most important to them, many Virginians would list dental insurance in Virginia at the top, among such standard benefits as vacation days and medical insurance. Fortunately, including Virginia dental insurance as part of your company’s benefits package is not terribly costly and there are a variety of plans to choose from.

Before choosing one of the many dental plans in Virginia, considering the following:

1. Poll employees to find out what dental coverage in Virginia means to them. Be sure to find out how much employees would be willing to pay out of pocket for VA dental insurance.

2. Contact your current medical insurance company to find out about group dental insurance in VA. If they offer dental coverage in Virginia, they may be able to cut you a deal that includes medical and dental benefits.

3. Explore the wide variety of types of dental insurance in VA, such as HMOs, PPOs and other plans.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Contact your current medical insurer about dental insurance in VA

Probably your best bet for dental insurance in Virginia is with your company's current health insurance provider. If that insurer doesn't offer dental insurance, there are lots of other options to choose from, ranging from large to small insurance companies. Once you start looking, you may want to consider switching medical insurers so you can get a bundled package (with a better rate) that includes VA dental insurance.

I recommend: Large insurance providers like UnitedHealthcare offer dental insurance in VA. They can also provide companies with plans that include dental, medical, vision and other coverage.

Go online for dental health insurance in Virginia

What did we ever do without the Internet? Surf the Web for the best rates and packages for dental insurance, Virginia-based or otherwise.

I recommend: eHealthInsurance makes it easy for you to compare and contrast plans and prices from a variety of Virginia dental insurance providers. You just select the criteria, and voila - it's all at your fingertips.

Explore discount family dental insurance in Virginia

Sometimes the best insurance isn't even group dental insurance. VA companies might want to consider discount dental plans, which use a network of participating dental providers to help keep costs down.

I recommend: Create a discounted plan for your employees at DentalPlans.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be sure that the plan you're considering has plenty of local dentists for employees. Options near work and home are sure to keep everyone happy.
• •  Understand the cost of dental insurance. VA businesses should be prepared to shell out between 25% and 50% of monthly dental insurance premiums, or around $1,000 a month for each employee.
• •  Consider offering individual dental insurance. Virginia companies can cut costs by not providing dental coverage to employees' spouses or families, but you run the risk of disappointing valued employees.