Braces with only outpatient insurance

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
For our kids, we won't take dental insurance.

We are considering outpatient insurance that says "50% of cost for "Correction of malposition teeth" for teenagers.

If anyone has some experience with that setup, would the insurance really 50% of total cost of braces (checkups, xrays, models, what ever else dentist need) or in reality they would say most of the cost is not covered?

This is a general question, but if specifics are needed I am looking into css.

2
Dental insurance for kids at a young age is cheap and it's a false economy to forgo it, especially if you think or know you will need it.

Up to 5 or 7 years old you can get it with no examination from a dentist, after which you need a full exam with x-rays leading to numerous opportunities for insurance companies to refuse or curtail the policy rendering it fairly useless.

3
We had this coverage with CSS for our kids.

They were treated at the orthodontic clinic at the university of Zurich.

At the start we were given an estimate of the treatment cost and we submitted this to CSS for approval.

Our kids were not teenagers at the time, in fact, much younger. It seems here they like to start orthodontic treatment quite early.

I do not recall any exclusions from the reimbursement but do keep in mind that even after the braces are removed there can still be ongoing treatnent to make sure that while your child is growing the teeth stay aligned.

4

The quote I got for a 5yo is over 50,-/month for them to cover 75% of the cost up to limit X. I am not sure how expensive a dentist is in this country, but including it would almost double kid's overall premium.

5
Statistically speaking you pay more than you cost on average, simply because employees need to get paid and all that nice infrastructure of the insurance needs to be financed somehow.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

6
That's correct, I am very happy with the provided options.

One question: if the current coverage is 2000fr/y will that be adjusted for inflation over years?

Because I doubt 2000fr will get you much in 20 years.

7
Look at Groupe Mutuel for dental insurance. They are generally a pain to deal with but their dental insurance beats none.

50 CHF a month for a young child is a rip off. That is howuvh we pay as adults with GM for 15K coverage a year. Children will be much less.

And you would have the complete dental insurance, not just braces.

8

This is ridiculously expensive, sounds like the policy here is ultra gold plated, with sprinkling of diamonds !

It should be around half of this and then you get discounts for combined policies and if the whole family is insured at same company.

Assura is around Chf 18.-- for dentist, plus some cover for ortho that accrues each years, Chf 700-1'000 per year i think...

9
That quote however is not for dental as I understand it it's for a complementary insurance of sorts that also covers a portion of orthodontics amongst other stuff. OP is this correct?

10
The quote is for dental only. The quote from Mutuel is much more affordable.

11
Ah well if the quote is for dental only and for a child then its too high.