British employees would prefer their employers to offer dental insurance to a company share save scheme or discounted gym membership, research from Unum Dental has found. According to figures from YouGov’s survey of 3000 UK workers (March 2018), cost was the biggest barrier for UK adults seeking dental treatment, with 33% citing this as a deterrent, more than twice as many as those who avoided a visit due to fear (14%). These findings come off the back of a 5% increase in NHS dental cost in the space of a year – a 15% rise since 2015. “Avoiding treatment due to high costs in the short term is likely to lead to far higher cost and inconvenience further down the line and UK workers are wise to this,” said Andrew Bower, Unum Dental managing director. “Of the claims we deal with the majority for preventative treatments, and prevention is always better than cure when it comes to maintaining good oral health. “For many having appropriate cover is the only way to achieve this,” added Bower. “As dental cover can be provided as a benefit, or on a flex or voluntary basis, it’s an insurance that’s both cost effective and low risk for an employer to introduce.” Post navigation Does flexible working work for businesses? What are ‘benefits in kind’ and how they are taxed?
