The good news continues. Both dental and vision sales are an effective door-opener to the sale of other products, both property-casualty and life-health.

One of the latest dental-vision offerings is a multi-option plan that allows employees to select from a menu of dental or dental-vision programs and is available to most employer groups with five or more (working 20 hours or more per week) employees.

Within this offering are fully-insured group voluntary (employee-paid) and executive (employer-paid) dental or dental-vision benefits. Additionally, plans are available on an individual basis. The costs range from $16 to $41 per month, and those who sign up have coverage for themselves and their families, plus they may choose their own dentist and eye care specialist.

What is surprising is that many p-c agents have yet to add dental and vision to their offerings. Possibly this can be attributed in whole or part to the fact that high commissions don't come with dental and dental-vision. However, that's missing a major marketing point:

Succinctly, by offering what prospects have long clamored for, and not always what you'd rather sell them for higher commissions, you'll actually find yourself ahead in the long run. This relates to the truism that both dental and vision are door-openers that will enable you to establish rapport, often leading to the sale of other products and services.

Basically, you'll find the sale of dental and dental-vision plans to be among the easiest you've ever made. People want and need both dental and vision coverage. Yet because so many agents continue to overlook or ignore these popular peripheral products, there remains a large number of prospective clientele who have never been offered the coverages.

While virtually all large corporations offer dental, our research reveals that only 35 percent of employer groups with 250 or fewer employees have group dental as part of the benefits package. As for individual dental, a newer product, the figure is but 10 percent. And as regards vision, the percentage is even smaller.

When you consider that, sooner or later, virtually all Americans will require dental and vision services, it follows that someone will be there to fill those needs. And if marketing is all about discovering voids and filling them for the betterment of all concerned, then what you're reading about are two of the most-needed products you'll ever offer to fill such requirements.

It's a further truism that many people procrastinate on visits to the dentist not because of imagined discomfort, but because they are concerned about costs that seem to be beyond their economic means. The same holds true among some as regards their eye care needs, though certainly to a lesser extent.

However, with low-cost dental and dental-vision plans, such cost concerns could be a thing of the past. When employees and others have such coverages, they can and do go to dental and vision specialists. And the agents who bring such plans to their attention will long be remembered. Related, this often leads to lifelong relationships with many individuals who would never have become clients without your mentioning dental and vision coverages to them.

Simply put, dental, vision, and combined dental-vision plans are terrific worksite marketing products. And the offerings can be broadened beyond this appealing environment by also making the products known to municipalities, associations, and various affinity groups.

Yet even that's not the end of the continuing marketing story, especially as it relates to dental and, specifically, what is known as individual dental. When thought is given to the dental needs of so many others, horizons seem unlimited.

Candidates for individual dental are all around you. They include:

Employees not offered dental–and possibly other benefits–by their employer.

Contractors and subcontractors (electricians, painters, plumbers, etc.).

Entrepreneurs (including the millions of home-based businesses in this country).

Seniors (often not covered for dental).

Students (especially older and married students at colleges and universities throughout the nation).

Related, keep in mind that many one-time employees, due to economic cutbacks or retirement, have suddenly found themselves without insurance coverages that many of them used to take for granted until they didn't have them anymore. These people, many of whom have started their own business, are much in need of dental, vision, and many other coverages.

Point-blank, this represents an ever-growing marketing and sales opportunity to seize before your competitors do.

There's more, especially as concerns dental, vision, and dental-vision plans that should be brought to the attention of your clients and prospects because they represent major selling points.

Employers should know–or be reminded–that dental discomfort, which sometimes leads to further complications and gum disease, can cause employees to miss work. Similarly, worsening vision can lead to diseases that include glaucoma, diabetes and high blood pressure, and therefore also cause employees' absences.

As for those individuals who run their own business, whether from home or at some outside office or shop, the same naturally holds true. And many–if not most–of these people can't afford to miss too many days of work, which, in essence, could spell disaster for them and their livelihoods.

Property-casualty agents who are, or soon will be cross-selling life and health products are encouraged to add dental and dental-vision benefits to their portfolio for all the reasons cited. If you do so, be sure to thoroughly investigate this marketplace before going forth.

In addition to many appealing features, what you'll also find is that some of the plans come with participation requirements that may be as high as 75 percent. You are strongly encouraged to avoid such plans because your chances of success in marketing them will be much less than with other quality, low-cost plans with much lower requirements.

Renny V. Thomas II is executive vice president and chief operating officer of CAL/GROUP, a nationwide managing general underwriter headquartered in Palm Springs, Calif. He can be reached at [email protected].

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, June 24, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.