Why are rising premiums the top frustration with workplace dental cover?

Cost, by a clear margin. We asked the 564 HR leaders in our YouGov survey who have dental provision, or weren't sure what they had, about their frustrations with it ^[1]. 39% named rising premiums. Next came administrative burden at 28%, low utilisation at 24%, claims volatility at 24% and lack of employee engagement at 22%.

The list splits into two kinds of problem. Premiums and claims volatility are about the price of cover. Admin, utilisation and engagement are about whether the cover is doing its job inside the business. Most HR teams are dealing with both at the same time, and the second kind makes the first harder to accept.

Every benefit is competing for the same budget. 49% of HR leaders in our survey said cost and budget justification is a concern when they evaluate a new benefit, and 27% worry about whether a benefit will deliver measurable ROI ^[1]. Existing cover faces the same questions each time it comes up for renewal.

Finance teams tend to look at cost per user. When the premium rises and the number of employees using the cover stays flat, that figure climbs quickly. A modest increase is easy to explain if usage is high. It is much harder if most staff have never made a claim.

Closely, from the budget holder's side. With 24% of HR leaders seeing low utilisation and 22% low engagement ^[1], a fair share of businesses are paying for cover that many employees don't use. That makes each renewal increase harder to defend, even when the cover itself is sound.

Low use is often a communication gap. Employees may not know dental is part of their private medical insurance, how to claim on a cash plan or what the annual limits are. The need is there: Bupa's 2023 research found that 73% of employees had delayed going to the dentist ^[2]. What tends to break is the link between that need and the cover the employer already pays for.

A few practical fixes help:

• Mention dental by name in onboarding and benefits reminders, with a one-line example of what it covers.
• Show staff where to find the claim form, and how long claims usually take.
• Ask line managers to point people to the benefit when someone mentions toothache or a dental appointment.

Go into the renewal with your own data and a short list of questions. Useful ones to put to your broker or scheme administrator:

1. What drove this year's increase: claims in our scheme, wider costs or a change in scheme design?
2. How many employees made a dental claim last year, compared with the number covered?
3. Which parts of the cover were used least?
4. What would a different excess, limit or eligibility rule do to the premium?
5. What help is available to communicate the benefit to staff?

26% of HR leaders rely on a broker recommendation when choosing benefit providers ^[1], so brokers are often the right people to answer these. Ask for the answers in writing so you can compare them year on year.

Bring last year's answers to the meeting as well. If the same parts of the cover keep going unused, that is a scheme design conversation to have well before the next increase lands, while there is still time to change something.

Show the cost next to what it prevents. Short-notice absence is the clearest link. 38% of HR leaders say it has a severe impact on operations ^[1], and Bupa found that 48% of employees have called in sick or left work early because of dental pain ^[2]. If your absence records capture dental as a separate cause, you can put a real number beside the premium.

It also helps to be clear about what each part of the package is for. Some employers keep their existing cover and add other routes that work alongside it, such as an employee-funded cash plan or an on-demand dental benefit. The right mix depends on the workforce, and adding one route doesn't have to mean removing another.