This is some great input from one of our partners, Ameritas, on the impor­tance of vision coverage. Thought it was important enough to share…

Vision insurance typically receives mixed reviews – some see the value and realize the impor­tance of the coverage, but others think it’s not essential and it’s more of a “luxury” benefit.  This week’s update is going to pass on infor­mation to show the great value of vision insurance, specif­i­cally on the eye exam.

A key point of vision insurance is to get insured’s to an annual compre­hensive eye exam.  I don’t mean an exam where you read letters on a Snellen chart – I mean a true compre­hensive eye exam.  The reason these exams are so valuable is the ability to detect vision condi­tions and other health problems.  Here’s a quick list of condi­tions and diseases that can be detected through a compre­hensive eye exam:

Eye Conditions	Medical Conditions
Glaucoma	Cardiovascular disease
Cataracts	Demyelinating diseases
Macular Degeneration	Endocrine condi­tions
Diabetic Retinopathy	Inflammatory and Rheumatologic conditions
Infections of the eye	Neuromuscular diseases
Corneal Dystrophy	Tumors
Retinal Detachments
Keratoconus

There are huge benefits to detecting these condi­tions early.  People can get treatment and many times not experience any damage, as long as these condi­tions are recog­nized early.  Combine this with the fact that a person with a vision insurance plan is more likely to go in for an eye exam than if they didn’t have insurance – THAT is the reason vision insurance is so valuable!  The coverage encourages preventive care and regular exams that helps keep people happy and healthy – and that’s the type of company employees are looking for!  On top of the exam benefits, vision insurance helps members pay for vision corrective services (lenses, frames, etc) and helps save them a signif­icant amount of money.  So the next time you are prospecting or talking to a current client that does not have vision coverage, you’ll be able to explain and show them that vision insurance is a great value to add to the benefits package.