Principal Financial Group Expands Dental Insurance Options
Nov. 1, 2006 (Des Moines, Iowa) — The Principal Financial Group®, the nation's premier provider of employee benefits, announces a new agreement with SafeGuard Health Plans, Inc. bringing optional dental health maintenance organization (DHMO) coverage to customers in California, Florida and Texas. Through SafeGuard, customers and potential customers of The Principal® are now able to offer a DHMO plan alongside preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage.
"Employee choice is the foundation of a good benefits package. That's why The Principal is partnering with SafeGuard to add even more flexibility. This relationship is the beginning of a new strategy where we plan to work with similar companies in regional areas to provide one of the most comprehensive dental programs available," said Theresa McConeghey, dental product director for The Principal®. "By working together with strategic partners, we're able to leverage the strengths of these organizations to bring our customers more benefit design options along with a strong local presence and provider network."
"We are excited about the opportunity to partner with The Principal to bring the added value of dental HMO benefits to their plan offerings," commented Steve Baker, president and chief operating officer of SafeGuard. "The plans marketed through their sales force are SafeGuard's newest product line and are more comprehensive than most products being offered today."
In addition to flexible benefit designs, The Principal provides a number of interactive tools to help members get the most out of their dental benefits. Through the Principal Dental Health EdgeSM located on www.principal.com, members can access information on procedures, treatment plans, network providers and basic oral health information. The site includes a cost estimator, which calculates dental costs in a given zip code and a database of network providers who offer discounted charges and fees.
About SafeGuard
SafeGuard Dental & Vision®1 is a family of companies that are part of privately held SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc. SafeGuard has more than 30 years experience providing dental and vision HMO, PPO, indemnity, and ASO products and now serves more than 1.8 million members primarily in California, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. For more information, visit SafeGuard's website at www.safeguard.net.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)2 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $206 billion in assets under management3 and serves some 16.3 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
Insurance issued by Principal Life Insurance Company. Securities offered through Princor Financial Services Corporation, member SIPC and/or independent broker dealers. Securities sold by a Princor Registered Representative are offered through Princor. Bank Products offered through Principal Bank®, member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. Principal Life, Princor® and Principal Bank are members of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines IA 50392.
Insurance and securities are not insured by the FDIC; are not obligations or deposits of Principal Bank nor guaranteed by Principal Bank; and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested.
1) SafeGuard Dental & Vision is a registered trade mark of SafeGuard Health Enterprises
2) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
3) As of June 30, 2006.
