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  2. Protect My Employees
  3. Group benefits
  4. Group vision insurance

Group vision insurance

Round out your benefits package with Principal vision insurance.

Help your employees take control of their eye health by offering vision insurance from Principal. After all, healthy vision is an important part of employees’ overall wellness.

Group vision insurance is easy to administer and can fit all budgets. It covers services like exams, glasses, and contacts.

Who pays the insurance premium?

You can choose to pay for all, part, or none of the premium with Principal vision insurance. If your budget is tight, employees could pick up the entire cost of premium with voluntary vision insurance.

What is vision insurance?

Many Americans rely on glasses or contacts to see clearly. Vision insurance covers—or partially covers—preventive eye care like eye exams. Vision insurance may also reduce employees’ out-of-pocket cost for prescription glasses and contacts.

Some medical insurance covers the cost of annual eye exams. But medical insurance generally doesn’t cover prescription glasses or contacts.

Why offer group vision insurance?

It’s a digital world. For most of us, a day doesn’t go by without using our eyes to read, scan, or view a smart phone, tablet, laptop, or computer screen. That can lead to eye strain and potential long-term vision problems. For this reason alone, vision care is more important than ever.

Healthy vision is also an important component of overall wellness. Regular eye exams can help uncover serious health conditions, like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, thyroid disorders, and more.

And because vision insurance is an important part of a complete benefits package, it can help attract and retain great employees too.

How does group vision insurance work?

Most vision insurance covers the cost for routine eye exams and a portion of the cost for prescription glasses or contacts.

Some vision insurance carriers use a network of providers. And employees may need to visit a provider in that network. Or, if they chose to go outside the network, the out-of-pocket cost may be more.

Managed care vision—offered through Principal and VSP® Vision Care

Think of this full-service option as a health maintenance organization (HMO) for vision care. Managed care plans offer affordable care within a specified network.

Managed care vision includes:

  • An established network of VSP providers, including both independent providers and retail chains
  • Discounts and special offers on name-brand eyewear
  • Cost savings on qualifying vision procedures and screenings

Covered services:

  • Exams: Covered in full after copay
  • Prescription glasses/lenses: Covered after copay
  • Prescription glasses/frames: Covered up to a certain amount, after copay
  • Elective contacts: Covered up to a certain amount
  • Necessary contacts: Covered in full after copay

Eye exams covered by your health plan? Don’t pay twice. We offer a benefit design that covers only prescription glasses and contact lenses.

I’m interested in Principal vision insurance. What’s next?

Do you offer employee benefits through us?

Manage your benefits online.

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Looking for a VSP vision provider?

Search for one at principal.com/vsp​.

Have questions about a claim?

Get the details on how to submit a vision claim.

For questions about vision coverage administered by VSP, call 800-877-7195. For questions about coverage administered by Principal, call 800-247-4695.

If you have additional claims questions check out our online help with vision insurance claims.

1 Not available in all states.

This is an overview of the benefits vision insurance provides, but there are limitations and exclusions. For cost and coverage details, contact your Principal representative. Vision insurance from Principal® is issued by Principal Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA 50392. Managed care vision insurance from Principal is administered by VSP. VSP is not a member of the Principal Financial Group®. VSP Vision Care is a registered trademark of Vision Service Plan. Oregon policy GC 9000 (1013).

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