In the mid 1960's, increased competition forced the insurance companies to start offering other services in addition to medical insurance. Many companies started offering $1,000 worth of annual dental insurance to sweeten the pot, so to speak. Over the past forty years, we have seen some plans increase their coverage to $1,500 or $2,000, but a majority still only provide $1,000 of annual coverage. If these plans had kept up with the rate of inflation, they should be offering $6,000 worth of coverage. Why the insurance companies haven't increased the annual benefit is anyone's guess. It is safe to assume that consumer's dental health is not one of those reasons.