When people think about health insurance the first thing to come to mind is normally the trip to the doctor for the flu, or a cold, or maybe blood work. If you’re being completely pessimistic maybe you’re wondering who is going to pay for the treatment of a broken arm or a serious illness. But there are a lot of different types of insurance which are also important, and that many people don’t think about quite as often. For example, there is dental insurance for those trips to the dentist—to check for cavities and make sure you floss. And then there is vision insurance.

Vision insurance is important because our eyes are important! Everyone knows that eyesight is the dominant sense among the five senses. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of our eyes to keep them in tip top shape. There are many conditions which eye insurance covers, and there are many benefits which vision plans impart to beneficiaries. For example, about 75% of Americans use some type of vision correction, according to the Vision Council of America. About 64% of U.S. citizens wear glasses while another 11% wear contact lenses. The expense of these products can be prohibitive without some sort of vision insurance to bring down the cost. Most eye care plans provide a discount on vision products. Furthermore, most vision plans will help to pay for the eye doctor appointment which determines level of eyesight and what kind of prescription is necessary for an individual. But even on top of corrective eyewear, there are reasons for having vision insurance. Conditions such as astigmatism, cataracts, and glaucoma must be screened and treated or they will get worse. Again, eye care costs can be prohibitive without vision insurance.

Still, the Center for Disease Control found in a recent study that many people who have issues with their eye sight are skipping visits to the eye doctor. Why? Most of the time because they lack the money to cover the cost or do not have vision benefits included as part of their health insurance plan. About 39%of adults aged over 40 and who are considered to have moderate to severe eye health problems have skipped eye care for this reason in the past year. And since health care costs are rising all around, it will become even more difficult for people to pay their eye care costs out of pocket. Given the importance of vision care, it will probably become a better move to purchase health insurance that covers vision or buy a separate vision benefits plan.

There are two typical ways to buy a vision plan—as an individual plan or as a group insurance plan. Many people opt for group insurance because the benefits plan is cheaper than it would be otherwise. Most of the time it is an employer who facilitates group insurance coverage.