Budget Insurance: About the Company
Budget Insurance is part of the Telesure Group, which includes other insurance companies such as 1st for Women, Auto and General, Dial Direct, Prosper, Virseker, Unity Insurance, Virgin Money Insurance and more. Founded in 1998, Budget Insurance specialises in providing short term insurance options on a low budget with low premiums. The company's website says that Budget Insurance is an authorised financial services provider, and is part of an international group of financial services companies that include Budget Holdings and the BLG Group. In South Africa this international group of companies is represented by Telesure. The managing director of Budget Insurance is T.J. Creamer.
Where to Find Budget Insurance
Budget Insurance, along with many other companies from the Telesure Group, can be found at Auto & General Park, 1 Telesure Lane, Riverglen, Dainfern.
Services Provided by Budget Insurance
Budget Insurance provides a range of low premium insurance policies that cover vehicles, homes, businesses, buildings, and portable possessions, as well as providing life insurance.
Life Insurance with Budget Insurance
Budget South Africa offers two simple life insurance policies, both sold under the name Pure Life Cover. These two policies offer slightly different benefits.
Budget Insurance Life Cover
The basic policy with Budget life insurance gives you the following benefits:
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The pay out is between R50 000 and R200 000, with a larger pay out costing a higher monthly premium;
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There is a R50 000 pay out that will be paid within 48 hours of a valid claim being made, to help beneficiaries pay for funeral expenses;
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The terminal illness benefit means that if a terminal illness is diagnosed and life expectancy is less than 12 months, the full cover amount will be paid immediately, meaning that the money can be used to pay for medical care, for example;
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Accidental death is covered immediately, and death by natural causes or death by suicide is covered after two years;
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The policy includes access to Expo-Sure, an HIV testing and treatment programme, in case of accidental HIV exposure;
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Your coverage will not go down as long as your policy is active;
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Your coverage is for your whole life, and does not expire when you reach a certain age.
Budget Insurance Elevated Life Cover
In addition to the basic policy, Budget Insurance also offers an elevated life insurance option. This policy has more benefits than the basic policy, though obviously premiums will be more expensive. The benefits of the elevated plan are as follows:
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The pay out is between R200 000 and R10 million, with a larger pay out meaning higher monthly premiums;
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Again, there is a R50 000 pay out within 48 hours of a valid claim being made that can be used to help pay funeral expenses;
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The terminal illness benefit means that the full cover amount will be paid out immediately when a terminal illness is diagnosed and life expectancy is less than 12 months;
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Both accidental and natural death are covered immediately, and death by suicide is covered after a two year waiting period;
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You will have access to Expo-Sure, the confidential testing and treatment programme for HIV in case of accidental exposure;
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The policy has a Guaranteed Assurability option, which means that if your lifestyle changes through a new job, for example, you can increase your coverage amount;
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Your cover amount will not go down as long as your policy is active;
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The policy covers you for your whole life and does not expire at a certain age.
There are a couple of things to note about both of these policies. According to their website, Budget Insurance will base your premiums on a risk assessment, with factors like your age and general health determining how much you will pay. But Budget does give example prices on their website. According to Budget, a 24 year old woman with R500 000 of coverage will pay a monthly premium of around R86, whilst a 36 year old man with R500 000 of coverage will pay a monthly premium of around R112. Of course, these are only examples, and your health, smoking status and many other things can effect how much your premium will be.
What do Customer Reviews Look Like for Budget Insurance?
On hellopeter (a customer review website) Budget Insurance have received around 1300 reports in the last twelve months. Of these reports, 68% were positive and 32% were negative. That means that Budget Insurance got twice as many good reviews as bad ones. For the negative reviews, the biggest problem people had seems to be feedback or response times. However, it's important to note that nearly all of the Budget Insurance reviews (positive and negative) received a reply from a company representative, which indicates that feedback is something that Budget Insurance takes seriously.
Is the Budget Insurance Website User Friendly?
The Budget Insurance website is generally easy to navigate. Their life insurance policies were explained in easy to understand terms, 
with little technical language, which made the information easy to digest. Information about the life insurance policies was quite comprehensive, and did make the differences between the two policies quite clear. The only thing that they could perhaps change would be making the access to the life insurance a bit easier – while other kinds of insurance (vehicle, home or business) are linked to the home page, we had to go to the products and services page before we found a link to the life insurance options. This is a small issue, but one that would make shopping for life insurance just a little more easier.
Budget Insurance: In Conclusion
Budget Insurance offers two simple life insurance policies. Their website is easy to navigate and to read, which makes finding out more information simple. On top of this, customer reviews for Budget Insurance are quite encouraging, with 68% of customers reporting a positive experience with the company.So overall, things look good. As always, and seeing how life insurance is such an important type, we recommend that you get at least 2 life insurance quotes from the various insurance companies. You can do this by filling in the form on the top right.
* Disclaimer: We do not represent any of the companies, products and/or services reviewed, published or advertised on this website. Nor are we financial, health or insurance professionals or services provider. If you request a quote or purchase a product/service, it will not necessarily be given by the company reviewed on any specific page. Any decisions you make based on the information presented is at your own discretion and we advise that before doing so, you consult with the relevant professional.
Main subject: Budget Insurance
