About Discovery Insure
Established about twenty years ago, Discovery Insure is a financial services company offering products to encourage financial security, wellness and health in their customers. Discovery Insure began as a small health insurance company, and according to their web site has now grown to provide services to six million customers across four continents. Under the management of M.I. Hilkowitz and A. Gore, Discovery Insure does business in the UK, South Africa and China. In addition to providing insurance services, the company also has a strong philanthropic ethic and is involved in programmes to improve healthcare in South Africa (based on statements on their website).
Where is Discovery Insure Located?
Discovery Insure has offices in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Centurion, but their head office is in Sandton at 16 Fredman Drive, Sandton, 2146. Their postal address is P.O. Box 784262, Sandton, 2146.
Which Services do Discover Insure Provide?
Discovery Insure provide a range of insurance options, including health, life, car and home insurance. We'll be focusing on the Discovery life insurance options.
Discovery Insure Life Insurance Options
The various options offered by Discovery insurance can look very complicated at first, when, in fact it's quite simple. Discovery insurance provide a basic life insurance policy and then have a system of add-ons that you can choose from. You decide how much you want to spend each month, and the amount of coverage you get will depend on your monthly spending limit for your premium.
Discovery Life
The basic life insurance policy with Discover Insure is called “Discovery Life”. Unfortunately, the Discovery web site does not provide any detailed information about this plan at all (at least not that we could find), other than saying that it's a life insurance policy. The only information Discovery gives about this basic plan is that it:
-
Covers death;
-
Covers serious illness;
-
Covers disability.
In addition to this basic policy, you have optional add ons. Some of these add ons also cover serious illness and disability, though presumably they offer higher pay outs or increased coverage when compared to the basic Discovery Life policy.
Discovery Disability Insurance
Discovery disability insurance is designed to provide you with financial security should you become disabled and therefore unable to work. The main benefits of the policy are as follows:
-
A lump sum Pay out should you become disabled;
-
The possibility of joint cover for you and your spouse;
-
The option to choose when the policy will expire – either 65 or 70;
-
The pay out is based on how much your daily life is effected by your disability, rather than just your ability to do your job;
-
The pay out takes into account your long term prospects and loss of future earnings to calculate how much you receive.
Discovery Insure provide no further information regarding types of disability covered or whether the disability cause is important, i.e. does it make a difference if your disability comes from illness or through an accident. This is important information that is usually provided.
Discovery Severe Illness Insurance
Severe illness insurance with Discovery Insure is designed to provide financial security if you are diagnosed with a serious illness. This money can be used to cover home nursing costs, loss of income, home modifications or early retirement. You can choose between the standard plan which pays out determined by the severity of your illness at the time of diagnosis, or the LifeTime plan which also takes into account the long term impact of your illness. Both plans also have the following features:
-
Free coverage up to a specified maximum pay out for your children and parents;
-
Global Treatment coverage so you can get medical care no matter where you are in the world;
-
The possibility to extend the plan for life time coverage, rather than having the plan expire when you are 65;
-
The possibility of adding additional packages to cover childbirth, women's illnesses or intensive care and reconstructive surgery.
Discovery Income Protection Insurance
Discovery insurance's income protection insurance is designed to provide you with a monthly income in case you are unable to work due to illness, accident or disability. The main features of the plan are:
-
100% of your monthly income paid if you are permanently disabled;
-
The possibility to add 100% temporary income for an additional amount, so that 100% of your monthly income will be paid in the case of illness or accident for up to two years;
-
The possibility to increase the policy expiry age from 65 to 70;
-
Possibility to add a Family Protector addition that will allow you to take time off work in case of a life changing event happening in your family, such as the birth of a child;
-
If you own your own business, this policy will pay the overhead costs of your business for up to two years if you are unable to work (although not mentioned, we assume that there is a limit to the amount that the policy will pay and that the amount is affected by your monthly premium).
Discovery Life's Global Education Protector
This policy is designed to ensure that your children's education is paid for should something happen to you. The main features are:
-
Coverage of primary, secondary and tertiary (college/university) education;
-
Coverage until your child is 24 or until they receive their first qualification;
-
Possibility to include coverage in case something should happen to your spouse;
-
Ability to choose whether the policy pays out in the event of severe illness, disability and death; disability and death; or on death only.
How are the Customer Reviews for Discovery Insure?
Looking at Hellopeter, the customer review website, there are 112 reviews registered to Discovery Life (the life insurance section of the company) in the last twelve months. Out of these 102 are negative. Unfortunately, other life insurance companies reviewed usually have a much larger number of reviews and reaching any conclusions based on 112 reviews alone wouldn't be very professional. Of the complaints, customers mentioned customer service, response times and difficulty reaching representatives. On the upside, nearly every review on the site received feedback from a Discovery representative clearly showing that Discovery Life was working to please it's customers.
Is the Discovery Insure Website User Friendly? 
The Discovery Insure website is very user friendly in terms of accessing information. It's easy to navigate the site, and categories are clearly organised. Policies are explained in an easy to understand way, and there's no technical/professional jargon (terms) which means the website is easy to understand and use even for people who aren’t too familiar with the insurance market. The only thing we would have liked to see is more detailed information about the actual policies. Thus for example, we found no explanation about the basic life insurance policy and we could not find specific details for the additional policies which are often crucial to the customer. For example, the severe sickness policy gives no indication of what kinds of illness are covered or not covered. Unfortunately, many of the websites don't go into such detail which we can understand (to not overwelhm the customers) but perhaps they could add a link to a pdf page that offered more detailed information.
Discovery Insure in Summary
Discovery Insure provides comprehensive life insurance, including many optional additions. It was easy to navigate the Discovery website and the basic information does exist. Nevertheless, it would be useful if more information did appear as this would make the decision process a lot easier. The customer reviews overall were slightly negative, but as mentioned, a company representative responded to all the reports, clearly showing that the company is making an effort to please it's customers. Life insurance is one of the more important types of policies you will be taking out, so we suggest that you read up on the subject a bit (you should have all the information you need here on our website – and if not let us know) and don't forget to compare. You can get up to 2 Free life insurance quotes by filling in the above form or 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: Discovery Insure
