Budget Life Insurance Review 2025

Founded in the UK in 1992, Budget Insurance Services is an insurance broker under the BGL Group. The company has helped over 3 million clients, offering motor, home, and life insurance products.

The company acts as an intermediary on behalf of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited for its life insurance policies.

Types of Life Insurance Offered by Budget

Budget offers two types of life insurance policies

Budget offers two types of life insurance policies:

• Level Term: With a level term policy, the payout remains fixed throughout the policy term. This is ideal if you have an interest-only mortgage, wish to leave a substantial sum to loved ones, or have outstanding debts.
• Decreasing Term: This policy type offers coverage that decreases over the policy term, usually resulting in lower premiums. It is particularly suitable if you have a mortgage and want your life insurance coverage to reduce in line with your outstanding mortgage balance.

You also have the option of adding:

• Critical Illness Cover: This can be added to your life insurance policy to provide coverage if you are diagnosed with a specified critical illness.

Features and Benefits of Budget Life Insurance

Like any insurance provider, Budget has various features and benefits that set it apart. Some of the more important ones include:

• Life insurance coverage of up to £750,000
• Paperless documents, stored in an online account that can be accessed 24/7
• Companion Service: Access support from a registered nurse if diagnosed with a critical illness while covered.
• Accidental Death Benefit: While your application is being processed, you are automatically covered by a complimentary accidental death benefit. If death occurs due to an accident before approval, a payout of up to £100,000 will be provided. This can be a cost-effective alternative to short-term life insurance.
• Free will service provided by the company.
• Free legal advice for your loved ones on any end of life issues.
• Budget doesn’t request a medical examination but asks various health-related questions during the application process.

Overview of Budget Life Insurance Key Policy Details

We compare plans from the leading life insurance providers Compare quotes now

Budget Policy Exclusions

It’s worth discussing with a Budget advisor what’s excluded from the life insurance coverage. However, the main points are:

• Terminal illness claims are not applicable within the final 12 months of the policy term.
• Suicide within the first 12 months of the policy is not covered.

Remember to always check the details of any insurance policy you opt for, as you don’t want any surprises if something were to happen.

Defaqto Expert Ratings for Budget Life Insurance (2025)

Defaqto ratings are an independent assessment of financial products, designed to help consumers understand the quality of different insurance policies. They use a star rating system from 1 to 5, with 5 stars representing the highest level of quality. These ratings simplify the comparison process, allowing you to quickly gauge the strengths of a policy.

As of March 7, 2025, Budget Life Insurance’s Defaqto ratings offer a clear view of their policy quality. Budget excels in direct life assurance, achieving a 5-star rating in this category. For critical illness cover with life insurance purchased directly, Budget receives a 4-star rating.

However, for level term and decreasing term life assurance, as well as standalone critical illness cover, Budget policies are rated 3 stars by Defaqto. When compared to competitors like Aviva, Legal & General, and Zurich, who frequently secure 5-star ratings across a broader spectrum of life and critical illness products, Budget’s strengths appear more focused on direct offerings.

For consumers, these ratings suggest that Budget provides excellent direct life insurance options. If you are considering level term or decreasing term life insurance, or critical illness cover, remember that Budget’s 3-star rating indicates a more basic level of cover compared to some top-rated competitors. It is advisable to weigh your specific needs and compare policies from various providers to ensure you find the most suitable coverage.

Does Budget Offer Life Insurance For Over 50s?

The company doesn’t offer a specific life insurance product for over 50s, but anyone under 64 can apply for policies.

Can You Write Your Budget Life Insurance Policy in Trust?

Budget provides a fantastic trust tool that allows you to write your life insurance policy in trust. This tool allows you to set up a trust, enabling you to appoint trustees who will ensure your beneficiaries receive the policy payout upon your death during the coverage period.

What Changes Can You Make To a Budget Insurance Policy?

You can get in touch with Budget’s team to make any change to your policy free of charge. You can adjust the coverage amount, policy term, and even split a joint life policy into two individual policies or convert it to a single policy.

How Much Does Budget Life Insurance Cost?

Your life insurance premium with Budget will depend on various factors. The firm considers your age, whether it’s a single or joint life policy, your medical history, smoking status, health condition, and occupation. For a general understanding, here is an example:

• A non-smoking 30-year old applicant looking for a level term policy covering £150,000 over 25 years should expect to pay around £6 per month. To add £37,500 worth of critical illness cover, the price would rise to £15.87 per month.
• The same applicant looking for a decreasing term policy would be paying around £5 per month, rising to £14.46 with critical illness cover.

The premium will increase if you’re older, a smoker, or if you’re employed in a hazardous job.

Is Budget Life Insurance Right For You?

Budget Insurance Services offers a range of benefits and perks that make it a fantastic option if you’re looking for a provider with an excellent online platform. Its paperless system and 24/7 online access account will appeal to you if you prefer a more modern approach to handle your insurance.

The company is also good if you’d like to use the supplementary services, such as the free will service and the ability to write your life insurance in trust. These services can save you time and potentially costs associated with arranging these separately.

If you need life insurance to cover a high cost, such as a large mortgage, the max coverage of £750,000 might fall short. However, for most people, that won’t be an issue since the average mortgage for first-time buyers in the UK has increased since then.

Defaqto ratings