Budget Group of Companies
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| Budget Insurance Group | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Peterborough, United Kingdom |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Products | Financial Services |
| Employees | 1450[1] |
| Website | www.budgetinsurance.com |
Contents |
[edit] History
The Budget Group of Companies began operating in the UK as an underwriter in 1992. A strategic change in 1997 to intermediary status, marketing policies underwritten by a panel of insurers, triggered the growth of the Group[2]. Through a combination of organic growth and a number of major strategic acquisitions, which included Arnott Century (1999), Dial Direct and Bennetts (2001), the Group increased in size by a substantial amount.
A major contributor to this growth was the launch of its affinity business, Junction, in 2002. With an increasing number of high profile partners, such as Post Office, M&S Money, Bradford & Bingley and Yes Insurance, Junction’s policies under management has grown to over half a million.
A memorable PR and marketing campaign for Bennetts was launched in 2003, helping to establish the bike insurer as a leading brand in the UK market. A similar approach is being used, in 2006 for Budget & Dial’s Commercial Vehicle business.
In 2003, Budget launched its own uninsured loss recovery business, ACM ULR. In its first year of trading it captured 80,000 incidents and is available to all of Budget’s and its partners’ policyholders.
[edit] Main lines of business
Personal lines - motor, motorcycle, home and commercial vehicle insurance alongside a wide range of supplementary products, which include breakdown cover, legal protection, travel insurance and mortgage payment protection insurance.
[edit] Major trading brands
BISL Limited - trading under the names of Budget, Dial Direct, Bennetts, Junction, Fusion and COMPAREtheMARKET.
[edit] Key Dates
1992 Budget Insurance Company founded
1997 Budget Insurance Services founded
1998 Budget Insurance Company ceases underwriting and becomes an intermediary business
1999 Acquired Arnott Century, now Budget Retail
2001 Acquired Dial Direct and Bennetts
2002 created Junction – first major affinity contract
2003 Created ACM ULR
2004 Cape Town Contact Centre opened
2005 Created COMAPREtheMARKET.com – online price comparison website
2006 Sale of Budget Retail
[edit] References
- Tamar builds new site for Budget 30 September 2005
- The History of Budget
- City employees in the limelight at Budget's awards ceremony 31 October 2006
- It pays to shop for home cover 21 February 2004
- Motor cover on a tight Budget 24 July 2004
- Budget Group Case Study
- An overview of the Budget Group of Companies
