Budget Direct Home and Contents Insurance

Who is Budget Direct?

Budget Direct has been on the insurance scene since 2000.^{1Budget Direct – Our Company} In that time, they’ve ​taken ​​​​​home Money magazine’s Insurer of the Year eight times, including an impressive seven years in a row from 2017 to 2023.^{2Budget Direct – Our Awards}

Not one to rest on their laurels, Budget Direct also further impressed Money magazine and won the ​Best of the Best ​​​​​award for Best-Value Home and Contents Insurance from 2017 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2023.^{3As above} Impressive!

Why consider Budget Direct?

So what has Budget Direct got that keeps them ​winning​​ ​awards?  Well, Budget Direct offers:

• ​​A 21-day cooling off period. You’ll get a full refund on your premium during this time, provided you haven’t made a claim.​^{4Budget Direct – Cancelling home insurance}
• 24/7 online and phone claims service^{5Budget Direct – Compare Benefits and Features}
• ​​​​​​​​Each year to help keep pace with the rising costs of repairing, rebuilding and replacement, they will automatically increase the sum insured amounts of your home and contents in your renewal offer. Your premium will also be adjusted accordingly. ​​It’s still important to check if your sum insured is adequate​​​​​​​​​​​​.​^{6Budget Direct – Home and Contents Insurance}
• Quality repairs guaranteed from their trusted partners, including using quality materials^{7As above}
• The option to choose a higher excess to reduce your premium at any time^{8Budget Direct – Home insurance excesses}

What types of Home and Contents Insurance does Budget Direct offer?

There’s no place like home and no two homes are the same. Luckily, Budget Direct has customisable Insurance Policies to better suit your home and lifestyle. You can start with any of these four bases, then add additional ​optional ​cover​s​.

• Home Insurance
  Also known as Building Insurance, this could help protect your home from events such as storms, fire and theft. This generally includes cover for repairs, rebuilds and temporary accommodation.
  
• Contents Insurance
  This helps cover​ most​ items inside your home including your furniture, electronics and other valuables. Budget Direct offers new-for-old replacements for your contents if they’re irreparably damaged during an insured event, subject to the terms, conditions and limits of your policy.^{9Budget Direct – Home and Contents Insurance}
  
• Home and Contents
  Keep things simple with one policy to cover both your home and contents.
  
• Landlord Insurance
  If you have an investment property, this acts similarly to Home Insurance if loss or damage occur​s​.

Which events do Budget Direct’s Home and Contents Policies cover?

Whether it’s a burst pipe in the middle of the night or someone ​breaking in​​​​​, these ​kinds​ of unwanted events are unfortunately something we need to think about. While you can’t stop every disaster from happening, appropriate insurance can help make it that much easier to get back on track.

Budget Direct Home and Contents Insurance helps cover your house and personal possessions in case of loss or damage caused by the following events:¹⁰As above

• Storm and rainwater (excluding flood)
• Fire
• Lightning
• Theft (including attempted theft)
• Escape of liquid (like a burst pipe)
• Impact at home (like a fallen tree)
• Breakage of glass, ceramic and sanitary fixtures
• Malicious damage, vandalism, riot or civil commotion
• Explosions
• Earthquake or tsunami

​​You could also customise your Budget Direct Insurance Policy with optional cover available for (eligibility criteria may apply):^{11As above}​

• ​​​Flood cover​​​​​​​ ​​
• Personal effects (for items that you take out of your home with you, like laptops or jewellery)
• Motor burnout (like for your fridge)
• Commercial storage, if you store your items in a storage facility
• Accidental damage
• Sum Insured Safeguard, which increases your Home Insurance sum by up to 25% if the cost to repair, replace or rebuild your home is more than you’re insured for

What are the benefits of insuring your home and contents with Budget Direct?

Insuring your home and contents with Budget Direct also comes with some benefits above and beyond the policy itself. For instance, they have their own rewards platform, which is free for customers with two or more Insurance Policies. It provides discounts for a range of exciting options, including dining and takeaway, travel and leisure activities, and gift cards.^{12Budget Direct – Budget Direct Rewards}

How do excesses work with Budget Direct?

When you sign up for a policy with Budget Direct, you’ll be asked to nominate an excess between $100 and $5,000.^{13Budget Direct – Home insurance excesses} ​​​​​C​hoose a higher excess and lower premiums, or a lower excess and higher premiums.^{14As above}

How do I make a claim with Budget Direct?

When it’s time to make a claim, Budget Direct has a simple process. After all, who needs to be dealing with endless phone calls and paperwork while they’re trying to get things back to normal?

Step 1: Check your cover

​​Before you lodge a claim, you can review your cover to see what’s included, however if you’re in any doubt as to whether your loss or damage is covered, you can still lodge a claim and it will be assessed accordingly.

Step 2: Have your info close to hand

To help your claim progress swiftly, Budget Direct needs to know the details of what happened, including the time, date and location, and any photos of the damage. If you have one, include the police report too.^{15Budget Direct – The Claims Process} It can be a good idea to have all of these documents and information ready to go when you start your claim.

Depending on your claim, you can also lodge any other damage reports or proof of ownership now. However, if you haven’t got them yet, you could still get your claim started. You can add this information to the claim later as needed.^{16As above}

Step 3: ​Lodge ​your claim

​​Once you’ve collected all of the relevant information, your next step is to decide how you want to make a claim. You can choose between notifying Budget Direct of your claim online, or calling so that one of Budget Direct’s friendly team members can assist you. Rest assured whether you choose to claim online or over the phone, you’ll be able to start your claim 24/7.​​​​​

With your claim in Budget Direct’s court, they’ll start assessing. This may include reaching out to you for more information or having someone come to assess the damage​.​ O​​nce they have all the relevant information they’ll make a decision within 10 working days unless you hear otherwise or ​​there’s​​ special circumstances¹⁷​​As above so you won’t be left hanging either way.

​Once a decision has been made, if the claim has been accepted Budget Direct will repair, replace or pay you cash for your insured damages or losses up to the sum insured.^{18As above}

What payment options does Budget Direct offer?

​​Using direct debit, credit card or debit card, you can choose to pay your Budget Direct Home and Contents Insurance premium fortnightly, monthly or yearly. Each has their own benefits but annually works out the cheapest​ as there will be no instalment fees​.^{19Budget Direct – Paying for home insurance}

Where can I compare Budget Direct Home and Contents Insurance?

If your existing Home and Contents Insurance (or lack of) is leaving you feeling less than content, iSelect can help. You can use our handy online comparison tool or speak to our friendly team on 13 19 20 to learn about a range of Budget Direct Home and Contents Insurance options, as well as policies from other providers.*