Budget Direct Home & Contents Insurance

Did an online quote with Budget Direct home and contents insurance an found that making a mistake in my address ( a few houses out) meant at least $600 difference in the final quote even though the building replacement cost and contents cost were identical and construction materials were identical. On approaching the Budget Direct sales team they said the “ risk assessment “ was the reason! Really within 200 metres distance house to house!

I’ve had a combined building and contents policy ($1M building / $225k contents) with Budget Direct. Over the past three years, my premium has exploded despite having zero claims: Sep 2023: $1,663.53 Sep 2024: $2,178.22 (+31%) Sep 2025: $2,761.09 (+26.7%) Sep 2026: $3,371.73 (+22.1%) That’s a 102.7% total increase (an extra $1,708 a year)… Read more

during a period when CPI went up roughly 9%. I hopped on their online chat to ask why the rates were jumping so drastically. The session took over an hour, with the rep taking more than 3 minutes to reply to every single message while clearly handling multiple other people. At the end of that hour, they offered zero discount or solution and just copy-pasted generic lines about natural disasters and the rising cost of materials. While waiting around on their slow chat, I went online and switched to another insurer for a much better rate. I also have 3 auto policies with Budget Direct, and none of them will be renewed when they expire either.

Recently received my 2025/26 Home & Contents Insurance renewal from Budget Direct who has been my insurer for many years. I have not had any claims… Read more

nor live in a flood or bushfire zone yet my premium initially increased by an extraordinary 66% over the premium I paid in 2024. I contacted Budget Direct via the online chat line & was advised the average premium increase for the year was a modest (by comparison) 16.4%. As a result of this contact, Budget Direct adjusted my policy slightly so my premium was lowered to an increase of 41.65% over my 2024 premium - still off the chart in my books! A formal written complaint to Budget Direct didn’t help. I note others have also experienced substantial premium increases.

I cannot comment on claims history but the price setting up the policy was very competitive. My previous insurer of many years would not exclude flood and landslip cover even though I specifically bought the land on the crest of a low rise well away… Read more ·  2

from any natural hazards. Budget Direct had an opt-in section for flood cover so I was happy to leave it out. I don't want to pay for other people's bad siting decisions.

Very easy to do online. Spoke to an operator for further advice, extremely helpful. Show reply

Really easy process and great value. I switched from my previous insurer of over thirty years (with no claims in that period) because they couldn't or wouldn't match the premium offered by Budget Direct. Show reply

Very helpful with home and contents insurance i have roadside assist also with you guys just have to change my car insurance also when I move and have more time to sit on phone Show reply

Quotation and information provided by your staff was very good. It assisted us to compare our existing coverage with your proposal. Your new policy was easy to understand and was slightly cheaper than previous supplier. Show reply

They auto renew your policy, charging your bank account or credit card -- they keep this information on file and you can't opt out of it without having a phone call or chat with a representative. You cannot do it online. You can buy insurance without talking to anyone, but you cannot cancel it without talking to anyone. I resent the waste of my time as a captive audience to their sales campaign.

Would not recommend the service. I had 2 weeks of run around many mistakes made customer service terrible. Claims department badly run I would strongly suggest you go with another company in my opinion

Budge Direct is cheap comparatively but one of the worst Insurance to deal with, especially when it comes to Claims and they will make sure that you get frustrated with their rounds of interviews (like you made mistake or crime) to put claim against your policy , and they will also make sure that they'll ask you hell no. of proofs/evidence that… Read more

you get fed up and withdraw the claim.

So please be wary of once you buy cheap and of no use insurance policy from Budge Direct. This is the first hand experience for own home claim and after almost a month they ensured I get frustrated and withdraw my claim.

Rest your call, your time and money, please act judiciously.

I shopped around for a new home and contents insurer.I find budget direct and switched providers which lowered my yearly bill a lot.It only took a few minutes online.Always compare your insurance rates before your policy renewal. Show reply

I've had a home insurance policy with budget direct for over a year now and I put in my first claim as the tenant defaulted. Firstly, the consultant claimed for 2 specific reasons that the claim would be denied. With no experience of how insurance works as this is my first ever insurance claim I was able to prove the claim manager incorrect in… Read more

less than 30 minutes after going through the data on both points. She then admitted she got this clearly wrong afterwards. The team leader then denied the claim ultimately after for a 3rd invented reason which is a deliberate misinterpretation of policy. This experience really throws into question the competence, intelligence, financial incentives and integrity of the employees at budget direct. I will now be going through the extensive complaints/appeal process. I will never use budget direct again in any capacity and I highly recommend that everyone else avoids this company. They are the reason the general public don't trust insurance companies.

I would give zero stars if I could. After being a customer for a year I received my first renewal with budget direct which had a small increase of 25%....... No claims had been made, no changes to the policy, just a 25% increase for no apparent reason. Using their chatbot to review my policy and see why the massive increase in my premium, only to… Read more

get an AI chat bot that made continuous mistakes, constant misunderstanding's and after making changes to the policy INCREASED MY PREMIUM BY ANOTHER $200.

By far the worst customer service I have ever received, to the extent I have cancelled my policy and gone with a more expensive insurer just so I don't have to endure the incompetence and disregard of this company.

Worst insurance company i have ever been with ! My experience was they lied and did anything to get out of paying any legit claims . I wasted my money going with Budget Direct , please read the fine print , as i found it misleading , Ambiguous and Conflicting statements . I feel This is a greedy company only after Taking $$$$$ from their… Read more

customers and not honoring the insurance claim ! Why would any one want to support such a corrupt company ? !!

Excellent experience with the consultant and signing up with our new home and contents Insurance with budget direct. The consultant was very informative and advised us of the additional items that we could add to our Insurance, which we did do. Overall it was a seamless and easy process to sign up with budget direct and we saved so much money on… Read more ·  1

our new home and contents insurance policy compared to what we used to pay with one of the larger traditional Insurance

Had contents insurance but not home insurance with Budget Direct. Advised budget that we were soon commencing major renovations on our home. I answered an inordinate number of questions on the scope of work. A few days later I had a follow up conversation with budget answering another bunch of questions. A few days later I received an email… Read more

advising that the scope of renovations meant that budget could no longer accept our policy and was ceasing the contents policy in 3 weeks. Then a day later received a follow up email advising the policy was being canceled in 5 days. At no time was i contacted with the actual reason for their determination or any offer on how we could do to continue the policy ie extra monitoring of the house, ensure the contents were padlocked although they didn’t actually ask what we were doing with our contents during the renovation. Also not happy that Budget changed the cease date of the policy without actually having the fortitude to ring me. I had similar foundational issues which caused me to cancel my vehicle comprehensive insurance with them 5 years previously.

I was asked the type of dwelling.first time ever.was with the NRMA for 40 years.My home is brick vaneer. NRMA would not distingush the difference between full brick and brick vaneer,was the home elevated or ground slab,which in my opinion would reduce my premium.So I was happy that Budget Direct asked these questions.Flood insurance was… Read more ·  1

optional.great,as where I have lived for 45 years,it has never flooded. The ease of insuring was great,done in minutes. Saved over $850 ,which is handy as I am a pensioner.

Purchasing our first home, we were completely green and didn’t know how the process worked. We had contents insurance for years renting but not building and contents insurance. We did a quote using the calculator and Budget Direct were the best for our needs. Speaking with customer service was easy and always super friendly. We look forward to continuing our business connection with Budget Direct and recommend them. Give it a go! Show reply

After requesting a further look into my claim, Budget Direct agreed that I was entitled to make a claim. They were very helpful, and I am so happy that I have insured my house and car with them. I highly recommend them. They are very professional and have a strong claims system. Show details ·  1

I am extremely disappointed with the service I received from Budget Direct. I contacted them to discuss contents cover including lost or stolen items outside Australia and simply wanted an explanation as to why individual items needed to be listed rather than allowing a total insured amount. Instead of answering my question, the consultant… Read more

repeatedly asked the same questions about how many items I had, their individual values, and even the karat value of gold items. It felt like talking to a robot rather than someone genuinely trying to help.

The process was unnecessarily tedious and time-consuming. I was placed on hold for a lengthy period, only for the consultant to return and tell me that the percentage wasn't sufficient and that they couldn't provide cover. When I asked why, he was unable to give a clear explanation and simply continued with the script instead of addressing my concerns.

Good customer service involves listening to customers and answering reasonable questions. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case. The lack of communication, lengthy delays, and inability to provide clear explanations made for a very frustrating experience. Based on this interaction, I would not recommend Budget Direct.

I mean all I did was buy insurance. I don't know how good it is yet cause I am yet to use it. Buying it was simple. I can review that. 5 stars for taking my money. Hopefully it will be retruned one day should I ever need it. Show reply

Very disappointing customer service experience with Direct Budget today. I called to request the addition of a secondary mortgagee to my insurance certificate, and the representative’s attitude was unnecessarily rude and unhelpful. It felt as though assisting customers was a burden rather than part of the job. Regardless of the request, customers… Read more

deserve to be treated with respect and professionalism. Based on this interaction, Direct Budget has some work to do when it comes to customer service.

Saved a lot of money over my normal insurer. It really does pay to see what else is on the market. I've been with the same insurer for over 40 years, but Budget Directs premium was too hard to refuse Show reply