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Compare Budget Direct insurance

What to know about Budget Direct insurance, including customer satisfaction ratings and available discounts.
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Fact-checked

Fact-checked

Checked for accuracy by our qualified fact-checkers and verifiers. Find out more about fact-checking at CHOICE

Last updated: 7 Jun 2024
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Budget Direct is an insurance company based in Brisbane that employs more than 1300 people and insures 3 million people across Australia. Its policies are underwritten by Auto & General.

On this page:

Phone: 1800 700 027

Website: budgetdirect.com.au

Who owns Budget Direct?

Budget Direct’s underwriter is Auto & General, which is part of the international Reef Investment Consortium operating in South Africa, United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Singapore, China and Thailand.

Next to its Budget Direct-branded policies, Auto & General is the underwriter for many insurance brands, including: 

  • Australia Post
  • Qantas
  • Virgin Money
  • ING
  • Oceania.

Is Budget Direct Australian-owned? No

Is Budget Direct nonprofit? No

Is Budget Direct listed on the stock exchange (ASX)? No

Where does Budget Direct operate?

  • Australian Capital Territory
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia

Which types of insurance does Budget Direct offer?

How satisfied are Budget Direct customers?

Compared with other insurers in our customer satisfaction survey, Budget Direct rates average for home insurance and below average for car insurance.

Customer satisfaction with home insurance

Of the people we surveyed, 58% of Budget Direct customers rated their experience with home insurance as above average or excellent. This rating is below the average. 

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Home insurer customer satisfaction

Insurers rated as above average or excellent

RACQ (Queensland): 91%

RAA(South Australia): 86%

RAC (Western Australia): 78%

RACV (Victoria): 72%

Coles Insurance: 69%

Youi: 67%

ANZ: 67%

Suncorp: 65%

NRMA :61%

AAMI: 60%

Apia: 59%

Budget Direct: 58%

Everyday (Woolworths): 57%

Allianz: 55%

GIO: 55%

CBA: 51%

CGU: 48%

Qantas: 42%

Notes: CHOICE conducted a survey of 1682 policyholders of home insurance across Australia in March 2025. Quotas were applied for representation in each age group, gender and location to ensure coverage in each state and territory across metropolitan and regional areas.  Ratings for specific insurers were only given by current customers of that insurer.

Customer satisfaction with car insurance

Of the Budget Direct customers we surveyed, 62% rated their experience with car insurance as above average or excellent, which is less than the average rating.

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Car insurer customer satisfaction

Rated as above average or excellent

RAA (South Australia): 91%

RACQ (Queensland): 85%

Youi: 77%

RAC (Western Australia): 77%

GIO: 75%

Shannons: 74%

NRMA Insurance: 72%

Woolworths Everyday: 71%

Qantas: 70%

Apia: 68%

Suncorp: 68%

RACV (Victoria): 64%

AAMI: 62%

Budget Direct: 62%

Allianz: 61%

Notes: CHOICE conducted a survey of 1800 policyholders of car insurance across Australia, including comprehensive car insurance, third party fire & theft insurance and third party property car insurance. Quotas were applied for representation in each age group, gender and location to ensure coverage in each state and territory across metropolitan and regional areas. Fieldwork was conducted in March 2025. Ratings for specific insurers were only given by current customers of that insurer.

How does Budget Direct rate on claims?

Home insurance claims

Of the insurers in our survey, Budget Direct received one of the lowest results, with close to half of its customers rating the claims experience as average, below average or poor.

24/7 helpline: Yes

Car insurance claims

Of the insurers in our survey, Budget Direct received the lowest result, with only 52% of customers who made a claim rating the company as above average or excellent.

24/7 helpline: Yes

Does Budget Direct offer insurance discounts?

Budget Direct offers various discounts to customers who buy policies online. 

For example, you can get discounts of:

  • 30% on your home and contents insurance combined premium for the first year
  • 15% on your first year’s premium for home, contents, car, pet or travel insurance.

Does Budget Direct let you claim online or in-app?

You can start home, car and other Budget Direct insurance claims online. While Budget Direct has a rewards program app, it does not have one for claims.