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20% off Car Insurance & 35% off Home & Contents Online - Budget Direct

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You may already be aware of our Jan promo, but we're going the extra mile for our OzBargain fans by including some handy insider tips (some might say, 'hacks') you won't find elsewhere.

For those who aren't aware of our January offers:
This month, we're celebrating being awarded Australia's Cheapest Car and Home & Contents insurance by Money Magazine. Until Jan 31, head online to take advantage of the below discounts.

Product Saving
Car Insurance (comprehensive) 20%
Home Insurance 20%
Contents Insurance 20%
Home and Contents Insurance 35%

NB. The above discounts are available online only. Reduced discounts are available through the call centre, refer to website and/or T's & C's for details.

OzBargain-Insider tips:

To save the crafty OzBargainers some legwork (we're sure if anyone was to discover these, it'd be an OzBargainer), here are some additional tips you won't find elsewhere:

  • Online quote numbers are valid for 30 days, so if you’re not ready to purchase in Jan, you can still get a quote during the promotional period and retrieve it within 30 days to retain the same price.
  • If you prefer to transact by phone, as long as you get a quote number online, you can phone the call centre, quote your reference number and still receive the applicable ‘online’ discounts

Don't forget: All insurers underwrite individual risks differently, so it's worth taking a few minutes to get a quote online to see how we rate for your individual criteria. We can't promise to save everyone money, but be sure to +1 if we manage to save you a dime or two ;)

Happy saving!

The Legal Bit

Circumstances and policy terms may vary, please compare for yourself.
Insurance is arranged by Auto & General Services Pty Ltd (ABN 61 003 617 909, acting as an agent of the insurer Auto & General Insurance Company Limited (ABN 42 111 5 86 353) Read PDS available from us to decide if products suit you. Subject to rating/underwriting criteria.

Related Stores

Budget Direct
Budget Direct

closed Comments

  • No agreed value for car insurance means no deal for me.

    • +2

      if you select "continue online" it lets you select agreed value instead of market value on page 6.

      • agreed value is maxed at the higher end of the market value too, which was around 2k less than what other insurers where able to offer me

      • No it doesn't. Not for me anyway. On page 6 I have options for keep no claim bonus, roadside assistance, include hire car, reduce windscreen excess and adjust claim excess. That's it.

  • +10

    Worst company to deal with for any insurance

    • Speaking from experience?

      • I had my car insurance with them a few years back, after an accident I had, they seemed pretty easy to deal with and I was at fault. Always after the best price which is why I am not with them at the moment as they were dearer, but this deal in just checking would have been cheaper than the current policy so a + from me.

      • +2

        I can, I was rating one (29 yr's old) and made my first ever car insurance claim (my fault), they approved the repairs and the car gets sent off ( needed a new front bumper and spray ).. before id even got the car back from the panel beater there was a letter in the mail saying that because I was now considered a risk they would not continue to insure….. they also dropped my rating to a rating 3 ! Moto of the story is cheap insurance isn't worth the hassle.. back with GIO now and very happy !

      • +3

        I did not insure with them and thanks god for that after two of my friends had terrible experience with them. Ones story was particularly interesting. After he has insured with them someone scratched his car around six month later. He called them to let them know about this but did not claim anything. That was just to let them know out of good faith. Next day he got a call from a manager saying thy're cancelling his insurance (Which they can do according to T&C). Now every time he needed to do insurance for his car he had to say yes to "Have you ever been refused by an insurance company". He can lie and say no but he's honest and won't lie.

        With insurance I'd rather pay more and get hassle free claim. In these cases you really get what you pay for

  • +1

    +1 from me just for the thorough and easy to understand way you wrote up the deal.

    • Yes, good effort Rep. I thought about posting this after seeing it on tv and having some insurance due for renewal myself but was a bit put off by the large number of negative comments on previous Budget Direct posts.

      I'm not sure that you have the products/features I'm after but I'll definitely get a quote online.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/budgetdirect.com.au

  • +5

    I got a pretty good quote and benefits were really eye catching as well. Was planning to change me RAC service but just checked the reviews which made me scared to death.
    http://www.productreview.com.au/p/budget-direct-car-insuranc…

    • +1

      would be good if the productreview rating was automatically displayed in these posts. similar to the cashback and priceslice

      • Done! Just need to report it to one of the mods.

    • +5

      Wow !!!

      Those reviews are horrible

      I'll have to remember to avoid them in future…

    • +3

      Lol. I think these reviews say it all really. Budget seem to be a great insurance company right up until you claim!

      Obviously people are more likely to go to these websites to complain but reading some of the stories, it doesn't seem worth the risk, at least in my opinion.

      • +2

        Some of my favourites….

        Guy goes away on holiday and his car gets stolen from his house while away. Gets back, tells police, car is found burnt out. He notifies Budget and they determine that the shocks were replaced in the car and this counts as a modification and therefore the policy is void and claim is denied. Owner got the shocks replaced with the same factory part numbers/product as the original and has letter from Pedders saying this. Claim is still denied as owner did not notify of the modification.

        Young driver has an 3 car accident at an intersection in which he is not at fault. He advises Budget that there is a traffic safety camera at the intersection and that it recorded the incident. Budget firstly advises that he is automatically at fault and to pay the $1400 excess and the car is a write off. Upon inspecting the car, Budget determine that the car has a "sports bumper" which was not disclosed on the policy and denies the claim.

        • +2

          I read it on the internet, it must be true!

        • Rofl.

          And from this all the stupid people come out thinking the small percentage of pissed off customers writing bad reviews accounts for 100% of their client base.

        • +1

          A friend was denied his claim from budget by cause he had a removable sub woofer in his boot. Apparently a modification

    • +1

      Thanks. My eyeball is dropped after reading this review. Was going to make a quote on the floating city posted in Ozbargain few days ago.

    • After read the top 3 reviews on your link, it appears they are user's fault nothing to do with Budget Direct. I agree Budget direct doesn't provide good service that's why it's cheaper, my sister just make a claimed couple months ago, I will say if the bill is big, they will try every excuse.

      Even the policy is not fair/clear, but I have been with NRMA(before listed), GIO and QBE, the policy is same for the top 3 reviews. I and my sister can make exactly same complain as the 2nd and 3rd reviews with NRMA, which both are comprehensive many years policy plus it cost more than other provider.

    • +3

      These guys are the worst insurer in Australia, I have a friend who is a claims assessor and had been for 10 years and his advice is never use them unless you want major hassles. It's terrible that you just don't know what it's like until you have an accident and realise that things aren't covered, and things that are covered they fight tooth and nail to deny you

    • It seems all the reviews for car insurance are pretty low. It is difficult to find any company over 2.5. If you are after cheap insurance, progressive is pretty cheap. Same complaints as the other companies.

  • +4

    I found Coles online much cheaper when I got a quote recently.

    • They will match (?beat) any competitor's quote, so I'd guess you could quote this & get it beaten by Coles.

  • My wife was with them for about 9 years. Then the price rose abruptly, we found cheaper quotes elsewhere, and Budget Direct would not match them.

    • Did she ever have to claim? If so, how was the experience?

    • Same. My cover ended last month. AMMI offered a much much cheaper price. Budget Direct refuse to match it.

      I have not made any claim for the past 5 years.

      If they offered me 20% off then, I might have continued with them.

  • I'm laughing at the fact my car is 'high risk'… I am one of the lowest possible risks an insurer could ever have. So it always gives me a giggle!

  • We have our car through Bingle.com (AAMI off shoot). Made a claim last year and they were great to deal with. Also very cheap. I'm with Real Insurance for Home and Contents.

    • +1

      I had a bad experience with Bingle, our car got hit, we were not at fault, we got the other drivers details, even took a photo of their license, and had a witness. They refused to pay us back our excess because the couldn't find the person. So I checked the phone book, and there at the address is the person who hit us. Emailed Bingle, no response, emailed again, got the same answer. Asked them why they can't find them, they said we sent them a letter but they haven't replied.

      Another Bingle incident, we got hit by a thread delivery truck while parked, a witness came forward with the license plate and company of the truck. Ran the claim, got the aanswer "we don't know who hit you". Class A investigation boys. Frigging joke. Excess was 600 so in all down 1200 bucks

  • +1

    Anyone with Budget's Home and Contents Insurance, and made any claims? 35% seems pretty good, as long as 35% is not added back on the premium after the first year without any claims. Sound like it's a case of getting you though the Door.

  • Tried to get a car insurance quote and was met with "Unable to proceed with current quote" after filling in all the details. What a pain.

  • +2

    What's with the aliens in the TV ads?

  • +5

    I've been with AAMI for last 4-5 years, very happy.

    I was with Budget Direct, but after a bad claim experience with them… NEVER AGAIN.

    I had to fight tooth and nail by them to pay out on an accident not my fault.
    Customer service was crap, and they were more concerned with trying to wriggle out of payment, instead of doing what was right for the customer.

    Buyer beware is all I have to say on the matter. Cheap does NOT equal good, and Money Magazine said they were cheap when compared features with other insurance and taking your premiums. Doesnt mention anything about customer experience when you actually need something from them however.

    I'm sure there are negative experiences with all insurers, but I can only go on my own experience with Budget Direct.

    Do your research folks.

    • We are now also with AAMI, and have made 2 claims and they are great. Honoured warranty after repairs, no issues at all.

      There is no way the same can be said for budget and Bingle. They truly suck. I have heard many horror stories first hand. It's tragic

  • +1

    Worst company to deal with for any insurance not at fault claim they rejected

  • +1

    They also have a referral program that gets both parties a $50 prepaid visa card..
    I posted about it in the forums last week when I signed up for home and contents insurance..

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/129507

  • Bingle and progressive online were better than budget direct (by a decent margin) for me during recent car renewals. Each to their own, but suggest these ones get added to your research.

    • Progressive was cheapest for me for car, but budget was the better choice for home/contents (as mentioned above in the forum link)

      • if you guys are with them(Bingle & Progressive), what's your experience when they come to claiming & customer service?

        cheap isn't always ideal….when it come to insurance

        • progressive was no issues for a not-at-fault claim recently..
          went as smoothly as can be expected.

    • Population of NT ~200k
      Poplulation of Australia ~20M
      Yes, let's neg the deal because it's not available for 1% of the population…

      • No has over 4M Hill billy

  • nek minit, your insurance claim has been denied.

  • +2

    My premiums went up every year despite not ever making a claim… the policy was renamed to "gold" without much changing from substantive point of view. It then changed to VIP to justify another increase, which prompted me to leave. I'm now with Coles and Woolies for my Home & Contents.

    I hate tricky tactics used by companies like budget. If you're determined to stay with Budget, do an online quote every year, you'd be pleasantly surprised/shocked to see what they offer new customers.

  • +2

    Even with the alleged 20% off, Coles Insurance came out cheaper for me. Plus Coles Insurance let me use agreed value while Budget Direct would not offer me agreed value as my car is older then 10 years old. Despite being a customer for close to 10 years and only 1 claim they lost a customer.

  • +5

    Hi Budget Direct. Due to pay insurance on the wife's car with GIO. Comprehensive cover is just over $1100. Rip off I thought.

    So got an online quote from Budget Direct and was shocked to have it come in at $650!! Awesome I thought!

    BUT… By the time I added agreed value (which by the way was $7000 less that what GIO offer), rating 1 protection, windscreen cover, rental car, and $650 excess, Budget's quote skyrocketed to $1090.

    So, where's the bargain? I may as well pay $20 more, and get an additional $7000 cover with GIO.

    People really need to sit back and take a careful look at exactly what they're getting for their hard-earned $$$.

    • +3

      People really need to sit back and take a careful look at exactly what they're getting for their hard-earned $$$.

      indeed, and do just as you did and make sure you compare multiple insurance companies..

      due to the 'magic' behind how insurance companies calculate premiums the next person that is with GIO that tries could end up with the complete opposite financial difference

      Not a single insurance renewal should go by without doing a comparison against a handful of insurance companies and coverage levels..might take an hour or 2 of your time but the $ saving normally more than makes up for it. Do that for Car (CTP), Car (Comprehensive), Home (House, Contents or both) and its a decent chunk of change you can possibly save by jumping around every year

  • +2

    Looking at their PDS part B - they have a $11 amendment fee.
    Call up to change your contact details or payment details? That will be $11 please.
    Haha love it.

    Also beware of their little chestnut - all household members must be listed to be covered.

    FEES THAT MAY BE CHARGED
    Once you have taken out a policy, our agent as shown on your Insurance Certificate
    may charge any of the fees below (if applicable):

    Policy Amendments $11.00

  • +1

    its a pain when government allows business to run riot with consumers [citizens'] trust and money

  • Well it looks like they have extended the offer till the end of March.

    The question I have are:
    1. Anyone compared the price of a brand new policy, versus a Renewal?
    2. If you are mid-policy, and want the benefit of the 20% discount, is this viable?

    thanks!

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