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Budget Direct car insurance review

Budget Direct is one of the best-value car insurers on the market but it's not always the cheapest.

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Our verdict

Pros

  • Budget Direct's comprehensive car insurance policy won this year's Finder Award for value because it provides a similar level of cover to other insurers but at a lower price.
  • You get access to its hail alert service, Hail Hero.
  • You can get a 15% online discount on your first year's premium for a new policy purchased online.

Cons

  • You may be able to get a cheaper policy elsewhere e.g. Bingle.
  • It's legal liability limit is $20,000,000 while some other insurers, like Australia Post, offer higher limits at $30,000,000.
  • Budget Direct's comprehensive policy covers personal effects Up to $500 while other insurers like Youi cover Up to $750.

How does Budget Direct compare with other car insurers?

As part of our 2024 car insurance awards, we compared 814 features and got over 1,800 quotes across 35+ comprehensive car insurance policies. Here's how Budget Direct performed next to other insurers.

Features

Name Product Choice of repairer New Car Replacement Roadside assistance Hail, storm and flood damage
Budget Direct Comprehensive
Optional
  • If your car is written off in the first 2 years or is under 40,000kms
  • Optional
    Finder's summary: The 2024 winner of our Best Value Car Insurance award. It's cheaper than most, plus you can lower costs by adding age restrictions.

    ⭐ Current offer: 15% off your first year's premium when you take out a policy online. T&Cs apply.

    Who it might be good for: Anyone who wants a good value policy.
    Youi Comprehensive
    Optional
  • If your car is written off or stolen in the first 2 years
  • Finder's summary: The 2023 winner of our Best Features Car Insurance award. Plus, it's one of the only insurers to automatically include roadside assistance.

    Who it might be good for: Those who want good customer service with lots of inclusions.
    Bingle Comprehensive
    Optional add-on
    Finder's summary: Our data shows it’s the cheapest comprehensive policy. It just covers the basics such as damage to your car, theft and storms – it doesn’t go in for add-ons and extras.

    Who it might be good for: Those wanting a low-cost, no-frills policy.
    Allianz Comprehensive
  • If your car is written off or stolen in the first 2 years
  • Finder’s summary: Allianz is good if you want agreed value (this lets you agree on an amount to cover your car for. For a big insurer, it also has a strong customer service record.

    Who it might be good for: Anyone who wants good customer service and agreed value cover.
    NRMA Comprehensive
    Optional
  • If your car is written off in the first 2 years
  • Optional
    AAMI Comprehensive Car Insurance
  • If your car is written off or stolen in the first 2 years
  • Optional
    Finder's summary: AAMI's comprehensive policy includes cover for legal modifications and accessories and up to $20 million cover for damage to other people's property. Optional extras like windscreen and window glass cover is also available.

    ⭐ Current offers: Save $50 when you buy a new comprehensive car insurance policy online. T&Cs apply.

    Who it might be good for: Safe drivers can benefit from the AAMI Safe Driver Rewards® program.
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    Price

    Keep in mind car insurance prices are based on multiple factors such as where you live, your age and the car you drive – so costs may differ for you.

    InsurerNSWQLDSATASVICWAAustralia averageApply
    Budget Direct Logo$1,148$941$978$829$1,180$880$992Get quote
    youi$1,640$1,307$1,087$1,155$1,599$1,363$1,359Get quote
    Bingle car insurance logo$935$872$724$726$1,156$761$862More info
    NRMA logo$2,027$1,154$1,038$1,004N/A$1,034$1,043More info
    AAMI$1,884$1,106$1,015$985$1,318$1,002$1,218More info

    About our car insurance methodology

    Customer Satisfaction rating

    Each year, our experts and insights team asks Australians to score their car insurance provider. As part of the Car Insurance Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2023, we asked over 5,700 Australians to rate their car insurer on value for money, features and benefits, ease of application and customer service. Of the 15+ insurers scored, these were the top 5. See our methodology for how each provider was scored.
    Brand Overall satisfaction rating
    Youi car insurance ★★★★★ 4.38/5
    Everyday car insurance ★★★★★ 4.36/5
    AAMI car insurance ★★★★★ 4.32/5
    Budget Direct car insurance ★★★★★ 4.32/5
    QBE car insurance ★★★★★ 4.22/5

    Compare Budget Direct policies

    Name Product Accidental damage Roadside assistance Fire and theft New Car Replacement Hire car after theft
    Budget Direct Comprehensive
    Optional
  • If your car is written off in the first 2 years or is under 40,000kms
  • Up to $1,000 - Up to 14 days
  • Finder's summary: The 2024 winner of our Best Value Car Insurance award. It's cheaper than most, plus you can lower costs by adding age restrictions.

    ⭐ Current offer: 15% off your first year's premium when you take out a policy online. T&Cs apply.

    Who it might be good for: Anyone who wants a good value policy.
    Budget Direct Third Party Property, Fire and Theft
    Optional
  • Up to $1,000 - Up to 14 days
  • Save 15% on your first year's premium when you purchase a new policy online. T&Cs apply.
    Budget Direct Third Party Property Only
    Optional
  • ⭐ Current offer: Save 15% on your first year's premium when you purchase a new policy online. T&Cs apply.

    Who it might be good for: Drivers who only want cover for damage to another person’s vehicle and up to 15% off your first year.
    Budget Direct Gold Low Kilometres Comprehensive
    Optional
  • If your car is written off in the first year or is under 20,000 km
  • Up to $1,000 - Up to 14 days
  • Save 15% on your first year's premium when you purchase a new policy online. T&Cs apply.
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    Deal

    15% online discount on car insurance

    Receive 15% off car insurance when you purchase cover online.

    Congratulations, Budget Direct!

    Budget Direct received the following awards in the 2024 Product Awards and the 2023 Customer Satisfaction Awards:

    • 'Car Insurance - Value' - Winner
    • 'Car Insurance - Features' - Highly Commended
    • 'Car Insurance Customer Satisfaction SA' - Highly Commended

    What additional cover options are available?

    • Restricted driver discounts. Receive a discount on your premium by restricting the youngest driver of your car. You can choose to restrict the youngest driver age to either 21, 25, 30, 40 or 50.
    • Roadside assistance. Don't want to be stranded on the side of the road with a flat battery or tyre? You might want to take out roadside assistance cover.
    • Hire car. Get your hire car costs reimbursed if your car is stolen or in an accident.
    • Windscreen excess reduction. Choose to reduce your windscreen excess by adjusting your premium.

    Why you can trust Finder's car insurance experts

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    expert adviceYou save time. We spend 100s of hours researching car insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
    independentYou can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.

    FAQs about Budget Direct car insurance

    Jason Loewenthal's headshot
    To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.
    Peta Taylor's headshot
    Written by

    Associate publisher

    Peta Taylor is an associate publisher at Finder, specialising in car insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for car insurance for over a year. Peta has a Bachelor of Communications and Media Studies with a Major in Marketing from the University of Wollongong and a Cert IV in Media Journalism. Peta is part of Finder's car insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring drivers the best in car insurance products every year. See full bio

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    Co-written by

    Editor, Insurance & Innovations

    Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

    Gary Ross's expertise
    Gary Ross has written 725 Finder guides across topics including:
    • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
    • Managing the cost of living

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