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Budget Direct Travel Insurance

Our verdict: Budget Direct offers a broad range of customisations and is one of the few insurers to make COVID-19 benefits optional.

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Budget Direct Travel Insurance Deals

Pros

  • Budget Direct offers cover for high-risk activities that many other brands don’t, including trekking to Everest Base Camp and trekking the Kokoda Trail.
  • There are a broad range of customisations available so you can tailor cover to suit your specific needs.

Cons

  • Even if you choose to add COVID-19 cover to your policy, it doesn’t offer the most comprehensive protection.
  • Cover for pregnancy complications is only available up until the 24th week, but there are many brands that extend cover for longer.
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Summary of Budget Direct's Comprehensive policy

Overseas Medical and Hospital ExpensesUnlimited
Cancellation and Amendment FeesCover chosen
Luggage and Personal Effects$10,000
Maximum Age Limit125

Table updated October 2023

How does Budget Direct Travel Insurance cover COVID-19?

Budget Direct is one of the few travel insurers that lets you customise your cover for COVID-19.

As standard, you will receive cover for overseas medical expenses, including emergency evacuation or repatriation if you’re diagnosed with COVID-19. You’ll also be able to claim up to $2,500 for additional expense if you’re diagnosed with COVID-19 while overseas.

However, if you want cover for amendment or cancellation costs, you’ll have to add that to your policy. If you add the benefit to your policy, you’ll be covered for amendment or cancellation costs if you or your travelling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19.

There are many scenarios that are not covered by Budget Direct, even if you add on the policy. For example, you won’t be covered if your tour or accommodation cancels due to COVID-19.

There is also no cover if you were diagnosed with COVID-19 before heading on your trip but you went anyway.

What policies does Budget Direct offer?

Budget Direct offers four insurance policies to travellers. Comprehensive, Essential, Basic and Domestic. All of these policies can be taken out as a single or multi-trip policy, with the exception of basic which is only available as a single-trip policy.

Travel plane luggage passport

Comprehensive

Passport

Essential

Luggage

Basic

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Domestic

The insurer of this product is Zurich Australian Insurance Limited. It comes with a cooling-off period of 21 days and choice of $200 standard excess for international plans.

Here's a breakdown of Budget Direct Travel Insurance features

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Standard features

These are some of the main insured events that Budget Direct will cover. Some of these benefits may only apply on the comprehensive international policy.

  • Overseas medical treatment
  • Emergency dental costs
  • Trip cancellation or amendment costs
  • Lost, damaged or stolen property
  • Luggage and travel delay
  • Additional accommodation and transport
  • Theft of money
  • Rental car excess
  • Permanent disability
  • Kidnap and hijack
  • Personal liability
  • Accidental death

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Optional add-ons

Budget Direct also offers six add-on options that provide cover for a wider range of risks or activities while you’re on holiday.

  • Cruise Cover Extends your insurance policy to cover cruises and a range of cruise-specific risks such as missed ports, sea sickness, and cabin confinement.
  • Adventure Covers you for participation in a range of activities such as risky activities such as quad biking, rock climbing, and horse trekking.
  • Adventure+ Extends your cover to even higher risk activities, such as trekking to Everest Base Camp or the Kokoda Track.
  • Snow sports Covers you for on-piste snow skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
  • Snow sports+ Extends your snow sports cover to include skiing and snowboarding off-piste as well as heli-skiing and heli-boarding.
  • COVID-19 cover. Protection for cancellations and amendment costs if you or a travelling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19.
  • Increase item limits. Boost your coverage for valuable items to ensure you're fully protected during your travels.
  • Motorcycle cover. Stay secure on your rides with optional coverage specifically designed for motorcycles.

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Exclusions

Unfortunately, travel insurance doesn’t cover everything. Generally, Budget Direct will not pay your claim if it relates to:

  • Unlawful, wreckless or unreasonably unsafe behaviour by you
  • Behaviour while you were drunk or under the influence of drugs
  • Expenses related to a pre-existing medical condition
  • An act of war, invasion or revolution
  • Insolvency of a travel agent, tour operator or accommodation provider
  • Mandatory quarantines or isolations
  • An act of war, invasion or revolution
  • You being unfit to travel or travelling against medical advice
  • Childbirth or pregnancy complications after the 23rd week of gestation or if you have had previous pregnancy complications
  • A multiple pregnancy or one where the conception was medically assisted
  • An elective medical or dental treatment, cosmetic procedure or body modification (including tattoos or piercing)
  • Self-inflicted injury or illness, suicide or attempted suicide

Make sure you review the Budget Direct PDS for a detailed breakdown of what won't be covered, found under its list of general exclusions.

How to make a Budget Direct Travel Insurance claim

To lodge your claim online, visit claims.travelinsurancepartners.com.au/budgetdirect and follow the prompts.

Alternatively, you can download, print and complete a claim form from budgetdirect.com.au/travel-insurance/claims.html and then send it to the following address.

Budget Direct Travel Insurance
C/o-Travel Insurance Partners Claims Department
PO Box 168,
North Sydney
NSW 2060

Here's the bottom line about Budget Direct Travel Insurance

Budget Direct could be a good option for high-adrenaline travellers as it was one of the few brands we found to offer cover for risky activities such as trekking the Kokoda Trail or heli-skiing.

Don’t forget to add the optional adventure or snow sports packs if you want cover for these activities though.

If you're still not sure about Budget Direct, you can compare other travel insurance companies here.

Frequently asked questions

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Joselle Delos Reyes's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Joselle Delos Reyes as part of our fact-checking process.
Nicola Middlemiss's headshot
Senior writer

Nicola Middlemiss is a contributing writer at Finder, with a special interest in personal finance and insurance. Formerly a business and finance journalist, Nicola has written thousands of articles helping Australians better understand insurance and grow their personal wealth. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including Domain, the Educator, Financy, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Insurance Business, MoneyMag, Mortgage Professional, Yahoo Finance, Your Investment Property, and Wealth Professional. Nicola has a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Leeds. See full bio

Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 237 Finder guides across topics including:
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  • Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
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22 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    VernonJanuary 10, 2024

    How do i cancel my Basic Travel Insurance within the prescribed period

      AvatarFinder
      SarahJanuary 10, 2024Finder

      Hi Vernon,

      You’ll need to contact Budget Direct to cancel your policy. You can reach them on 1800 182 310.

    Default Gravatar
    JacquiAugust 30, 2019

    We are trekking in Nepal to 4500m. Will we be covered for this please and does it cover emergency evacuation by helicopter in case of injury or illness?

      Default Gravatar
      NikkiAugust 31, 2019

      Hi Jacqui,

      Thanks for getting in touch!

      You can request a quote for trekking travel insurance for Nepal. Normally, cancellations, medical expenses, and helicopter evacuation are covered if you become ill or if you’re injured while trekking to Everest base camp or on other guided treks in Nepal which can be provided by your insurer’s medical assistance team.

      While Budget Direct is not on the list of brands who can cover you for the Everest Base Camp or Nepal trekking, use the online form on top of the page, enter the information needed in the fields provided and click “Get my quote”. This will show a full list of providers for your trip.

      As a friendly reminder, carefully review the Product Disclosure Statement of the product before applying. You may also contact the insurance provider should you have any questions about their policy.

      Hope this helps!

      Best,
      Nikki

    Default Gravatar
    Jo-anneApril 24, 2019

    Hi! I require 12 months travel insurance for Germany. The consul requires 30,00 euro for medical evacuation/ repatriation of body in case of death. Can you please advise if the unlimited medical covers this?

      AvatarFinder
      MaiApril 25, 2019Finder

      Hi Jo-anne,

      Thank you for reaching out to Finder.

      Budget Direct will cover for medical evacuation or repatriation based on your specific needs. You may need to check with your specific policy it the 30,000 EU so covered by your policy as the approval is still subject to an assessment and approval by Budget Direct.

      You can reach out to Budget Direct to verify so they can check on your policy coverage too.

      Hope this helps! 😊

      Kind Regards,
      Mai

    Default Gravatar
    DebMarch 13, 2019

    Hi, on a 7 month trip to the UK, how can we make sure we’re covered for countries that we suddenly decide to visit? Or, can we add to our insurance whilst away, i.e. If we decide to go to Canada for 2 weeks, can we pay the extra prior to departure?

      AvatarFinder
      MaiMarch 14, 2019Finder

      Hi Deb,

      Thanks for contacting Finder and for leaving a question about Budget Direct Travel Insurance.

      Once you are on a trip in the UK and decided to go to another country that is not supported by the region that you purchased, you can log in to your Budget Direct account and purchase a policy to add a new country, say Canada for instance. You can also head to Budget Direct’s website and chat with one of their representatives who can add add a cover for you. It can be done anytime even if you are already on a trip.

      Hope this helps and ​please feel free to contact us back should you require further assistance.

      Kind Regards,
      Mai

    Default Gravatar
    brettMarch 1, 2019

    I have a 125cc motorcycle in Philippines am I coverd if im riding it there

      Default Gravatar
      NikkiMarch 2, 2019

      Hi Brett,

      Thanks for reaching out! As it says on our page, Budget Direct covers overseas emergency medical assistance – it offers unlimited cover for all plans excluding the domestic plan. For further information, you can check the part on the page that says “Budget Direct Travel Insurance benefits.”

      Hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to message us back if you have more questions.

      Best,
      Nikki

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