Budget Direct Insurance

I am currently in an unresolved dispute with this insurer Budget Direct /Auto General following authorised repairs to my vehicle.
The core issue is that I did not receive what was quoted and authorised, and the insurer has been unable to provide evidence that I did.
The approved repair quote specified new replacement parts. However, the vehicle was returned with components that appear repaired or reused, including panels that show signs of panel beating rather than replacement. Despite repeated requests, I was not provided with a repair report, itemised invoice, part numbers, or confirmation that new parts were supplied.
The vehicle was also returned with ongoing and worsened issues, including electrical faults and alignment problems. When I raised concerns that the completed work did not align with the authorised quote, I was told I would need to fund independent diagnostics myself to establish causation — even though the insurer authorised and paid for the repairs without verifying completion.
This has left me with a vehicle that I cannot reasonably say was restored to pre-loss condition, and an insurer that appears unable to demonstrate that the quoted new-part repairs it paid for were actually delivered.
This matter is now with AFCA. Based on my experience, I would strongly caution anyone with a complex claim to consider whether they are comfortable proceeding without clear proof that authorised new parts and repairs will actually be provided.

Approximate cost: $15000

Terrible Service, cheaper yes, but only because it covers nothing. Unless we had a police report they would not cover any damage by our tenants. We were out of pocket for ALL of the repairs AS WELL AS the 6 weeks loss of rent due to repairs required. Absolutely disgraceful. They shouldn't even be able to operate with this pathetic level of insurance. Basically only covers SOME natural disasters.

First time making claim with them. Storm blew part of my garage's timber-framed plaster wall away. At the bottom of the blew-away structure there is a timber plank lying flat on the concrete floor. It wasn't blown away but the blown-away timber frames were resting on it. Their builder said this plank was rotten. So they demanded me to hire another builder to replace this single timber plank before they could replace the wall!!!!

Can you believe it?

I spent seven hours on various emails and phone calls with various people. Their claim manager does not chase you up. They sit on your claim. You have to chase them up. I lodged the claim two months ago, and it is still not settled!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, their builder's quote is much much lower than my trusted builder. If I want to use my builder, they will only pay what their cheap builder quoted.

Also, I was lucky that the tenants have already thrown away the broken structures blown away from the wall. If those pieces were still there and found to be also rotten, according to the absolute confirmation by their claims manager, they won't pay a thing! Because "you are required to keep your house in a good order so if the blown away structure are already rotten, we will not cover it."

My previous insurer was AAMI. They are more expensive, and now I know I shouldn't have switched. Hale store punched many holes on the laserlight rooting of my pergola. So I told my builder to replace it with Colorbond. It will cost twice as much as the laserlight. My builder gave me a quote. I uploaded to the claim. It was approved the next day. Altogether it costed me 20 minutes to deal with AAMI.

As soon as the claim is settled, I will cancel all of my home insurances and car insurance with Budget Direct.

Yes they are cheaper. But they don't expect you to claim!!!!!!!!!!

My fence blew up with the tornado on xmas last year. This "insurance" company called Budget Direct cannot help to pay out the fence. Since xmas, everytime it rains, my house floods because I have no fence .
I have been paying these scammers for years. I feel helpless . I cant stop crying and do not know what to do.

I found this business on Word of Mouth

I would rate lower if possible. I was hit from behind while stationary, raised a claim with Budget Direct and provided as much information as I was given by the other driver. Repairs get booked for 4 months later as the crash repair was too busy. A week before the repairs I see the excess is still owing on a no-fault claim. I call up to find out what is happening and am told that the excess will still apply as they haven't been provided with the address of the other driver. Call staff expect me to track this information down, what am I paying for?
Absolutely unhelpful staff at every turn. They kept referring to the PDS where it supposedly states that I need to provide the address of the other driver, actual wording of the clause is "we (referring to Budget Direct) obtain the FULL NAME, ADDRESS, and REGISTRATION of the third party".
Blatant lies about their own policy and obligations to me, I have raised a complaint with AFCA, and am entirely disgusted with the service I've received from Budget Direct.

IF I COULD RATE ZERO* BY GOD I WOULD. DON'T INSURE WITH THESE THIEVES! Been insured with these thieves for all over 5+ years and just like others in this bad review section. With over 33+ years driving and comprehensive car insurance I've NEVER had an accident and NEVER made a claim. Until the other day, I came out of a funeral to be told by an eyewitness a truck has reversed into the front of my car. A business card left on windscreen (business conveniently didn't have an address listed on card or internet...) surprise surprise, not! Eyewitness took rego plate details for me. I called these insurance thieves the same day this happened gave them all the details. Claim was approved, however, only to be sent a text saying I have to pay excess and my no claim will be stripped through no fault of mine. All these years of loyalty, no claims and paying thousands of $$$$ in comprehensive car insurance to be told because I COULDN'T GIVE THEM AN ADDRESS OF THE AT FAULT IDIOT (as conveniently he had left the scene in a hurry before I got back to my car)...!! I have to foot the excess bill and be stripped of my no claim bonus. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME... YOU'RE A BUNCH OF THIEVES BUDGET DIRECT.... I'm going to make it a life mission to spread this feedback to anyone who will listen..

The worst Insurance company in Australia hands down. 29 days and counting to get a response/outcome on a claim. I have had to make countless phone calls because there is no update or follow up done on my behalf to the repairer or myself. Caught them in a number of lies, both the repairer and the insurer covering for each other. They are not interested in providing a service, just on your fortnightly premium.

I would not recommend Budget regret due to the very poor customer service. The call centre is in South Africa and the customer support is awful. They keep passing the customer from one call rep to another and won't allow the customer to speak with a supervisor. Call backs are not returned. I needed an endorsement on my policy for using my car for my employer and they REFUSED to do it! I was on the phone with the SA customer service for 4 days trying to get this sorted. The irony is they provided the same endorsement about a year ago and I needed it updated. I now keep calling back until I get an Australian call centre.

I would never recommend BD their advertising is slick and their service to customers is lousy.

One star is too many stars !
I made a really poor decision to use this company
It has been a real disappointment with no care concern or support
Budget regret is a common response from their customers
Wish I had read choice reviews before I changed to them as I would not be in my current situation
They so far have been unhelpful with poor procedures policy and a lack of understanding
Pay extra and stay with your insurer do not make the mistake and believe the tv advertising: they are the worst I have ever experienced!

We tried to make a claim for a hit and run, clear as day the incident was NOT our fault. We have dash cam footage, witness, police report, BUT they still won't give us "not at fault claim" until they get the other parties details. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET THEIR DETAILS?? EVEN when it's clearly the other fault, they still won't let us claim. Worst insurance company.

Phoned them 2 weeks ago. Told me I will have my call returned.....still waiting. Disgusting...no care at all. Happy to take your hard earned though!!!!

The worst insurance company ever, they are good in taking your money but will not be available when you need them.

I DON'T RECOMMEND BUDGET DIRECT AT ALL !!!!
It is impossible to contact this company, I tried multiple numbers, different hours, and weekdays with no response!!

I've been on the phone for over two hours! no answer, but when you mention you want a new poliza they answer straight away!.
Also, people with an Indian accent are so difficult to understand, and they have no patience!!
This organisation gives me a headache every year.

I had the worst experience ever here. It took almost 9 month to repair my car after the accident and they returned the car with no oil in the engine and a crack on the windscreen and they did not accept it, they even did not check it!!. Absolutely terrible customer service

When the vehicle I had insured with Budget Direct was stolen but recovered shortly after, they were initially helpful. However, due to a backlog of recovered stolen vehicles in my city, it took months for the garage to inspect and release my vehicle (not BD's fault). When the garage realised that they needed to order new keys from overseas (an 8 week wait), they contacted BD for permission. BD didn't respond for 3 weeks, and then only after I also contacted them multiple times.

A month out from my contract's expiry BD informed me by email that they would not be renewing my insurance due to my "Claims History". When I called and explained that it wasn't fair to punish me for making a claim because my car was stolen, they said it was not because of my claims history, but because there was a high risk of car theft in my city. They nonetheless refused to change the reason in writing, and in seeking insurance elsewhere multiple potential insurers turned me down because of BD's reasoning.

THEY ARE NOT WORTH THE SAVINGS.

I have just received a letter from Budget Direct letting me know they will not be renewing my contents policy as I live in a flood zone, I have paid my policy religiously never missed, have not made any claims so now that the River Murray is flooding and I live in Younghusband near the river and always lived here where I paid my policy they are not renewing, they said it was too much of a risk, I expected policy price to go up but they refused to insure me at all, never insure with these if you want to be treated right

Switching to Budget Direct was a big big mistake.
You'll save money upfront but you'll pay for it big time down the line.
This company used every trick in the book to avoid a payout during the 2022 storms. The cheapest, lowest excuses imaginable. A very disappointing experience.

I've had Budget Direct Home insurance for a few years now. Last year my home and contents policy cost $980. I have not made a claim but they now tell me it will be $1500. That's an increase of over 50%. They stated that the weather had a lot to do with it. Like the climate change alarmism. It is not about saving the earth it is about gouging people so a few become mega-rich.

Good at taking your money, but not good to pay you back when you make a claim! how frustrated you are.
My home was damaged during February storm and flood as many others homes did. it took 3 months from April that I raised the issue and claimed until July that they finally refused the claim. my property been vacant last 3 months and still vacant just waiting for these idiots to investigate, send inspectors and to decide how much they going to pay you. they postponed to finalize the claim with the excuse of your house been incurred more damages and costs and been underestimated and we trying to help to get you more money! then they totally act opposite and coming back with rejecting the whole claim! i lost so much money as the property was vacant after the damages, the insurer keep you waiting, you couldn't touch the property and fix it and restore it back to market, so end of the day its all waste of your money and time. these people are the biggest liars of the world. not recommended at all!

Constantly on the phone to tow my car and fix it!

On 11/6/22, my car suffered accidental damage in Mansfield after running over exposed rebar, bursting the hydraulic line on my Honda Civic, making it undrivable.

Over the next two weeks, it sat in the local tow truck depot in Mansfield, with myself ringing almost daily begging them to please transfer it to a place where it can be fixed. After no answers or excuses given why it took so long to tow, it finally made it to the repairer on 23/6/22. The repairer said that they completed the assessment on the 25/6/22, with the report being sent to Budget Direct by Monday, 27/6/22.

Fast forward another week to today, 1/7/22, and I had to chase Budget Direct AGAIN asking why the repairs haven't started after promising to contact me back. It turns out they never got the report. As of today, 1/7/22, 3 weeks after the accident, the assessment STILL hasn't been done, and repairs/parts needed to be approved haven't even started yet after dozens of phone calls. I am someone who works onsite, and I need my car. My wife is also a doctor for emergency services, and she needs to be onsite immediately for patients. There has been no reprieve or compensation on my comprehensive cover other than a paltry hire car 'discount' to alleviate our situation.

Stay away from this companies' tardiness and crushing incompetence.

Had budget direct home insurance when storms happened. When I made a claim assessor for internal damage signed off as damage was obvious. Assessor for roof come and stated it was the direction that the rain fell and only happened every 150 years and my claim was rejected. If you want to know you are insured stay away from Budget Direct as they take your money but do not honor the policy they sell you.

Not recommend. Horrible customer service.

Their customerservice is so bad when I contacted them regarding my accident when it was not my fault as the other's driver reversed and hit my car.

They have repeatedly not to help me when I disputed the excess payment and liability.

They only interested in my excess payment. They have increased my premium more than $200 and downgraded my rating from 1 to 3 when my case is in reviewing stage.

I don't believe how they can treat their customers this way. Horrible and stressful experience that I have encounter in my life.

Budget Direct wanted 71% more premium for the building component of our home insurance compared to last year despite us not being in an area of risk of either flooding or bush fires, despite them increasing the insured value of the house by just 5% and despite us having been with them for six years with no claims. I phoned to ask why it had increased so much and whether they could do anything. Three times, they were supposed to phone me back and didn't. On the fourth time, they did call back but it took several more days before they said the price stood. They never did say why the premium had increased so much. I've gone with a different company.

Do not ever use Budget Direct for insurance. They make the claims process a nightmare and fight you on every tiny thing. They cancel things without informing you. They say one thing and do something else. They’re customer service staff are incredibly rude.

PLEASE, IGNORE "REVIEW RATING" ON BUDGET DIRECT WEBSITE!!!
I noticed that my negative review did not make it so clearly they skip some reviews, probably to keep their review rating high.

Worst experience Ever!!. (See Points below)

Never know what is going on, even if you login to the website and check claim status.

You leave messages and people don't call back.

Wait at least 20-30mins to get someone when you call.

Their primary focus appears to be finding whether they can find a reason to reject your claim before focusing on your well being etc. We spent 7 weeks without a functional shower.

They provided two reports that had discrepancies in them but they were happy to use them to reject my claim.

Approximate cost: $1250

I was promised that the car could not be bought back and must be sold "as is" due to legal reasons.
My sentimental attachment and value of my aftermarket wheels was not considered in the write-off payout.
[removed name] from your assessor department said I could buy the car with wheels from Manheim. The car is on Manheim with no wheels. So you have blatantly lied about this. Why could I not just ask for my wheels back?

Immediate contact is required as these wheels are probably being sold by a worker for personal gain.

My car was a statutory write-off. I was told I could buy the complete car back as a write off at auction, including my wheels which held substantial $$$ and sentimental value. At auction, the wheels have been removed and were probably sold for personal gain. This will be escalated to the appropriate authorities as theft, including consumer affairs and fair trading.

Prices are good. Had 4 cars and house with them for years until we actually made a claim. Apparently they don't like insuring people who claim for a genuine (minor) accident. Don't just make your choice on price alone.

Had one minor accident when our learner driver son was driving. Nothing reckless and an easy error to make, turning left, looking right when the car in front slammed on brakes when a car did an illegal U turn in front. Budget refused to re-insure the car while he was listed as a driver. How are learners supposed to get their hours up If they can't be insured. Car was a Mazda 2 - not a mean machine. Swapped to RACV (for the same price) who did not even require learners to be listed - they understand learners have fewer accidents than other categories of drivers.

I had been with Budget direct for my car insurance for over 11 years. One minor claim made during this time when I dented one of the doors which was easy to claim online. However, recently I bought a brand new car and contacted them to get a quote.
Summary:
Terrible customer service over the phone, took very long and details not required for a quote, provided wrong information, lied about existing information, lied about rules, was rude and argumentative, signed me up to a new policy when I only wanted a quote and included people into it when I specifically asked them not to do so. Found much better prices with higher coverage from another place.
Details:
The guys I spoke with (let's call him "D") at 2:58 pm on 31/5/21 took extensive information about the new car. He asked about specs for the car I had no idea about. 23 mins he asked & I answered to the best of my knowledge but once you start talking about motor this, engine that, suspension stuff I have no idea. I mentioned a few times that I would like the same as my current policy set up when he asked specific questions about mileage etc. He repeatedly said he did not have access to my existing policy.
Then he had to call me back because he needed to check, and I quote, "whether we will cover your car or not". He called back at 4:32pm and started asking more questions. At this point, I repeated that I was only looking for a quote to compare so just make it out to me and send the quote.
He said the name of the person currently on my insurance policy. (I thought he didn't have access to my existing policy?) He then gave me false information. He said, and I quote, "anyone living under the same roof must be included in the policy or else we won't cover you". He was becoming argumentative when I asked what if I didn't want anyone else driving my brand new car as yet. Apparently, according to him, it didn’t matter and he said it had to be done. At this point, I sternly told D to send me a quote based on the information I have provided thus far and just include me in the policy. He was rude, do not provide customer service and left me feeling angry and annoyed.
Later I received email confirmation that a NEW policy had been added to my existing policy, my existing policy was amended and the other person from my existing policy was included in the NEW policy!
I had to contact them again to get them to remove the new policy - I had only asked for a quote but instead, D had set up a new policy in my account ready for the first annual payment to occur in a week. There was no apology from the next person who had to correct everything, only saying that it was a system thing.
Since then I cancelled my policy with them. Unlike most companies Budget does not send you an exit survey with opportunities for improvements. No feedback was sought showing how little then actually care about their customers or their customers views. I would not recommend this company to anyone. If they can treat a loyal long standing customer like this, imagine how they would be with new ones.

This insurance company has been an absolute shoddy, unprofessional disgrace and has caused me incredible (unnecessary) stress. My car was hit by a reckless driver and was subsequently sent to a shoddy panel repairer in Melbourne, who did not repair the car properly. There was still a major problem when I picked the car up, so I was forced to return it for further repairs. Subsequent to this, they had to strip the car all over again and search for the problem over several days. During all of this I tried to contact Budget Direct to get a further hire car booking (which I was entitled to since the accident was not my fault). I've constantly had to call them over and over again to extend my hire car booking as the repairer kept extending out the length of the repair job. When I called Budget Direct to tell them that my car was back in the repair shop and that I needed to reinstate my hire car, I was just fobbed off to another department by the hire car team and then put on hold for well over an hour. I still have not had my car fixed and still have not been able to get in contact with anybody to reinstate my hire car booking. So I've been caught up in an accident that was not my fault and have been through nothing but stress ever since. I was with AAMI for several years and found them a much more professional operation. I will be ditching Budget Direct as soon as this mess is sorted out. A true disgrace: you should avoid Budget Direct at all costs.