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The table below shows Budget Direct comprehensive car insurance policies on our database.
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The initial results in the table above are sorted by Star Rating (High-Low), then Provider Name (Alphabetical). Additional filters may have been applied, see top of table for details. If you interact with the filters, you may see a subset of products. Canstar is not recommending a particular product for you.
Budget Direct is a large Australian general insurance provider, which says it has insured more than 3 million Aussies since it was founded in 2000. As well as car insurance, Budget Direct also offers a range of general insurance products including home and contents insurance, motorcycle insurance, pet insurance and travel insurance.
Budget Direct car insurance is underwritten by Auto & General Insurance Company Limited, which is part of the international BHL group.
Budget Direct has an online discount on premiums when a new car insurance product is purchased online. This online discount does not apply to renewal offers.
There are a variety of factors that may affect your car insurance premiums. According to Budget Direct, some of the factors they take into account include:
Budget Direct offers a 24/7 nationwide roadside assistance service you can purchase as a standalone cover or as an add-on cost to your car insurance. Budget Direct claims it has a network of more than 2,500 contractors across Australia. See Budget Direct’s website for more detail on its roadside assistance services.
Budget Direct does include hire car cover as a standard feature in its comprehensive car insurance policy, but only in the case of a no-fault accident or theft. For more detail, see your insurance’s product disclosure statement.
Budget Direct comprehensive car insurance policies also offer the option of accident hire car cover for at-fault accidents for an additional premium.
Budget Direct does allow you to nominate for a higher or lower excess when you first purchase a comprehensive car insurance policy.
According to Budget Direct, you can also change your basic excess if you’re a comprehensive policyholder. But you cannot change any additional excesses you may be required to pay.
Additional excesses may be charged if:
Whether it is better to nominate a higher or lower basic excess for your car insurance policy will depend on your personal circumstances and preferences. If you have a higher excess, your premium costs will typically be lower, but if your excess is low, your premiums will usually be higher.
For example, if you don’t think you’ll be able to pay out the excess when you do have to make a claim, it might be better to reduce your excess and pay for a higher premium instead.
With a comprehensive car insurance policy, Budget Direct allows you to increase or decrease your basic excess, so if your situation changes, you may be able to change your premium costs by changing your excess.
You can lodge a claim with Budget Direct either online or over the phone.
Budget Direct advises the process can be quicker if you have the following information on hand:
Budget Direct car insurance policies are normally set to renew automatically, unless you’ve requested otherwise and opted out of this. Budget Direct advises that it will notify you at least 14 days before your policy is due for renewal. If you have opted out of automatic renewal, you will be prompted to manually renew your policy online through Budget Direct’s Policy Manager website. You can log in with your phone number and date of birth and name of the main policyholder.
Looking for an award-winning product or to switch providers or brands? Canstar rates products based on price and features in our Star Ratings and Awards. Our expert Research team shares insights about which products offer 5-Star value and which providers offer outstanding value overall. We also reveal which providers have the most satisfied customers in our dedicated Customer Satisfaction Awards.
Alasdair Duncan is Canstar’s Deputy Finance Editor, specialising in home loans, property and lifestyle topics. He has written more than 500 articles for Canstar and his work is widely referenced by other publishers and media outlets, including Yahoo Finance, The New Daily, The Motley Fool and Sky News. He has featured as a guest author for property website homely.com.au. In his more than 15 years working in the media, Alasdair has written for a broad range of publications. Before joining Canstar, he was a News Editor at Pedestrian.TV, part of Australia’s leading youth media group. His work has also appeared on ABC News, Junkee, Rolling Stone, Kotaku, the Sydney Star Observer and The Brag. He has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Journalism from the University of Queensland, and has completed a RG146 compliance training course. When he is not writing about finance for Canstar, Alasdair can probably be found at the beach with his two dogs or listening to podcasts about pop music. You can follow Alasdair on LinkedIn.
Josh Sale leads the team responsible for developing and delivering Canstar’s Car Insurance Star Ratings and Awards, helping consumers navigate the complex world of insurance with confidence. With a degree in economics and finance, a masters degree in data science, and almost a decade of experience at Canstar, Josh has played a pivotal role in shaping the transparent, data-driven methodologies behind Canstar’s comparisons.
In 2019, he spearheaded the launch of Canstar’s Most Satisfied Customer Awards for Car Insurance, recognising providers that excel in customer satisfaction – a valuable complement to Canstar’s expert-led Star Ratings. Josh sits on the Canstar Star Ratings Committee and collaborates closely with the insurance industry to ensure ratings reflect evolving consumer needs and market dynamics.
A regular media spokesperson, Josh has provided expert commentary to The Australian Financial Review, Money Magazine, news.com.au, and other national outlets. He also holds the RG146 Tier 2 General Insurance qualification, equipping him to offer general advice on insurance products with confidence and accuracy.
Driven by a passion for consumer empowerment, Josh is dedicated to helping Australians make better financial decisions by cutting through the complexity and spotlighting the real differences between providers.
Important Information
For those that love the detail
This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.
*Source: Canstar. Based on comprehensive policies rated in Canstar’s 2026 Car Insurance Star Ratings. Premiums include quotes for both new and used cars for a range of scenarios, with a state-specific target excess ranging from $800 to $1,000.
Potential saving based on someone paying an average premium of $2,460 switching to one of Canstar’s top-rated policies (average 5-Star Rated car insurance premiums of $1,809)
Canstar may earn a fee from its Online Partners for referrals from its website tables, and from sponsorship or promotion of certain products. Fees payable by product providers for referrals and sponsorship or promotion may vary between providers, website position, and revenue model. Sponsorship/promotion fees may be higher than referral fees. If a product is sponsored or promoted, it’s an ad and it is clearly marked as such. An ad might appear in different places on our website, such as in comparison tables and articles. Ads may be displayed in a fixed position in a table, regardless of the product's rating, price or other attributes. The location of an ad doesn’t indicate any ranking or rating by Canstar. Payment of fees for ads does not influence our Star Ratings. See How We Get Paid to find out more. Payment of fees for ads does not influence our Star Ratings or Awards.
The Canstar Star Rating for Car Insurance was issued by Canstar Research Pty Ltd (‘Canstar Research’) (AFSL: 437917). Canstar (AR: 443019) may display Canstar Star Ratings. The Canstar Star Ratings were awarded in June 2025 and data in the table is current as at that date, updated from time to time to reflect product changes notified to us by product issuers. The results don’t include every provider in the market and we may not compare all features relevant to you. You can find a description of the initial sort order below the table. You can use the sort buttons at the top of each column to re-order the display. Learn more about Canstar Star Ratings and the method applied at our Car Insurance Star Rating Methodology. The rating shown is only one factor to take into account when considering products.
The products and Canstar Star Ratings in the table might not match your exact inputs in the selector. Sometimes the methodology uses profiles with categories or bands (e.g. income, loan amount or monthly spend), but sometimes a single methodology, without any categories or bands, is applied. The results will show the products that most closely match your selection, based on Canstar Research’s profiles. If you are unsure about any terms used in the comparison table please refer to the glossary.
What is a Target Market Determination?
A Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) is a document that explains which people particular financial products may be suitable for (the target market) and sets out any conditions around how financial products can be distributed to consumers.
Why do product issuers provide Target Market Determinations?
TMDs are compulsory for most financial products. TMDs are compulsory for most financial products.
Issuers and distributors of financial products must take reasonable steps that are likely to result in financial products reaching consumers in the target market defined by the product issuer. Canstar takes this responsibility seriously. As a distributor, we periodically review the TMDs of products we list on our website to help ensure our distribution channels are likely to result in the products reaching consumers within the relevant target market. This is one of the reasonable steps we take to comply with our obligations.
We recommend that you consider the TMD before making a purchase decision. Not all policies provide cover for common business purposes such as rideshare, delivery of goods and services, including food delivery, and taxi hire services. If you use your car for any of these purposes, check the insurance provider’s policy documentation carefully to ensure you are covered for your situation. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD.
The results don’t include every provider in the market and we may not compare all features relevant to you. You can find a description of the initial sort order below the table. You can use the sort buttons at the top of each column to re-order the display. Check current rates and product details with the product issuer. The results will show the products that most closely match the inputs in the selector above the table. If you are unsure about any terms used in the comparison table please refer to the glossary. Any advice on this page is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this general financial advice is right for your personal circumstances. You may need financial advice from a qualified adviser. Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. It’s important you check product information directly with the provider. Not all policies cover every part of a region. Your specific address may not be included in the policy’s coverage, even if other parts of the area are. For example, some insurers cover North Queensland but exclude Far North Queensland. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) before making a purchase decision. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the PDS and TMD. For more information, read our Detailed Disclosure.
Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. We cannot and do not recommend that any particular product is suitable for you.
We provide links to our Online Partners. These are brands that may pay Canstar a fee for referring you. Our tables default to display only our Online Partners’ products initially, you can adjust the Online Partner Filter to see all of the products available for comparison on Canstar’s website. We provide these links so that you can click through to the product provider’s website to get more information. The provision of these links does not constitute a recommendation by Canstar.
If you are seeking to replace an insurance policy, you should consider your personal circumstances, including continuing the existing cover until the replacement policy is issued and cover confirmed. Your current policy may have different features to products currently on the market. Please consider what features are right for you when comparing insurance products and refer to the provider for further details on a policy.
Companies listed in the table, or in ads, may use or be used by another company to arrange, issue, distribute or sell its insurance policies to customers. For more information on the issuer of the policy, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.





