What You'll Need to Have
You'll need to collect some information related to the incident and present it when you claim on your policy with Budget Direct.
Here's what you'll need to have:
- All of the details related to the incident (including exactly what happened, the time/date, and the place it happened)
- Any photos or videos you have of the damage or loss
- A police report, if you have one (in cases of theft, malicious damage, or vehicle impact)
Once you've collected all of the relevant information, your next step is to decide how you want to make a claim. You can choose between notifying us of your claim online, or calling so that one of our friendly team members can assist you. Rest assured whether you choose to claim online or over the phone, you'll be able to start your claim 24/7.
We’ll need to assess the damage and your loss. Upon request, you may need to provide proof of ownership and/or value of any item/s that are lost, stolen or contaminated and can’t be assessed. Don’t worry, there are several ways you can provide us with proof.
This could include:
- Purchase receipts
- Valuations
- Credit-card statements
- Serial numbers
- Owner’s manuals
- Guarantee or warranty certificates
- Photos or videos of your item
- Product packaging
While you don’t need these documents to start your claim, if you locate any of this information please make sure to email your supporting documents (with your claim number in the subject line) to: [email protected]
Your excess is the amount you pay towards each claim that’s lodged (and accepted) by us. To find out what your excess is you’ll need to check your certificate of insurance, which can also be viewed online or in your Policy Manager account.
If your claim is the result of one event, and you are claiming for both home and contents, you will only have to pay one basic excess, whichever is the higher of the two.
In some instances, an additional excess will apply, and can be found on your Insurance Certificate.
Before repairs or replacements can get underway we’ll notify you about how you can pay for your excess. We require payment of the excess at the time of or soon after the claim is lodged. Someone from our friendly claims team will inform you of our payment options and what to expect from the process going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
When making a claim on your Budget Direct home and/or contents policy, please follow these steps:
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent or minimise further loss, damage or liability.
- Report any theft (or attempted theft), malicious damage or vehicle impact to the police as soon as possible.
Lodge a claim, providing us with the full details of the incident and any relevant supporting documents.
A home insurance excess is the amount you pay towards each claim you make on your home and/or contents insurance policy.
For example, if your home insurance excess was $500 and your damage bill was $10,000, you’d pay $500 and we’d pay $9,500. If the damage was $500 or less, you’d pay the entire bill.
In some circumstances, additional excesses may also apply.
We are here to help you through all stages of your claim. Claim online with one of our agents from 8 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday AEST.
Or call us on 1800 069 336 to speak to someone from our new claims team 24/7 or the existing claims team from 6 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday and 6 am - 2 pm Saturday and Sunday AEST.
Please email the documents supporting your home and/or contents insurance claim to [email protected], with only your claim number in the subject line.
Allowing us to assess the damage or loss is usually all that’s required to prove it. We may ask you for photos of the damage to your home in instances where we are not appointing an assessor.
If an item has been lost, stolen, or contaminated (for example due to floods) and can’t be assessed, we may ask you to provide evidence of ownership and value.
This evidence could include:
- purchase receipts
- valuations
- credit-card statements
- serial numbers
- owner’s manuals
- guarantee or warranty certificates
- photos or videos of your item
- product packaging.
If evidence is required to support your claim, please email it to [email protected], with only your claim number in the subject line.
If you want to know more about your policy, log in to your Policy Manager to check your cover and excess or check all the details in the Product Disclosure Statement.
Contact Us
No matter whether it's online or over the phone, you are able to contact us 24/7.
In your own time, you can notify us of your claim online. We can then call you if we require further information to finalise your lodgement.
Chat with a member from our claims team on Monday-Friday from 8am-4pm.
A friendly member of our team will assist you over the phone. If you have your policy number on hand then this will help us with your query.
