Providing pet insurance for dogs and cats, Budget Direct is an award-winning insurer focusing on simplicity and keeping costs down.
Budget Direct Pet Insurance
Maximum Annual Limit: $12,000
Reimbursement Rate: 80%
You’ll get 80% of your eligible vet bills covered up to a a $12,000 yearly limit. 30 days waiting period. Plus you’ll also have to pay a $100 excess but get access to “Cover for Life” (with T&C’s of course)
As a value-focused insurance brand of Auto & General, Budget Direct provides a wide range of different types of insurance, headquartered in Brisbane.
Aside from pet insurance, Budget Direct offers car insurance, motorcycle insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, life insurance, and even roadside assistance.
Having won a slew of awards, Budget Direct recently bagged the 2023 Mozo People’s Choice Award for Customer Benefits and, was named Canstar’s Insurer of the Year in 2022. It was also awarded Money magazine’s Insurer of the Year five years in a row (2017–21) and Mozo’s Insurer of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
Budget Direct Pet Insurance Cover
Budget Direct has 3 levels of cover. You can insure your dog or cat as long as your pet:
Belongs to you
Lives primarily at your home address
Is over 8 weeks and under 9 years old when you first take out the insurance
Is not a breed that is restricted or banned from ownership
Is registered where necessary
Is not used for commercial or occupational purposes (with the exception of assistance animals)
3 Levels of Cover
Budget Direct’s pet insurance policies have different annual limits and features. However, they all include:
Reimbursement of up to 80% of eligible vet bills.
A $100 or $200 excess per condition (for 2 instances of treatment).
Waiting periods: 2 days for accidental injury, 30 days for illness and tick paralysis, 6 months for cruciate ligament.
Annual Limits per Level
Essential cover Annual policy limit: $12,000 per year Sub-limits: $1000 for tick paralysis and snake attack, $2600 for cruciate ligament conditions and $4000 for orthopaedic conditions Optional routine care: Not available
Comprehensive cover Annual policy limit: $15,000 per year Sub-limits: $1500 for tick paralysis and snake attack, $2600 for cruciate ligament conditions and $8000 for orthopaedic conditions Optional routine care: $75 or $150
Plus cover Annual policy limit: $25,000 per year Sub-limits: $3000 for tick paralysis and snake attack, $3500 for cruciate ligament conditions and $25,000 for orthopaedic conditions Optional routine care: $75 or $150
What We Love
Great Discount: If you sign up for Budget Direct pet insurance online, you can benefit from 15% off your premiums for the first year. No other insurer offers a discount this big simply for signing up.
Low Cost: Budget Direct prides itself on its low cost image. As such, it allows pet owners to keep costs down when they buy pet insurance. According to our survey of Australian pet insurance prices, Budget Direct’s premiums are $21.65 cheaper than the average pet insurance policy.
Flexibility: You can choose the level of cover that suits your pet and your budget.
Orthopaedic Conditions Covered: Budget Direct further sets itself apart by covering all orthopaedic conditions, including ones not covered by some other insurers.
With sub-limits between $4,000 and $26,000 per period of cover (which lasts 12 months), common orthopaedic conditions covered in both dogs and cats include:
Hip dysplasia
Intervertebral disc disorders
Patella luxation
Elbow dysplasia
Former Pre-existing Conditions Covered: While current pre-existing conditions are not covered, Budget Direct does cover pre-existing conditions that have been fully cured. Fully cured means:
Your pet has been free of symptoms for at least 12 months, and
You can provide evidence, such as your pet’s medical notes or veterinary history.
Budget Direct pet insurance also covers hereditary and congenital conditions, as long as symptoms are not in evidence before the policy starts.
Visit Any Vet: When you have cover with Budget Direct pet insurance, you can visit any qualified and registered vet in Australia.
Cover for Life: Budget Direct states that pet owners can continue to benefit from cover for older pets, as long as they purchase the policy before their pet turns 9, and continue coverage with no gaps in the policy.
What To Consider
Low Cruciate Ligament Sub-Limit: The annual sub-limit on cruciate ligament conditions, set at $3,500, is also quite low. Other providers offer high sub-limits within this category.
No Accident Only Cover: While Budget Direct may be a simple option, some pet owners may want more. As an example, other pet insurance providers offer a wider range of cover options, such as accident only cover and indoor cat cover.
No Routine Care Cover on the Essential plan: Budget Direct doesn’t cover routine care on its lowest plan, which is often standard for other providers. That means, if you choose the Essential plan, you won’t be covered for routine or preventative care, such as:
Regular check-ups
Vaccinations
Nail trimming
Teeth cleaning
De-sexing
Parasite prevention (flea, worm and tick control)
There is also no cover for dental treatment, breeding, or elective or cosmetic surgery (such as tail docking, dew claw removal, stenotic nares correction, soft palate or skin fold resection).
Pay First, Claim Later: Unlike some pet insurance providers that offer real-time claims at the vet, with Budget Direct pet insurance, you have to pay the vet bill upfront, and then make a claim.
These policies cover your pet for their entire life, taking care of expenses for both illnesses and injuries. Although they are the most expensive option, they offer the highest level of protection, with coverage limits that reset annually upon policy renewal.
On average, pet insurance costs $60 per month for dogs and $32 for cats, based on quotes gathered by the MarketWatch Guides team. The cost to cover your pet may vary, but this type of insurance can offer financial protection against high-cost and emergency vet visits.
Typical deductibles range from $0 to $1000, but averages are typically closer to $100, $250, or $500. For example, if your plan has a $200 deductible, you will have to pay the first $200 out of pocket before the insurance company will start reimbursing you for vet bills.
Most pet insurance carriers account for factors such as your pet's breed, health, and especially their age when calculating a price. As those risk factors increase, you can expect your premiums to increase too.
Lemonade. In our review of more than a dozen top pet insurance providers, Lemonade offers the shortest waiting periods. The insurer imposes no waiting period on accident coverage in certain states, offering protection as soon as you enroll your pet and make the first premium payment.
The annual limit you need will depend on your pet and your financial situation, but the MarketWatch Guides team recommends a minimum of $5,000 to $10,000 to cover an unexpected pet emergency or accident. Bradford Cuthrell is a meticulous researcher and writer specializing in pet and home finance topics.
As a general rule, cover less than £5000 is likely to leave you with problems if your dog gets in a serious accident, and £7000 is the minimum most vets would consider to be fairly comprehensive.
Generally, the bigger your dog, the more expensive its pet insurance premiums. The most expensive breeds to insure include Newfoundland, Dogue De Bordeaux, and Jack Russell terrier. You can cut pet insurance premiums by paying your premium in full and shopping around for pet insurance.
Pet insurance can be relatively expensive, so it's worth shopping around for the best deal. Comparison websites are a good place to start. But they don't all cover the whole market. So use a few different sites to make sure you don't miss any good deals.
The average monthly pet insurance premium is $49.51 for dogs and $28.48 for cats, according to the latest report published by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Like human health insurance, you must pay monthly premiums to your pet insurance provider to keep your policy active.
Lifetime policies can be a great option for insuring your senior pet, as they provide cover towards your vet bills every year, which can help if your pet develops chronic conditions as they get older. Many pets develop ongoing conditions as they get older so this kind of policy works well for senior animals.
Pet insurance companies typically divide their products into 3 main categories: accident-only, accident and illness, and wellness coverages. Each level offers specific services that are covered and excluded and will vary by price. Insurance policies are usually broken down by the type of pet being insured.
Pet insurance can cover the costs of treating your pet if they suffer from an illness or are injured in an accident and need treatment from a vet. It could save you from an unexpected – and potentially very high – bill. Depending on what type of cover you have, pet insurance could also help with: Dental care.
Our years of experience mean we cover a wide range of injuries and illnesses – and we pay out on 97% of claims we receive. We also want to help owners get their pets the best care. We cover things other policies don't and we don't penalize customers for claiming.
Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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