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Budget Direct offers contents insurance for strata owners, not strata building insurance. It may help cover your belongings and some unit interiors, but whether you need it—and what to insure—depends on the boundary set by your owners corporation’s policy. Check that policy before choosing a contents sum insured.
What Budget Direct covers for a strata owner
Budget Direct’s relevant product for strata owners is contents insurance. The owners corporation or body corporate typically arranges insurance for the building and common property; Budget Direct says it does not offer strata building insurance. Its contents policy is intended for belongings inside the unit and may also be relevant to internal items that the scheme policy does not cover. The exact scope depends on the policy wording. Budget Direct’s strata guidance explains the distinction.
Do not treat the two policies as interchangeable. A scheme policy may insure the structure only up to internal paintwork, leaving items such as carpets, floating floors, blinds, light fittings, or other fittings outside its cover. That boundary varies by scheme and applicable rules. Request your scheme’s certificate of currency and policy wording, then confirm how your unit’s interior and any renovations are treated.
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Example: water damage to a carpet
Budget Direct describes a possible gap in which a strata policy responds to a burst pipe and structural damage but does not pay to replace water-damaged carpet, floating floorboards, or personal belongings. This is an illustration, not a rule for every building. Your scheme wording determines whether those items are covered.
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Which belongings and events are listed
Budget Direct lists furniture and furnishings, computers and electrical appliances, kitchenware, clothing and shoes, and valuables such as jewellery, sunglasses, and cameras. It also lists fitted carpets and rugs, plus internal blinds, curtains, and window coverings. Coverage is subject to policy definitions, limits, exclusions, and the insured event involved. The insurer’s contents product information should be read alongside its current policy documents.
Budget Direct’s buying FAQ lists these events for contents cover:
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- Compact for travelling
- Storm and rainwater, fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake, and tsunami
- Theft or attempted theft, escape of liquid, and impact at home
- Breakage of glass, ceramic, or sanitary fixtures
- Malicious damage, vandalism, riot, or civil commotion
Flood cover is an optional extra, not automatically included. The list is a summary; the current Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) governs the definitions, exclusions, excesses, limits, and conditions that apply to a claim.
Budget Direct also describes legal liability cover and new-for-old replacement as features of its contents product. These are subject to the PDS and eligibility conditions; they do not mean every claim will be paid or every replacement will be identical to the original.
Set the sum insured and check item limits
Estimate the cost to replace your belongings, then add any relevant internal items that your scheme policy leaves uninsured. Budget Direct provides a contents calculator, but a calculator cannot establish what the strata policy covers. Verify that boundary first, and make sure the total reflects replacement value rather than what you originally paid.
Budget Direct’s FAQ gives examples of category limits for jewellery and watches, hand-woven rugs, art, collections, cash, home-office equipment, tools, and multimedia. Some items may be separately specified to seek a higher limit, subject to policy terms. Check the current PDS and certificate for the limit that applies to each item and whether it must be listed separately.
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Decide whether optional cover fits your needs
Personal Effects away from home
Personal Effects is optional cover for eligible portable items taken away from home. Budget Direct says it can cover accidental loss or damage in Australia and New Zealand, and elsewhere for up to 90 days after departure from Australia. Unspecified items have a per-item limit and a selected total claim limit. Specified items must fit eligible categories and have their individual values recorded. Budget Direct says specified personal-effects sums are not automatically increased at renewal, so review valuations when circumstances change. See the insurer’s Personal Effects information for applicable terms.
Other optional covers
Budget Direct also mentions optional flood, accidental damage, commercial storage, and motor burnout cover. Availability depends on eligibility, underwriting, any additional premium, and policy terms. Confirm which options are available for your quote rather than assuming they are included.
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What landlords with strata units should consider
If you rent out the unit, do not assume an owner-occupier contents policy covers rental risks. Budget Direct identifies landlord insurance with contents-only cover as a possible fit for internal fittings excluded by the strata policy and contents supplied for a tenant’s use. It also describes optional tenant default and tenant theft or malicious damage cover. Review the landlord policy’s conditions, tenancy requirements, exclusions, and limits before deciding what protection is appropriate.
Compare the policy with your scheme and quote
- Request the owners corporation’s certificate of currency and building-policy wording.
- Confirm whether paint, carpets, floating floors, blinds, light fittings, renovations, and other internal improvements are insured by the scheme.
- List your belongings and estimate replacement costs; include relevant items the scheme excludes.
- Read Budget Direct’s current PDS and quote details for exclusions, excesses, category limits, optional covers, and sum-insured requirements.
- Compare the quote with alternatives using equivalent sums insured and excesses, and check whether each policy treats your scheme’s internal items and away-from-home needs similarly.
Budget Direct reports an average saving of $167 for customers who reported switching online to its Contents Only Insurance from comparable policies between 1 February 2026 and 31 July 2026. This is insurer-reported customer data for that period, not an independent market comparison or a guaranteed saving. Your premium depends on your circumstances and policy terms.
The insurer’s product pages describe what it says its policy offers; they do not establish independent claims performance, customer satisfaction, or comparative value. Terms, limits, eligibility, and premiums can change, so base a decision on current policy documents and an actual quote.
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