Budget Direct places an emphasis on offering among the cheapest prices on the market for its insurance products, and its two travel insurance plans are no exception. If you're seeking to spend as little as possible on travel insurance, Budget Direct could have a solution for you. To help you get a better feel for what Budget Direct's travel insurance plans are all about, we've broken down the major things you need to know.

Table of Contents

• Budget Direct Travel Insurance: What You Need to Know
  • Budget Direct Basic Plan
  • Budget Direct Comprehensive Plan
• Sports Coverage
• Claims Information
• Budget Direct Coverage & Benefits

Budget Direct Travel Insurance: What You Need to Know

Budget Direct's two travel insurance policies, the Basic and Comprehensive plans, stand out as consistently tending to be the cheapest in their class. The Basic Plan provides baseline coverage for rock-bottom prices, while the Comprehensive Plan offers good value, boasting a fairly typical level of coverage for the industry while maintaining Budget Direct's financial products' reputation for affordability. Below, we discuss Budget Direct's two travel insurance policies, the Basic and Comprehensive plans, in detail to help you plan your next business trip or holiday.

Notable Exclusions

Budget Direct has a fairly large number of exclusions that include pre-existing conditions, expenses for non-refundable expenses unrelated to transportation or accommodation, business goods or samples and wear or tear due to climate or pest conditions. Additionally, the home contents cover only covers damage or loss due to fire. Below is a table showing some of the exclusions, but it is highly recommended to always read the policy wording to see the full list of what you will or won't be covered for.

Budget Direct Basic Plan

The Budget Direct Basic Plan is notable for its tendency to be one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, travel insurance plans you can buy in all of Singapore regardless of where you're headed or how long you're planning to be there. Its affordability makes it a good option to look at if you want to ensure at least some protection on your trip for what tends to be the cheapest price possible.

However, the Budget Direct Basic Plan achieves its low prices by providing only a minimal level of coverage. It is the only travel insurance plan on the Singapore market out of the dozens we studied that cuts out any coverage in an area that affects all travellers: trip delays and cancellations. This plan also provides significantly less coverage for personal accident/death, medical expenses, emergencies, and baggage loss, damage or delay than even the next-cheapest options such as Etiqa, DirectAsia, FWD and HL Assurance. Adventurous spirits should also keep in mind that neither of Budget Direct's travel insurance plans include coverage for any losses, damages or injuries resulting from bungee jumping or skydiving.

Furthermore, you should keep in mind that while Budget Direct Basic may in some cases be the cheapest travel insurance plan available, depending on the destination and duration of your trip, you may be able to purchase significantly higher coverage for just a few more dollars. For example, for 1-week trips to ASEAN countries, you'd only need to pay S$0.30 more to buy the cheap Etiqa Basic Plan, which provides greater coverage in every area except baggage delay. And for roughly S$2 more, you would be able to buy the Allianz Global Assistance Bronze Plan, a high-value pick that includes generous coverage in the area of travel inconvenience - including trip cancellations and delays. In these kinds of scenarios, we would encourage you to consider carefully the bang you are getting for your buck.

Budget Direct Comprehensive Plan

The Budget Direct Comprehensive Plan outshines the Basic Plan in that it preserves the Budget Direct emphasis on cheap prices while providing considerably more value for your money. Not only is it consistently the cheapest second-tier travel insurance plan on the market, but it also offers a level of coverage that generally tends to meet the industry average within this tier.

Unlike the Budget Direct Basic Plan, the Comprehensive Plan does provide coverage for trip cancellations and delays. One way to think of this plan is that, compared to its immediate competitors such as the Etiqa Economy Plan and the HL Assurance Enhanced Plan, it provides roughly the same amount of coverage for fewer bucks. As a result, we consider the Comprehensive Plan from Budget Direct to be one of the highest-value picks among the cheapest mid- or business-tier travel insurance plans.

If you're interested in a mid- or business-tier travel insurance plan for the extra cushion of protection and quality-of-life benefits it might provide over an entry-level plan, however, the Budget Direct Comprehensive Plan may not be the best choice for you. So if you're the type of person who flies business class, likes some extra legroom, and wants a travel insurance plan to match, we might recommend that you also consider the Allianz Global Assistance Silver Plan or the Aviva Travel Plus Plan.

Sports Coverage

Budget Direct automatically covers you for medical and accident expenses relating to most common sports and activities including skiing, snowboarding, scuba diving (less than 30 metres in depth and with an instructor) and trekking (below 4,000 metres). You will not be covered for extreme sports such as skydiving, hang-gliding, ice climbing, free flying, BASE jumping, parachuting, hunting and caving. There is no specific mention of golf coverage.

Claims Information

You must submit your claim form within 30 days of any event and have the supporting documentation based on the type of claim you are submitting, including passport, air ticket, boarding pass and travel itinerary. You can either email the form or mail it.

Details of Budget Direct Travel Insurance

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Getting a great deal on travel insurance means you'll have more money left over to enjoy your vacation. Below, you'll find a summary of how budget direct compares to the industry average for premiums and coverage. If you'd like to know how it compares to other plans in more detail, we've prepared a guide to the best travel insurance in Singapore.

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