D2 insurance renewal time

[HPsauce]

It's that time of year that presumably makes us all think.

I've been with the same insurer (Direct Line) for several years and premiums have usually stood up well to comparisons, so I've not changed.
But this year the premium has gone up about 20%, I have absolutely no idea why and in fact for the last couple of years I think it has actually gone down a bit.

So I started rummaging around via comparison websites and ended up favouring Privilege, who as many of you may know, are actually a "sister" company of DL.
(Sister as in twin sister in a slightly different frock!)

I already have some other insurance with them (house) which also helps a bit so tried to get a detailed online quote. Couldn't get in online which was odd and couldn't reset/recover my password either so I just phoned them up.

The quote over the phone was a bit higher than the comparison site suggested, but not bad, so I asked them to post it to me so I could review it. Arrived the other day.
This was for fully comprehensive, 2 drivers, protected (maximum) NCD and legal cover. No breakdown cover needed, we have that separately for us as individuals in any vehicle.

Meanwhile I managed to sort out online access (browser incompatibility issues!) and played with voluntary excesses etc. to get the best value for me.
Doing that it appeared that the online quotes were lower (by about 5%) than the phone equivalent. But I had also mentioned having two sets of wheels (winter/summer) as that is a specific item listed as a "modification" on the DL policy, so thought that might be the reason, illogical though it is.

Yesterday I decided I needed to get this sorted so phoned them up. Interesting points from that:
1. When I quoted my exact online premium and what options produced it they could compare it (they can't see my online quote directly) and immediately said they would match it.
2. When asked they said online was slightly cheaper but that they would always match the online quote if people called in to complete the purchase.
3. When I asked about the wheels they said there was no need to note them as they were only really interested in performance modifications. In contrast Direct Line even wanted to record that our old Ford Focus had (factory-fit!) aircon and ABS options on it!
4. The premium was a lot lower than DL for a virtually identical policy. The only difference I can see is that Privilege charge an admin fee if you make any changes during the term of the insurance whereas DL don't, though both can change the premium if relevant factors apply.

So the punch line: The Privilege premium was just 55% of the Direct Line one.

Has anyone else made such a saving on such a closely-aligned change?

And another little irony. When I first insured my PF S8 I chose Privilege, which I "think" at that time may have been separate from DL, or recently acquired by the same holding company. At the time they were marketed as being a specialist for rarer/premium cars.
Over time I was migrated by them to Direct Line, without any conscious choice of mine. I guess DL expanded their remit and this was all before online insurance took off.
Subsequently Privilege seems to have been rebranded as the Direct Line "face" that appears on comparison sites, whereas DL themselves stand "aloof" from that.