OK, so my quote from Budget for renewal was $957, while the Budget quote from comparethemarket was $799. As it was the cheapest Budget rang me to see if I wanted to go ahead. But comparethemarket didn't have all the right info (because they didn't ask for it) but the end result after discussing the options and adjusting the data was that I increased the house cover from 336,000 to 450,000 and took the ancient Omega off the special cover (saving $61 p.a.) and ended up with a premium of $989 with the online discount. The main reason for the discrepancy was the details of the hailstorm claim four years ago.
But still, even if you're happy with your existing company it seems that just getting an online quote and discussing it with them can be beneficial.
