I know this topic has been done to death so this is just an informational post...
My renewal is at the end of this month and so my friendly bike insurer (MCE) phoned me up to discuss my renewal. After going through the options and stating about how I'm adding on extra stuff this year (which I am) that it's going to be more expensive bla bla bla, he comes back saying that he is surprised at how cheap it is... at a staggering £479.69 - I just laughed.
He went on to talk about how the winter prices are going up and that every company is some £100-150 more expensive this year and that no one is getting a cheaper renewal. I pointed out that I'd had quotes for £200-£300 for which he claimed that was because the online systems were wrong and that if I tried to purchase I'd be called up with the correct price.
So he did me a favour for a one-time offer of £354.69 for this years cover... after contemplating my options I decided to give it a miss, much to his disappointment (this call lasted like half an hour of him rambling about how the prices are more expensive this year etc).
I immediately proceeded to GoCompare, got my quote as usual and oh look, £215.38 - that's more like it and about the price I was expecting to pay... quote offered by, guess who? MCE...
I proceeded to the site whereby I purchased my insurance without any trouble and no phone call to tell me the price was incorrect.
So, ladies and gentlemen, ignore the bastard tele-sales people and don't be convinced that you are getting the "absolute best deal possible" when on the phone. I'll admit that my phone quote included Protected No-Claims and Free Trackday cover (with an excess of half the bikes worth mind!) but that doesn't warrant an additional 50% premium imo.
TL;DR
Tele-sales people are slimey bastards that want your money. Don't fool for it - check online for yourself before committing to anything over the phone.