Saying that, we all save money ONLY if we don't have a claim, as bad insurer on a cheap price is nowhere near as good as a more expensive (but not extortionate) one who handles a claim well. I don't for a second think that our car insurance market is that transparent, but the old addage that you get what you pay for does, to some extent, ring true. I'd rather stay with a handful of insurers who I've (or fiends/family/colleagues) had a good experience when needing to claim, even if they aren't the cheapest. I also wonder sometimes whether the 'cashback' deals are only available when you go through specific screenscraper websites, which may not always give the cheapest starting premium or have other disadvantages as explained below.

I personally don't go with thrid-party cashback firms so I can avoid getting yet more spam emails, whether from them or from firms (some of whom aren't very ethical, especially [in my view] if they pass the details to a US-based firm) abroad who they may flood your inbox with spam or keep ringing you up with 'accident claims' calls. I've stopped using the screenscrapers except Confused.com, as at least they have an opt-out for ANY communications or passing on my details to third parties, which thus far they've seemed to honour quite well. Other either didn't have any opt-out or didn't honour it (as one did a few years ago).

I have used Swinton directly and got cashback, quite a lot actually, £30 on a £75 policy, but that was for home contents cover and not car insurance. I think they've recently scaled back this sales pitch as they could see they weren't making much money out of customers like me!