I've been with Direct Line for years, they are not on comparison sites. Every year I check and the renewal is as cheap as the best alternatives the comparison sites churn out.
When I had a very bad accident DL was fantastic from start to finish of the very involved and complicated claim
The MoneySavingExpert site has its own price comparison tool, which uses MoneySupermarket as its starting point to get a price for you but then advises you as to whether its worth calling Direct Line (which isn't on any price comparison sites) and/or looking at other comparison sites:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance-compareplus/
I insure my car through Post Office Insurance. On the occasions when I've spent hours trying to find cheaper renewal quotes that the one offered to me by them, I've always ended up finding that they'd given me the cheapest price in the first place. (My premium went down quite a bit this year too). So it might be worth trying them:
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/car-insurance
I never use comparison sites - I only ever insure with a Which? Recommended Provider, and there are only four of those.
NFU Mutual, LV, Saga and Direct Line.
I've been with LV for three years and am always surprised that they actually reduce my premium each year!
>>> I think motor insurance is generally getting cheaper
Yes and no.
Insurers are now no longer permitted to offer new customers lower rates than they give to existing customers. That means that those existing customers are no longer subsidising the premiums of new customers (meaning that their own premiums can go down).
However it's bad news for people who're shopping around for a better deal, as the 'sweetener rates' that used to be available to people changing insurers are now no longer available.