Couch potato? Indeed. D heller, a consumer advocate at The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights (a California-based consumer advocacy group) and a recognized vehicle insurance issues specialist, told us that too often "people purchase automobile insurance by calling the number on the tv screen."

But wait, this is important stuff! You want to be adequately covered if you get in an accident. And you certainly don't want to pay more for car insurance than you must. Maybe waiting for a solution to be beamed into your television is not the worlds best idea.

How can you stay alert while surfing through this murky subject? Just remember: There is money to be saved. How much? Hundreds, even thousands, per year. For example, one of the authors typed all of his car insurance information into a comparative automobile insurance service. The quotes (for very basic coverage on two old automobile) ranged from $1,006 to $1,807 — a difference of $801 a year. If you're currently dumping thousands into your automobile insurance companies coffers because of a couple of tickets, an accident, or a questionable credit valuation, shopping your policy against others may be well worth the effort.

see it this way — you can convert the money you save into the purchase of something you've lusted after for a long time. Hold that finish in your mind. Now, let's begin.

Before you can shop for better service, you have to decide what you need. The first step in finding the right auto insurance for you is to figure out the amount of coverage you need. This varies from state to state. So take a moment to find out what coverage is required where you live. Make a list of the different types of coverage and then return for the next step. (You will find a list of each state's requirements and an explanation of the various types of vehicle insurance in "How Much car insurance Do You Really Need?". Also, check out "Little-Known But Important car insurance Issues" as it has a glossary of basic insurance terminology.)

Now that you know what is required, you can decide what — if anything — you need in addition to that. Some people are quite cautious. They base their lives on worst-case scenarios. vehicle insurance companies love these people. That's because auto insurance organizations know what your chances are of being killed or maimed, and how likely it is for your car to be damaged or stolen. The information the insurance firms has collected over previous decades is crunched into "actuarial tables" that give auto insurance adjustors a quick look at the probability of just about any occurrence.

It is important to keep in mind that the basis of car insurance is a difference of opinion between you (the insured) and them (the automobile insurance firms). You believe you will, at some point, probably get in an car crash. The auto insurance company believes you probably won't. And the automobile insurance accident, is willing to take your money to prove you wrong.

So how much automobile insurance should you buy beyond your state's minimums?

"Look at your personal financial situation," D howard, director of the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network (I-CAN) and former insurance adjuster, advised. "If you have assets to protect — and that is all vehicle insurance is doing — get enough liability coverage." For instance, if you purchase $50,000 of bodily injury liability coverage but have $100,000 in assets, attorneys could go after your treasures in the event of an chance event in which you're at-fault and the other party's medical bills exceed $50,000.

D howard noted that his general recommendation for liability limits are $50,000 bodily injury liability for one person injured in an accident, $100,000 for all people injured in an fortuity and $25,000 property damage liability (that is, 50/100/25) given that half of the cars on the road are worth more than $20,000. Here again, though, let your financial situation be your guide. If you have no assets, don't buy excess coverage.

Another issue Dennis H mentioned is that the limits of any uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage that you purchase cannot exceed the limits of your liability coverage. Such coverage, he said, can be valuable, as it will cover lost income if you're out of work for several months after being injured in a major accident.

Your driving habits may also be a concern. If your past is filled with crumpled fenders, if you have a lead foot or a long commute on a treacherous winding road, then you should get more comprehensive coverage.

"Consumers should also be aware that they don't have to buy the packet [of collision and comprehensive coverage]," D howard, said. "If your vehicle is older, if you have a good driving record and if there is a low likelihood that it would be totaled in an fortuity, but a high likelihood of it being stolen, you could buy comprehensive but not collision." Seems like good advice for all of the 1989 Toyota Camry owners reading this article — this has been the most stolen automobile in the nation for several years (it's often stolen for parts). But we would expect that most of them on the road have well over 100,000 miles.

At this time, a rather sobering point needs to be interjected. Just having auto insurance doesn't protect you from absolutely anything bad that might happen. First, the automobile insurance companies needs to back up the claims that they make in the fine details of the contract. TV ads show folksy adjustors at the scenes of natural disasters passing out claims checks like coupons for cocktail wieners at a supermarket. But, in case you haven't noticed, real life is a bit different from TV ads. If you have an fortuity, your automobile insurance companies will take a close look at your claim before mailing you a check. And the check may be written for an amount much smaller than you had hoped. For this reason, you should be intimately familiar with the terms of your policy and call the companies with any questions you might have.

Now that you have made several hard-nosed and philosophical decisions, it's time to start comparision shopping. Begin by setting aside about an hour for this task. Bring all your records — your current automobile insurance policy, your driver license number and your vehicle registration. Drink plenty of coffee. Have a phone at your elbow. And, of course, power up your computer.

Begin with the online services. If you go to InsWeb.com or other automobile insurance quote sites, you can type in your information and get a list of comparative quotes. The form takes about 15 minutes to complete. If this bores you, just remind yourself that you are saving money and you can use that money to buy something nice for yourself. If the entire shopping process takes you two hours to complete, and you save $800, you're effectively earning $400 an hour.

A few things to keep in mind: (1) When you use price quote online services, you may not get instantaneous automobile insurance quotes. Some companies may contact you later by e-mail, and some that are not "direct providers" may put you in touch with a local agent, who will then calculate a quote for you. (A "direct provider," like Geico, sells an vehicle insurance policy to you directly; other firms like State Farm sell auto insurance through local agents. We'll discuss the pros and cons of each later.) (2) It's not easy to get price quotes from these sites in all states — if you live in New Jersey, for instance, you'll probably find it faster to pick up the phone, since most insurers currently don't provide online quotes for this state.

You can also try getting car insurance price quotes from some of the insurance organizations listed on the Edmunds.com Web site — Esurance, Geico, or Progressive. The forms will take about 10 minutes each to complete.

Of course, there are many other insurers that you can contact online. But remember, while you're researching firms, make notes in a separate computer file or on a piece of paper divided into categories. This will keep you from duplicating your efforts. When you visit the different online auto insurance sites you should take note of several things:

An 800 number to call for questions you can't get answered online

The auto insurance organizations payment policy (When is your payment due? What happens if you're late in making a payment?)

Discounts offered by the insurance firms that pertain to you

The insurance companies consumer complaint ratio from your state's department of auto insurance Web site (more on this below)