Some limitations of the premium comparison should be kept in mind. The premiums listed are annualized premiums; auto insurance is written for 6-month or 12-month policies, depending on the insurer. The premiums are those in effect as of the date shown in the tables. They are intended to show relative premiums at that specific time, but rate revisions may occur at any time and the premiums shown on the chart may not still be in effect. Driver examples were selected so that uniform comparisons could be made. It is obviously impossible to include all situations. Also, not all insurance companies use the same rating territories. For those companies which do not use the territories established by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), the listed premium is for the highest rated town in that territory.

For simplicity sake, the premium comparison assumes that the many factors which can adversely or favorably affect car insurance rates --such as discounts, accidents and motor vehicle convictions--do not apply. To provide uniform examples, the liability limits are at the minimums required by state law. Consumers are strongly urged to carefully consider how much coverage they actually need, which will undoubtedly be significantly higher than the minimums.

1. GROUP. A group includes all auto insurance companies owned by the same parent corporation.

2. COMPANIES. The listed companies are the companies which actually write the quoted premiums.

3. TYPES. The types of programs are "S" for Standard, "N" for Non-Standard and "P" for Preferred. Standard programs are used by those drivers meeting the company’s requirements of acceptability; most drivers’ policies are Standard. Non-Standard programs are offered to drivers whose driving or claim records do not meet Standard underwriting criteria, but are considered acceptable risks at higher than Standard rates. Preferred programs are available to drivers with excellent driving and claims records.

4. LIMITS. For those companies which list three numbers separated by slashes (for example 20/40/10) the first number is the bodily injury limit for each person in thousands ($20,000 in the example); the second number is the maximum bodily injury liability limit per accident in thousands ($40,000 in the example); and the third number is the property damage liability limit in thousands per accident ($10,000 in the example). For those companies which list only one number, the number represents a single limit, meaning that the company will pay no more than that in liability coverage per accident, and the number is not broken down by limits for bodily injury or property damage. For example, if $50,000 is shown as the limit, the insurer will cover up to $50,000 in liability per accident, regardless of whether that is for bodily injury or property damage, or for a combination of the two.

In all cases, the quoted price is for liability, minimum uninsured/underinsured motorist, comprehensive and collision coverage. The extent of comprehensive coverage is actual cash value of the car with a $50 deductible, and the quoted price for collision insurance is actual cash value of the car with a $200 deductible.