The 10 Best and Worst Car Insurance Comparison Sites for 2023

Comparison shopping is a great way to save money on nearly everything you buy, including car insurance. Comparing auto insurance quotes on a car insurance shopping site can help you find the coverage you need at an affordable price.

But not all comparison sites are equally trustworthy. Some collect your information to sell to agencies and insurance companies and don’t show you any actual quotes.

The editors and data scientists at Insurify checked out some well-known car insurance comparison sites. We’ve identified the best (and worst) experiences for comparing car insurance rates online. Here’s what we learned.

Snapshot: Best and worst comparison sites

With dozens of insurance comparison sites available, picking the best shopping experience can be challenging. To help you choose, here’s a comprehensive list of car insurance comparison sites.

How auto insurance comparison sites work

Many people still prefer to work with a local agent to buy a car insurance policy. But a growing number are embracing online shopping for car insurance. 

A 2021 survey by financial services company EY found that 33% of respondents said they’d be willing to buy car insurance online. And about 27% said they’d actually prefer to buy through a comparison website.^[1]

Auto insurance comparison sites fall into two categories: quote-comparison sites and lead-generation sites. Both aim to connect insurance shoppers with quotes from car insurance companies. They differ in how they do this.

Quote-comparison sites and car insurance search engines

Quote-comparison sites partner with car insurance companies. This lets the site provide either real-time quotes or estimated quotes.

Sites that provide real-time quotes use the information you provide to generate personalized, accurate quotes pulled from the insurance companies’ own quoting engines. Sites that provide estimated quotes use your information and historical averages that may not be the most up-to-date information available.

Once you choose a quote, the website transfers you to the insurance company website or to an agent. You can then complete your purchase online or by phone. 

You share your information only once to help the comparison site provide quotes and speed up your purchasing process.

Lead-generation sites

Lead-generation sites collect your information and promise multiple quotes. But these sites typically sell user information to their advertising partners, like insurance companies, agencies, or even other lead-generation sites. 

This means you won’t receive actual quotes from a lead-generation site. Instead, the site will display a list of insurance company logos. You’ll need to click on one or more logos and enter your information multiple times to request quotes. 

You could end up getting a barrage of cold calls or emails from insurance call centers and agents.

1. Insurify

• Number of quotes shown: 6

• Sells customer information: No

• Average reviews score: 4.79  

  • Shopper Approved: 4.8

  • Trustpilot: 4.5

Founded in 2013, Insurify is a virtual insurance agent that’s licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The company partners with hundreds of insurance companies, including top companies like Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Allstate, and Progressive. The company has provided more than 90 million quotes. Users can save up to $717 on annual car insurance premiums when they compare rates through the website, Insurify says.

Users consistently give Insurify positive reviews for ease of use, customer service, and savings. Insurify partners with more than 100 auto insurance companies, including top-rated national, regional, and ultra-regional insurers, so the company can provide the most real-time quotes. Insurify offers auto, home, renters, life, and bundled insurance.

Our take: The best

Insurify is a reputable virtual insurance agent that makes it easy to compare car insurance rates from multiple companies. Insurify provides accurate, real-time quotes. Other comparison sites can provide accurate quotes too, but Insurify delivers the most. And it allows users to complete their purchase online.

The more quotes you have to consider, the more likely you are to find the best price for your needs.

The process was fast and simple for our sample driver, and the information prompts were the easiest to follow of any website we tested.

How Insurify works

Insurify prompts users to provide information like their age, gender, and ZIP code; car year, make and model; and their driving record. You also need to share your current insurance status and pick whether you want to buy liability only or full coverage (comprehensive and collision) insurance.

Once you’ve completed the process, Insurify shows you quotes from top insurance companies. The site even recommends which offer might be best for you.

The entire process can take five minutes or less, and Insurify charges no fees of any kind. 

In most cases, users have the option to complete their purchase online or talk to an agent. Some users may have to speak with an agent to complete their policy purchase.

How Insurify performs

Insurify typically returns multiple quotes. Our sample driver’s information got 10 offers, including six real-time quotes. Clicking “View deal” showed us some high-level details of the policy, including coverages, limits, policy length, down payment, and payment schedule. We had the option to finalize our purchase online or by speaking with an agent on the phone.

Clicking “Get quote” took us to the insurer’s website to complete the quoting and purchase process. Insurify prefilled some of our test driver’s basic information on the insurer’s website.

2. The Zebra

• Number of quotes shown: 2

• Sells customer information: No

• Overall reviews score: 4.75

  • Shopper Approved: 4.8

  • Trustpilot: 3.8

Founded in 2012, The Zebra allows users to compare car insurance quotes from multiple companies for free. The site offers real-time quotes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by partnering with more than 30 top insurers. While The Zebra started out offering only car insurance, you can now use the site to compare home, renters, and condo insurance policies too.

The Zebra has more positive reviews than negative ones on sites like Trustpilot. But many negative reviews tend to follow common themes — the need to go to a different website to finalize a purchase^[2] and annoying spam calls.

Our take: Among the best

The Zebra is a reputable car insurance comparison website that makes it easy to see multiple quotes from many top insurers. Although some information prompts require you to scroll through a long list of options to select your response, requesting a quote is still relatively fast. 

The site gets largely positive customer feedback, although some reviewers complained about receiving few quotes. The Zebra, like Insurify, is completely free to use and isn’t a lead-generation engine.

How The Zebra works

The Zebra quoting process begins with users entering their ZIP code. Then, the site prompts you to add your birthdate, insurance history, driving record, marital status, and other personal information. You’ll also need to provide your vehicle make and model and the type of coverage you want to buy.

The site gives you the option to create an account and save your information for easier access in the future.

According to The Zebra, the company has provided more than 18 million quotes and can help users “save hundreds every year.”

How The Zebra performs

The Zebra delivered just two results in our test — one of which was for the company we’d said was our current insurer. Still, the auto insurance companies quoted were reputable and well-known names. 

After you choose a car insurance company, you must click through to the company website to finish your purchase. The Zebra transfers the information you already provided to prefill some of the data that the company needs to finalize your quote and policy. 

3. Compare.com

• Number of quotes shown: 5 

• Sells customer information: No

• Overall reviews score: 4.79

  • Shopper Approved: 4.8

  • Trustpilot: 2.5

Compare.com helps users compare real-time quotes simultaneously from multiple insurance companies. Compare.com specializes solely in auto insurance.

Compare.com works with more than 75 top insurance companies, according to its website. It partners with major national insurers, including Liberty Mutual, USAA, and Travelers.

The site claims it saves its users $720 per year on average, and many of its reviews echo that assertion. Compare.com customers generally have positive things to say about their experiences.

Our take: Among the best

User reviews indicate Compare.com is an easy-to-use comparison website that provides users with useful quotes. The quotes Compare.com provides are real-time quotes from insurers, not estimated quotes. 

Like Insurify and The Zebra, Compare.com is free to use and partners with top insurance companies.

How Compare.com works

Like Insurify and The Zebra, Compare.com makes money through commissions its insurance company partners pay when a user buys a policy through Compare.com. The site says it doesn’t sell user information.

To get a quote from Compare.com, you’ll first provide the standard personal, driving record, and vehicle information. Compare.com adds in a few additional personal questions.

How Compare.com performs

Compare.com’s results page might be confusing for some drivers. Instead of showing you results only for the coverage limits you requested, Compare’s initial results page shows a long list of companies and four coverage level options at the top of the page. You’ll need to click on each to find and select the one that provides the coverage limits you want.

After you’ve selected your coverage limit, Compare.com shows your results. For our sample driver, Compare served up five companies, with three different action options: Go to Carrier, Talk to an Advisor, and Finish Quote.

Compare.com will typically deliver four to six quotes, most of which will include actual rates. In cases where the quote doesn’t show an actual rate, you may have the option to finish the quote on the insurer’s website. Compare.com also allows you to select different coverage levels — “minimum,” “basic,” “plus,” and “premium.”

Quotes show the monthly premium, the total cost over the life of the policy (usually six to 12 months), and how much is due when you buy the policy. If you choose one of the policies Compare.com shows you, the website will transfer your data to the insurance company’s website. You’ll complete your purchase there.

4. Gabi

• Number of quotes: 1

• Sells customer information: No

• Overall reviews score: N/A

Founded in 2016, Gabi is an online auto and home insurance broker in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Gabi also sells renters, condo, umbrella, and landlord insurance. The company works with more than 40 insurers, such as Travelers, Safeco, Clearcover, and Nationwide. 

Gabi makes money through commissions from its partner companies when you buy a policy through its quote engine. 

Our take: Unpredictable

Gabi has some positive reviews, but many users report unsatisfactory outcomes. Even some who ultimately purchased a policy through a Gabi expressed dissatisfaction. 

Gabi doesn’t collect all the information needed to generate an accurate quote, so it’s difficult to know if you’ll get one, multiple, or any quotes. And the insurer you choose may ultimately provide a different quote when you’re ready to buy a policy.

Gabi also shares your information with its parent company, Experian. In less than 20 minutes after using the site, we received two text messages — one from an agent with Gabi, and one from an Experian agent.

How Gabi works

Gabi requires users to create an account to start its quoting process. You’ll need to share the name of your current insurer and your phone number so Gabi can send you a verification code. After you verify your identity, Gabi will request personal, vehicle, and policy limit information.

You can upload a PDF of your current car insurance policy’s declarations page, and Gabi uses the information on the page to match its quotes to your coverage needs.

However, because Gabi is an online broker, it doesn’t offer any real-time quotes, and it can’t help you buy a policy online. Rather, Gabi uses the information you provide to vet insurers that might be willing to sell you a policy.

To get a quote and complete a purchase, you’ll have to connect with an agent via email or phone.

How Gabi performs

To get exactly the coverage you want, you may have to opt out of some additional coverages that Gabi adds by default. We had to reject uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and towing. 

Gabi returned just one quote for our sample driver. Although it was from a well-rated insurance company, the monthly price was more than double the highest quotes we found elsewhere. What’s more, the site immediately sent a text message to the cell phone number we provided.

Gabi’s users report various outcomes. For example, Gabi may show you only one quote or several quotes. Or the site may refer you to other quoting websites, such as Insurify, to get a quote. 

If you do receive an actual quote, you may have to complete the quoting and purchasing process on the insurer’s website. And the quote you receive from Gabi may differ from the final quote the insurance company provides.

5. Policygenius

• Number of quotes: 2

• Sells customer information: No

• Overall reviews score: 4.7 (Trustpilot)

Policygenius began in the early 2000s by offering life insurance. The company now offers quotes for auto, home, disability, renters, and other types of insurance. Policygenius allows you to compare policies and premiums from multiple companies.

The website claims to save shoppers an average of $435 per year on auto insurance from “dozens of the nation’s top auto insurance companies.”

Our take: No real-time quotes, only estimates

Policygenius has numerous positive online reviews from users praising the site’s customer service and ease of use when bundling home and car insurance policies. However, Policygenius isn’t the fastest online quote-comparison tool available. It’s likely not the best choice if you want to purchase a policy quickly.

How Policygenius works

Policygenius is an online insurance broker. It can help users find insurance companies to work with but can’t complete the policy sale — known as “binding” the policy. Like human insurance brokers, Policygenius receives a commission from an insurance company when you buy a policy.

Policygenius initiates the quoting process by asking for your ZIP code. It then requests information you would need to provide to any company, agent, or broker for a quote.

But Policygenius asks for your full name and other personal details much sooner in the quoting process than some other sites. The site states that it doesn’t sell your information to third parties. But it offers no assurance that you won’t receive phone calls or emails as a result of sharing your information.

How Policygenius performs

At the end of the quote process, Policygenius will show you estimated quotes. For our sample driver, the site suggested seven insurers to consider, two of which showed estimated quotes. Choosing any of the estimates ultimately connects you to an agent for the insurer to finalize your quote and purchase a policy.

Because Policygenius can’t help you complete a policy purchase and must send you actual quotes via email or phone, finalizing your purchase can take days or even weeks. It’s also not clear from the website which car insurance companies it works with, so you won’t know if you’ll receive quotes from national or regional insurers — or both — until the quotes arrive in your inbox.

6. Trusted Choice

• Number of quotes shown: 0

• Sells customer information: Yes

• Overall reviews score: 4.2 (Trustpilot)

Trusted Choice is a digital insurance marketing platform. It connects users with local, independent insurance agents. The site says it works with more than 250,000 independent insurance agents and 52 companies. Its partners sell car, home, life, business, and other types of insurance.

Trusted Choice’s says it’s connected more than 36 million shoppers with independent insurance agents.

Our take: Agent shopping, not quote comparison

If you prefer to work with an insurance agent for your shopping needs, Trusted Choice is a good option for finding one. With a network of more than 250,000 agents to choose from, you stand a good chance of finding at least one you like.

But you’ll have to wait for that agent to get you quotes and bind the policy. And you’ll need to opt out of information sharing if you want to avoid possible spam emails or calls.

How Trusted Choice works

Trusted Choice first asks what type of insurance you’re shopping for. Auto, home, renters, condo, umbrella, mobile home, RV/motor home, ATV, and more are available. You can select up to three types of coverage for quotes, and bundling policies may result in savings.

The site uses the information you provide to match you with an independent insurance agent in its network. You can choose up to three of the recommended agents, and they shop insurance policies for you.

After receiving quotes from the agents, you can review the quotes, then select the agent and policy you want.

How Trusted Choice performs

Trusted Choice is an agent-shopping platform and not a true quote-comparison site. The site’s number of partner agents and available insurers is impressive. But it won’t show you any real-time car insurance quotes. You’ll have to interact with one or more of the site’s recommended agents to get quotes.

And the site states it can share your information with its insurance marketing partners unless you specifically tell it not to.

7. Bankrate

• Number of quotes: 3

• Sells customer information: Unclear

• Overall reviews score: 2.7 (Trustpilot)

Bankrate isn’t an insurance comparison website. But it does offer an auto insurance quoting tool, which launched in 2022. The website started out as a print publication for the banking industry in 1976. Today, Bankrate provides comparison tools, calculators, reviews, and editorial content. Topics include car insurance, banking, investing, mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, auto loans, and business loans.

Our take: A lead-generation site, no real-time quotes

Bankrate has a long history in the financial services space. It provides an extensive library of free information articles and financial tools. But you won’t get any real-time quotes through its quoting tool. And its insurance partner is another lead-generation site. 

You can get faster, more accurate results with a quote-comparison website that offers real-time quotes.

How Bankrate works

Bankrate offers car insurance through its advertising partner Coverage.com, another insurance-comparison website. Coverage.com says it’s “an independent, advertising-supported comparison service.” This means you won’t receive any real-time quotes through it.

Bankrate starts by asking for information about you, your vehicle, your insurance history, and your driving record. After you answer the initial questions, you’ll have the option to input additional data. The optional information can further refine your results on Bankrate’s site. Or you can continue to the next step on Coverage.com’s Bankrate-branded page.

How Bankrate performs

Bankrate’s car insurance quoting process can be confusing. It provides two different options that are supposed to advance users to actual quotes. Whichever option you choose, you still won’t see any real-time quotes. For both options, you’ll get ads for insurers that may be willing to offer you a quote.

To get a final quote and buy a policy, you’ll need to click through to the insurer’s website. You may have to enter additional information to get a final quote and bind the policy.

Bankrate gave our sample driver six recommendations from recognizable companies. But only three showed estimated quotes.

8. QuoteWizard

• Number of quotes: 0

• Sells customer information: Yes

• Overall reviews score: 2.5 (Trustpilot)

A LendingTree company, QuoteWizard is a lead-generation site. It collects user information to match buyers to local agents. By filling out a single form, online shoppers can get connected to agents who will help them obtain three to four quotes. Agents pay a fee to participate in the network and receive the leads that QuoteWizard generates.

QuoteWizard has been in operation since 2006 and says it’s connected more than 50 million people to agents.

Our take: High risk of spam

As a lead-generation site, QuoteWizard sells users’ information to insurance agents. Multiple reviewers on the Better Business Bureau website report spam calls and emails after using QuoteWizard. 

In fact, the company’s BBB customer review rating is just one star. User reviews are also largely negative on Trustpilot, where QuoteWizard has just 2.1 stars.

How QuoteWizard works

To request a quote, you provide standard information like your ZIP code; vehicle year, make, and model; name and phone number; and the address where you park the vehicle. After you complete the process, QuoteWizard will return just a few results.

Clicking on “View My Rate” takes you to the insurance company’s website, where you’ll have to provide more information to verify your identity before you can see the quote.

How QuoteWizard performs

QuoteWizard is a lead-generation service for insurance agents. It doesn’t show any real quotes at the end of its quote-requesting process. Instead, the site will direct you to insurance company sites. It may even point you to another comparison website.

Agents pay a fee to participate in QuoteWizard’s network. The site bases matches on filters and territories rather than an agent’s qualifications or quality.

9. ValuePenguin

• Number of quotes: 0

• Sells customer information: Yes

• Overall reviews score: 2.1 (Trustpilot)

Founded in 2013, ValuePenguin’s parent company is now LendingTree. It’s a lead-generation site that claims it saves users an average of $1,092 per year by comparing quotes. Visitors to the site have the option of starting the process online or getting a quote by phone from agents who are available 24/7.

ValuePenguin clearly states in its terms of use that users will receive phone calls or text messages “including for marketing purposes.”

Our take: High risk of spam

Like QuoteWizard, ValuePenguin makes money, in part, by selling user information as leads to car insurance agents. Many ValuePenguin users report online that they received unwanted phone calls but no actual quotes. 

The site does have a respectable library of educational articles. But the high risk of spam and lack of actual quotes may inspire you to comparison shop elsewhere.

How ValuePenguin works

LendingTree also owns QuoteWizard, which may explain why its quote process looks exactly like ValuePenguin’s. However, ValuePenguin offers users a faster start. You only have to enter your ZIP code and age and whether you currently have insurance to get started. The site then collects some of the standard information for a quote.

Like QuoteWizard, ValuePenguin may return few results. These may include insurance companies and other comparison platforms. Clicking on links in the results page navigates you to the insurer’s website. There, you’ll need to enter more information to complete the process.

How ValuePenguin Performs

Searching on ValuePenguin won’t yield any real-time quotes. Instead, the site sends you to other websites to continue or complete the process. It may even recommend another lead-generation site. You may navigate through multiple sites — and enter your information many times — without actually getting a quote.

10. NerdWallet

• Number of quotes: 0

• Sells customer information: Yes

• Overall reviews score: 4.43

• Shopper Approved: 4.4

• Trustpilot: 1.6

NerdWallet started out in 2009 as a credit card comparison platform and source for personal finance information. It now offers insurance, banking, travel, small business, personal loans, mortgages, student loans, and investing products. It also has as a robust library of educational articles, tools, and guides.

NerdWallet isn’t a digital insurance agent or broker. It uses your information to match you with its insurance partners. Those partners include one national insurance company and two marketing companies.

Our take: High risk of spam

Completing the quote process on NerdWallet won’t get you any real-time quotes. Instead, the platform channels users to insurer websites to complete the quoting process. 

NerdWallet’s terms of service say using its platform means you authorize the site to share your information with third parties “at your sole risk.” Many Trustpilot and BBB reviewers report multiple unwanted phone calls after requesting insurance or loan quotes through NerdWallet.

And it’s worth noting in the days after using Nerdwallet, the email address we provided received dozens of emails from the website and its partners.

How NerdWallet works

NerdWallet’s car insurance quote process begins just like many others — with your ZIP code. As you add information like your vehicle’s make and model, your age, and your driving record, the site will show you preliminary matches. 

It’s worth noting that the only result we saw in these “matches so far” offerings was Progressive — NerdWallet’s car insurance partner.

Just before the end of the process, NerdWallet provides the opportunity to create an account. Opening an account allows you to take full advantage of the site’s many calculators, tools, and educational articles.

How NerdWallet performs

At the end of NerdWallet’s quote process, you won’t receive any real-time quotes.

Instead, the site shows a few options for insurers. You’ll have to click through to the insurance company site to continue. NerdWallet says it will prefill some of your information on the company’s site so you can get a personalized quote.

Our sample driver profile returned just two results. One was the insurer we told NerdWallet we currently had coverage with. 

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Best apps to compare car insurance quotes

Many car insurance companies provide quotes for their own policies through their mobile apps. But you’ll find far fewer apps for comparing quotes among multiple insurers. In fact, Insurify found just four — one of which launched just a month ago and had only about 1,000 downloads.

Surprisingly, some of the best websites for comparing car insurance quotes don’t have mobile apps. We couldn’t find apps for The Zebra or Compare.com. Let’s take a look at three Insurify did find: Jerry, Insurify, and NerdWallet.

1. Jerry

While Jerry’s desktop comparison tool didn’t make Insurify’s list of best insurance-comparison sites, its app deserves a look. On Google Play, it has more than 1 million user downloads and a 4.2-star rating from 9,000 user reviews.

Our take: Easy to use and helpful features

While the Jerry app may not show you many quotes from well-known companies, its quoting process is smooth and easy. The ability to store digital insurance cards in the app is a plus. As long as you have the Jerry app on your phone, and your phone with you, you’ll always have proof of insurance.

How the Jerry app works

After downloading the Jerry app, you’ll find the sign-up process is relatively painless. You enter information about your car insurance and claims history, name, and other information. You’ll also need to provide a valid phone number so Jerry can send you a PIN to authorize and complete the sign-up process.

The app can analyze your existing policy and send you a text message if it finds a better, cheaper option. The app typically displays a few policy options and may include national companies, like GEICO and Progressive. 

After you’ve bought a policy through Jerry, you’ll be able to store your digital insurance cards in the app.

2. Insurify

Insurify’s robust comparison app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It has 4.4 stars and 29 ratings in the App Store, and more than 10,000 downloads and 4 stars on Google Play. The app allows users to see custom, real-time quotes. It also contains advertising.

Our take: Good for shopping, but desktop version has better advice and insight

If you already know what types and levels of coverage you want, the Insurify app is a fast way to compare quotes and buy coverage with your smartphone. You’ll get multiple real-time quotes and can complete your purchase in the app.

However, the app lacks educational content and only gives users two options: Get a quote or call an agent. But if you’re unsure how much car insurance you need, Insurify’s desktop experience provides calculators and educational articles.

How the Insurify app works

After downloading the app, you’ll complete a short form with basic information to generate a quote. The app provides a list of customized car insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies.

You can set your desired coverage limits to meet or exceed your state’s minimum insurance requirements. You can also compare available deals, and secure coverage, all within the app.

The Insurify app allows you to complete your shopping experience entirely within the app. Or, you can get phone help from a licensed Insurify insurance agent.

3. NerdWallet

Available through Google Play and the Apple App Store, NerdWallet’s app allows you to create a new account or access your existing NerdWallet account. The app has more than 1 million downloads on Google Play, 24,000 reviews, and a 4.7-star user rating.

Our take: Stick with the educational and financial tools

Just as with the desktop experience, shopping for car insurance on the NerdWallet mobile app won’t produce any real-time quotes. But it could leave you exposed to spam. However, the app’s financial tools and educational content can be helpful for managing your money.

How the NerdWallet app works

After downloading the NerdWallet app, you’ll have the option to log into your existing account or create a new one. After you log in, the app gives you multiple options for linking your financial accounts to the app to manage them in one place.

The app also has a marketplace option, and that’s where you’ll find its insurance-shopping experience. However, clicking on the car insurance tile launches NerdWallet’s mobile browsing page for car insurance comparison.

Why it's more important than ever to compare car insurance quotes

If it seems like you’re paying more for car insurance now, you’re not imagining it. Auto insurance rates have already risen 17% so far in 2023. And insurance prices will probably climb another 4% by the end of the year, according to Insurify’s mid-year auto insurance report.

Several inflation- and climate change-related factors are driving the increase, including:

• Higher labor costs for repairs

• Increasing cost of auto body and mechanical parts

• Rising costs for new vehicles

• Surging insurer losses due to climate-driven natural disasters

By the end of 2023, Insurify data scientists predict the average American driver will pay about 22% more for car insurance than they did in 2022. The following graphic illustrates the 10 states with the highest car insurance rates.

The impact of rising rates is already evident in Insurify’s database of more than 90 million quotes — among auto insurance shoppers, the number looking for full coverage dropped by 51% in the first six months of 2023.

But forgoing full coverage may not be an option for most drivers, as about 85% of new-car purchases and 53% of used-car purchases are financed, according to the Public Interest Research Group.^[3] Lenders (and leasing companies) typically require drivers to carry full-coverage car insurance.

With car insurance rates unlikely to fall any time soon, comparing quotes from multiple insurers is more important than ever.

Tips for successful online comparison shopping

Whether you need full-coverage car insurance or liability-only coverage, comparison shopping is the best way to find an affordable policy. Here are some tips to help make online comparison shopping easier:

• Prepare. Gather the basic information you’ll need to get an auto insurance quote, including driver’s license numbers for everyone who will be on the policy, vehicle identification numbers for every vehicle you want covered, and your previous policy coverage limits.

• Decide how much coverage you need. If you lease or finance your car, you’ll need to buy comprehensive and collision coverages. If you have an older, paid-off vehicle, you might choose liability-only coverage. But keep in mind insurance professionals recommend buying more than your state’s required minimum. Higher liability insurance limits provide more financial protection in case of an at-fault accident.

• Choose a reputable comparison platform. Look for options that provide real-time quotes and don’t sell your data. Avoid lead-generation sites that could result in spam calls, emails, or text messages.

• Explore discounts. Most insurers offer discounts for things like being a good driver, paying your premium in full, and vehicle safety features. Teen drivers may benefit from discounts for good grades. You may qualify for multiple money-saving discounts.

• Manage your payments. Most insurers require a down payment to initiate a car insurance policy. Be prepared to make that payment, and either pay the balance in full if you can or set up a monthly or quarterly payment plan.

Factors that affect car insurance rates

Car insurance is a legal requirement in nearly every state. Insurance companies consider many factors when providing your car insurance quotes. Some are within your control, while others aren’t. Here are some key factors that influence car insurance rates:

• Location: Where you live tells an insurer a lot about the risks your car may face. Severe weather, high accident rates, or high numbers of vehicle thefts are tied to location.

• Age: Teens and young drivers under 25 typically pay higher car insurance rates. Their relative lack of driving experience and high rates of traffic accidents make them riskier to insure. Rates drop after age 25 but can begin to increase again in your senior years as eyesight and reaction times decline.

• Gender: Statistically, men get into more car crashes — and more serious crashes — than women. Insurance companies typically charge women lower rates than men.

• Vehicle: Vehicle-specific factors, like make and model, age, and safety features, all affect car insurance costs.

• Driving history: Drivers with car accidents, speeding, or other violations on their motor vehicle records pose higher claim risks to insurers.^[4] If you have a clean driving record, you’re likely to qualify for lower car insurance rates.

• Coverage options: Liability-only coverage, also known as minimum coverage, is the cheapest insurance you can buy, while full coverage tends to cost more.

• Miles driven per year: The more miles you drive in a year, the greater your risk of getting into an accident. Drivers who log fewer miles generally get better rates. In fact, the concept of pay-per-mile car insurance stems from the idea that motorists who drive less should pay less for car insurance than those who drive more.

• Type of car: The more expensive it is to repair or replace a vehicle, the higher your insurance premiums are likely to be. For example, a luxury vehicle will cost more to insure than a modest model. But cars with anti-theft devices and other built-in security features may cost less to insure.^[5]

• Credit history: Many states allow insurance companies to consider credit history in rating decisions. This is known as credit-based insurance scoring. If you live in one of these states, maintaining a good credit score could help you get the best car insurance rates available to you.

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