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

But wait, this is important things! 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 should. Maybe waiting for a solution to be beamed into your sitting room is not the greatest idea.

How can you stay sharp while navigating through this turbid 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 auto insurance information into a comparative insurance service. The quotes (for very basic coverage on two old car) ranged from $1,006 to $1,807 — a difference of $801 a year. If you're currently dumping thousands into your auto insurance organizations coffers because of a couple of tickets, an accident, or a questionable credit score, shopping your policy against others may be well worth the effort.

Look at 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 car 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 auto 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 automobile insurance firms has collected over previous decades is crunched into "actuarial tables" that give 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 car insurance organizations). You believe you will, at some point, probably get in an car crash. The insurance company believes you probably won't. And the vehicle insurance car crash, 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," Dennis H, director of the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network (I-CAN) and former insurance adjuster, advised. "If you have assets to protect — and that is all auto 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 accident 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 car crash, $100,000 for all people injured in an chance event and $25,000 property damage liability (that is, 50/100/25) given that half of the automobiles 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 fortuity.

Your driving habits may also be a circumstance. 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 parcel [of collision and comprehensive coverage]," D howard, said. "If your automobile is older, if you have a good driving record and if there is a low likelihood that it would be totaled in an car crash, 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 automobile 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 car crash, your 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 hardheaded and philosophical decisions, it's time to start 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 vehicle 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 web sites, you may not get instant automobile insurance quotes. Some organizations 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 car 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 auto insurance price quotes from some of the insurance firms 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 organizations, 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 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 vehicle insurance companies consumer complaint ratio from your state's department of automobile insurance Web site (more on this below)