The research was done in December 2001, yielding 15 Web sites that fell within the criteria the researcher had set. Dalbar had hoped to find a higher number of insurers that met their criteria, according to Mr. Harvey.

Dalbar noted that of the top 100 auto insurance carriers by net premiums written, about 20 percent offer online sales. The Dalbar report focused on companies offer quotes in at least one of the following states?New York, Illinois, Texas and California.

Evaluation criteria for the study included functionality and content, ease of use, and help and support during the quoting process.

Functionality factors included finding real-time quotes on the site; ability to edit inputs; being able to purchase the policy after receiving the " a system that saves consumers' personal information for later use, and referral to a local agent when purchases cannot be made online, said Dalbar.

Ease of use factors included direct access to quoting from the company home page; clear language and easy-to-complete forms; messages to explain rejected entries; warnings about which states the insurance is available in, and provision of preset coverage options, the company added.

Factors under help and support included assistance in completing forms; simple explanations of coverage options; assistance in selecting individual coverages; tips to lower premiums, and live access to a customer service representative, said Dalbar.

Mr. Harvey said Dalbar developed a rating system based on the criteria, with a panel of seven researchers assigning points to companies in each of the major criteria. Auto insurance quote providers in the "excellent" category received overall scores between 80 and 100 points, while "very good" companies earned between 70 and 79 points and "good" companies got 60 to 69 points, the researcher said.

Companies were excluded from the study "if their quote service experienced frequent failures."

In the final tally, Nationwide was ranked first, with a tally of 81 points, while Allstate ranked a close second at 80 points, Dalbar reported. Others who made the cut, ranking at least in the "good" category, were Esurance (76), Safeco Insurance (76), Progressive Casualty (74), 21^st Century (70), State Farm (67), Hartford Fire (64), Amica Mutual (63) and Travelers (63), said Dalbar.

Scoring below the benchmark "good" level were GEICO (58), AIG Direct (56), Liberty Mutual (51), Insurance Beacon (33) and Motors Insurance (29).

"We were attempting to find the 25 best [online auto insurance quote providers], but we could only find 15," said Mr. Harvey. Insurers that garnered low ratings were usually those who either did not provide an online quote?instead referring the customer to an agent?or did not offer "reasonable geographic distribution" of products, he added.