Per my usual procedure, I visited a number of auto insurance shopping sites (although certainly not all of them) to get a quote on my 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT.

Not wanting to deal with the difficulty of getting auto insurance in my home state of New Jersey, I chose a Texas address from a business card and assumed that was my place of residence.

The Web sites visited were chosen randomly from a list of links that popped up when I searched the Web on “auto insurance.”

I tried to keep my parameters simple, this time opting for a fairly comprehensive level of coverage.

One problem I encountered, however, was that the sites only provide limited flexibility in terms of specifying coverage limits. Some provide almost no flexibility. I did my best to level the playing field at the sites (where possible), but the coverage figures do not match exactly.

I began with Progressive, one of the most heavily-advertised Web-based insurance sellers. The site was straightforward and fairly simple to negotiate. In fact, it yielded the fastest results–at least in part because it didn't ask a lot of questions about things like security devices and anti-lock brakes.

In just a few minutes, it shot back a quote of $432.50 (the lowest quote I would receive), along with four other possible configurations in which the coverages were changed.

For the average consumer, this was an optimal experience–fast and easy. One might question the wisdom of depending on a quote when so few questions were asked, however. On the other hand, it is worth noting that this quote was not radically different from several others I received.

Next on the shopping tour was InsWeb, an aggregator site which I have generally found to be well organized–offering quotes from several different insurers. In fact, this time the site told me that seven insurers were waiting to give me quotes.

The problem was that by the time I reached the end of the application process, only one insurer–Amica–gave me numbers. That six-month quote–$436.72–was the second-lowest figure I received.

This was also a good example of a site that provided little flexibility on coverage details, so the figure must be taken with a grain of salt.

The next site was NetQuote, which gave me a quote from Response Insurance. The figure offered for six months of coverage was $574.

Like most of the sites, Response also offered a monthly payment plan, but consumers should be aware that under such plans, they will usually pay more in the long run. In this case, however, the monthly payment of $95.67 would amount to only two cents more over six months–a pleasant surprise.

The lesson here is that it pays to do the math.

A visit to insure.com, which I often hear advertised on the radio, forwarded me to GEICO–home of the British gecko. Reptilian charm notwithstanding, the site gave me a six-month quote of $532.70–although if I opted for one of the payment options, I could pay as much as $651.50.

Also interesting here is that I could not select coverage limits as high as those offered at other sites.

Allstate's auto insurance site didn't even ask about coverage levels on the application, although one could change them somewhat after the quote–in this case an even $600–was posted. It is also worth noting that Allstate warns consumers that their actual insurance quote “may be higher or lower,” something not seen on every site.

The final destination on this year's tour was State Farm Insurance. The quote here–$741 for six months–was the highest I received. It should be pointed out, however, that this site did allow me to specify higher coverage limits.

Interestingly, one could get a monthly payment plan that amounted to that same figure over six month, but the site made clear that the plan was “available only through a State Farm agent.”

The overall experience of shopping for auto insurance online in 2006 is far from reassuring. The obvious point is that online shoppers should do just that–shop around as much as possible. If I had stopped after State Farm and Allstate, I would have ended up paying considerably more than I might otherwise have.

Another confusing aspect is that each Web site has its own unique issues and challenges. One site, for example, insisted that I put my wife on the policy to get a quote, while others allowed me to exclude her. Only one site actually asked me if I was licensed to drive in Texas, which I also found rather curious.

My recommendation is that online shoppers visit at least 10 Web sites and get quotes, then add the quote numbers and divide by 10 to get the mean figure. (In this case, the mean figure would be about $553.)

I would suggest that consumers should pay no more than the mean number, and that they should also be suspicious of very low numbers.

Most of the sites offer links to rating organizations and other entities that can explain to buyers exactly what they are getting. Consumers should use those links liberally.

Finally, as in past articles, it is recommended that consumers consult an independent agent. Taking the m?lange of online quote information to a professional could help save a lot of headaches down the road–and the agent may just know about another insurer you didn't find that can offer a better deal.