When it comes to starting the shopping process for a new policy, more and more people are turning to the Internet to grab multiple quotes for coverage. The practice has grown so popular that a majority of auto insurance shoppers now say they generate at least one quote online during the shopping process. Nearly 70 percent of shoppers got an online auto insurance quote in 2011, according to the most recent survey on consumer buying habits from research firm comScore¹. Those shoppers ended up buying approximately 3.1 million policies online.

Why are so many people going online to shop for coverage? It may be the convenience and speed of the quoting process. Getting quoted online can be much more convenient than having to wait on hold when calling individual insurers. Plus, using sites that give you prices from not just one but multiple carriers will greatly speed up the process by eliminating the need to re-enter your information over and over on individual insurers' websites. Just enter your information once and get a more comprehensive sense of your options.

AutoInsurance.com's online form is a great starting point for your shopping process. By entering just enough information about you that's necessary to calculate your premium, you can get back quotes from a handful of reputable insurers. At AutoInsurance.com, we compare and you save.

What information is required for quotes?

Only information used for rating purposes is required. That includes the following:

• Driver Information: Age, marital status, gender, and driving history are all examples of driver information commonly used for rating. Such information is used to evaluate the risk of the driver, which is partly used to determine rates.
• Vehicle Information: Year, make, model, and garaging address are all some factors that indicate the value and risk of the insured vehicle. This is especially important when the vehicle itself is insured for property damage and theft.
• Coverage Desired: The coverage you choose can directly affect the price of the policy. Generally speaking, the more coverage and higher limits desired, the higher the premium will be.

As you go through the quoting process, you'll be able to get answers about why certain types of information are needed.