A Suze Orman exclusive

Shop Around
It is so easy to get insurance quotes you're nuts if you don't comparison shop. Two terrific online services that show you premiums from multiple insurers are www.insure.com and www.insweb.com.

I also recommend talking to friends and colleagues to see if they've got any good (or bad) insurance stories. You want to work with a company that has great customer service and is quick to handle your questions and claims. All the coverage in the world isn't going to feel that great if you are waiting days and weeks to get your claim approved and processed. There's no better gauge of how consumer-friendly an insurer is than word of mouth.

And be sure to check in with your home insurer; quite often you can get nice discounts of 10 percent or more by combining your home coverage with your auto coverage.