You might think that your auto insurance rate would be pretty much the same no matter which company you choose. But did you know that your auto insurance rates can vary widely — even hundreds of dollars — from company to company? Prices for the same coverages vary primarily because of:

	Varying claims experience. Auto insurance is priced to cover the costs of accidents that may happen in the future. Of course, companies cannot see into the future, so to do this, they use information about their past claims experience. Since each company has had different claims experiences with the groups of people they insure, the rates charged customers by different companies vary.
	Varying costs of doing business. Each company's cost of doing business (how much they pay to sell and service policies), along with their financial goals, is different, resulting in different prices being charged to consumers.

In simple terms, auto insurance companies price policies to cover the amount they'll need to cover:

• Accidents that have occurred;
• Claims salaries, building leases, and other claims-related costs; and
• Non-claims expenses such as customer service salaries, advertising and the price of selling policies.