A little click here or click there can help Tristate consumers put the brakes on car insurance costs, a survey by Progressive Auto Insurance said last week.

        A national survey of 2,000 consumers found that 58 percent of consumers say they are somewhat or extremely unlikely to shop for auto insurance, while 29 percent say they shopped around for the coverage in the past five years.

        Progressive measured rate variance, or the average spread between the highest and lowest six-month rates available to drivers for new policies from the nation's largest car insurance companies.

        The result: The cost of a six-month car insurance policy for the same driver with the same coverage varies from company to company by an average of $524 nationally.

        Progressive, which itself doesn't always have the lowest rate, compiled the the variance by using rate comparisons from more than 90,000 consumers who called or went online to get a rate quote from Progressive and up to three other car insurers between July and December last year.

        “Just because you've been with the same auto insurance company for years doesn't mean you're getting the best rate available to you,” said Alex Ho, Progressive's consumer marketing director.

        The savings can be huge. For instance, the rate variance in some of the nation's largest cities:

        • $1,316 in New York.

        • $770 in Los Angeles.

        • $824 in Washington, D.C.

        • $569 in Atlanta.

        The company says Cincinnati motorists could save $310.

        By logging onto progressive.com, consumers can compare auto insurance rates for up to four of the nation's largest car insurers.

— Jeff McKinney

        Have a tip about a Tristate company that should be included in our Buzz? Call 768-8147 or e-mail business@enquirer.com.

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