This probably isn't what you want to hear but your best bet is not to get insurance online. I work for an insurance company and we get tons of people coming in complaining about getting insurance online and not understanding the terms or pay options... Honestly, the names you've heard of are probably your best bet...AAA, State Farm, Nationwide, All State, Progressive, GMAC, AIG, Geico... Go to an insurance broker in your area and they can help you best. They'll put all of your info in a rater and it'll tell them what the best company is for your. Then you can compare rates. Just be sure that your liability limits are high enough that if you total someone's car you have enough insurance to replace it (example: you can't buy a car for $15k anymore and most people have $15K as their liab limit so anything over that comes out of your pocket ). Good luck!