Ok, I just moved and, after giving my current (supposedly cheap) insurance company my new address, my car insurance went up - again...  So, I made the mistake of going to a "comparison" website to see what's out there and now I'm getting bombed with phone calls, emails, text messages and even letters.  
 
Now I've got a perfect driving record, a car that stays parked in a garage most of the time (less than 5,000 miles driven per year - I use a company truck for the longer drives) and the car isn't worth much.  I don't think should have to pay a lot for it.  I also found that I'm not even covered if I run into a deer or if someone steals things out of my car!  So I'm creating one of my usual spreadsheets to determine what I REALLY need before talking to each company.
 
I've done some research already and part of today has been set aside to get this figured out the rest of the way.  That said, does anyone have any tips, tricks and pointers they'd like to share?  Any do's or do not's, or pros and cons about companies?
 
Last time, I had to go with who I did (Progressive) because I had had a lapse in coverage when my previous car died (for several months I was only driving a company truck belonging to a friend's business and he had the coverage).  Now that I've had coverage for over two years I won't have to deal with that part.
 
I hate insurance!  It's always a lose-lose situation.
 
Note that I'm not a veteran so companies like USAA are out of the picture.
 
Thanks!

Theft of items from your car is often covered by your homeowners or residential rental insurance, but not by auto insurance. 
 
Collisions with an animal oddly are not covered by collision insurance on your car, but if you swerve to miss the deer and hit a tree you are covered by collision. Normally the car vs deer is covered under comprehensive coverage, which is the same as if a tree fell on it or it was vandalized or lost in a fire. Your automobile is generally excluded from coverage under homeowner's if your house and garage burn. If your car is of low value, then comprehensive coverage may not make a lot of sense depending on the cost. 
 
Generally the kind of thing covered under standard auto insurance is the same from company to company, but you can sometimes buy riders for weird stuff from one company that another will not write.
 

'Tis what I'm learning.  I've had more near misses with deer up here than with cars (actually not even close in comparison) so that's why I'm curious about that one.
 
Obviously, not having a lot of money causes all sorts of weird issues that most people don't have to worry about.  I've got a '96 Toyota Camry that's probably not even worth $2,000.  However, it's ALL I have so I'd be royally screwed if something happened to it.  A bit of a catch-22.  Plus I don't own the home I'm in, so I may look at combining renter's insurance to get a discount on the car insurance.  Did I mention I hate insurance?  Yeah...
 
It's very tempting to take the lowest, legal insurance I can find from some unknown, online company, but I may come out better spending an extra $10 or $20 per month to get what I need from a more solid company.
 
I'm creating a grid in a spreadsheet so I can call each company to find out exactly what their premiums are for each.  I can think of a LOT of other things I'd rather be doing with my "day off," but it needs to be done!
 
Thanks for the reply.

craigb
Note that I'm not a veteran so companies like USAA are out of the picture.

USAA does not only sell to vets. If a parent was a vet and was ever insured with USAA, their adult children may also purchase insurance from USAA. It is not the same as the deal the vets get but it is still pretty good.

The big cost, and therefore the big price in auto insurance is liability. Think about it. You crash into a parked Yugo. Your car is totaled if it will cost more than two grand to fix it. You get a check under collision for the blue book value of your car. The Yugo owner sues for $19.99, and the jury only awards $4.50, and he gets a check if you have that much coverage unser liability. If you crash into a Ferrari then you might need $200,000 coverage before the owner goes after your house, if you have one. If you hit a child rendering him a vegetable requiring twenty years of coma center care at $300,000 a year, someone is going to have a very very big bill. Liability insurance does not protect you above the assets you have, or are ever likely to get. If damages are astronomical and you are poor, then you are, in the terms of the profession, "judgment proof." A six million dollar award against a pauper is just uncollectable. You can generally get coverage for liability above about $500,000 only by buying an umbrella policy, and even those are often limited to a million or so. But if you have no assets, and do not expect ever to have a lot, and you do not mind having your future wages garnished for the maximum allowable (typically 25% of your after tax income)  forever, then a low liability coverage may be enough for you, if not for your victim.

I'm guessing that Yugo was full of gas at the time, ya? 
 
Actually, I have two goals:  1) To continue to have a perfect driving record with no accidents and, 2) To escape poverty and become wealthy.  So I guess I can start with lower coverage and increase it later when I can afford to...
 
Oh, and USAA isn't an option (dad was damaged by Army doctors before officially serving so I'm not eligible - already checked a long time ago...).

Everyone probably has their own opinion on what is a fair price to pay for car insurance. But my wife and I cut our cost almost in-half a few years back by switching from a very major US auto insurer to Geico. And after a few years (due to some other reason not affiliated with the auto insurance) then switched to Farmers where I feel we also receive a fair price. Cost is also cut by also including home insurance along with the auto. I guess my advice would be to shop around a bit.

Considering your car, it is not going to worthwhile to buy comprehensive or collision insurance. What you pay in a couple of years will likely be more than your car is worth. I'm in a similar situation with one of my trucks. It would be a pain if it were to be totaled but not worth more than liability.
 
I'm just trying to save a few bucks each month, about what I would pay for the extra coverage, toward a new/used one if something happens. That is easier said than done though.
 
I will second that those shopper websites are a scam and a pain. I was looking into solar power a few years ago and called what I thought was a local company. I started getting calls from companies all over the country.

In the UK we just go to the one with the Meerkats and get a free toy.

State Farm gave me the cheapest rates yrs ago. 2 major ways to lower your bill are a higher deductible and a higher age. 3rd is don't carry collision on something 10+ yrs old if you have a good record and a good job.