ATLANTA -- A growing number of drivers now shop around for auto insurance. And if you do your homework, you can save big bucks.

Consumer Advisor Clark Howard explains how to find a good rate.

Before you venture out into Atlanta traffic, consider a turn in front of your computer. A growing number of drivers now use the internet to help them shop for car insurance.

The director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, Dave Colmans, agrees – the internet is an easy way to save money.

Colmans says, “The internet is giving people tremendous opportunity that they may not have had before to comparison shop for price and for other variables when looking for insurance.”

To find the best rates, Clark recommends you check both individual company websites and sites like insure.com, which allow you to compare and research a number of companies at the same time.

But the internet won’t give you one key piece of information – what customers think about an insurance company’s service!

Colmans says, “That’s the kind of thing you can find out by talking to friends, relatives, people who’ve had experience with other companies because you can certainly see their ads on TV and newspaper. Do consumer comparisons by talking to people who’ve had direct experience.”

In the last year, the number of drivers who shopped around for auto insurance increased 30 percent. That’s a big change from the days when we just called the company our parents used, or relied on the paper.

Colmans says, “The more research you do, the better informed consumer you are, the better off you are.”

Clark says to remember this key rule – to compare apples to apples – the same exact coverage for collision and comprehensive. And speaking of those two, those are things I want you to consider raising your deductibles on. Cause most of use have our deductibles too low, which shoots our costs way up.

Clark warns that cost isn’t everything. He wants you to buy insurance from a top company. JD Power and Consumer Reports rank USAA and Amica Mutual as the best for auto insurance.