> the only real way to get the best deal is to change providers every few years.
I had Farmers for about 5 years in a row. It started off at $440/6months and ended up at $900/6months -- on the same two cars (comprehensive on only one of them). I tried calling them up and asking why my insurance was going up when the amount they were actually covering was going down due to depreciation. They avoided my calls and lost my business.
Now I'm trying to deal with the legalities of having a child in college in another state, but no car.