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I was an insurance agent for several years and held insurance licenses in over 30 states. I still work for one of the largest auto insurance companies but I work in IT these days. If anyone has specific questions about insurance in the US, I'm happy to help.
Insurance works by gathering a large group of people (all the company's customers) and having them all pool their money together. That money is then used to pay off the claims for the people that have an accident. The insurance company has to try and guess your likelihood of having an accident and charge you accordingly. Those that are less likely pay less, those that are more likely pay more. Even those that pay more are still getting a deal though, if you think about it. If your premium is $4,000 a year and you hit and total another forum member's brand new M3, you only paid $4,000 of the $70k needed to replace the car (assuming you have enough property damage coverage).
Each company has their own secret formula for calculating risk and it can vary from state to state to comply with the regulations and the coverage requirements. That's why rates seem to vary so much from person to person.
If you're shopping for insurance, you might want to try a site like netquote.com. You fill out one application and can get estimates from multiple companies.
Hope this helps.
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