How much car insurance do you need? Don't guess

When you bought your last car insurance policy, how did you decide how much coverage to buy?

Sure, there are generally accepted guidelines out there. Homeowners need at least $100,000 in bodily injury liability protection, because a large, valuable asset like a house is an easy lawsuit target if you don't have enough to cover your victim's hospital bills.

Or maybe you own nothing and have no savings - nothing you could lose. Then you might go for the legal minimum in your state.

There's a lot of room in between, though, and seeing the choices other drivers in your situation make can be a good guideline when you shop for car insurance yourself. Insurance.com recently analyzed more than 550,000 insurance quotes delivered through its price-comparison tool to find the most common choices made by drivers of similar age, who live in the same state, who drive the same model year of car, or who own their homes.

You can find data for your state in the “ ” tool.

Nationwide, there are clear patterns. Three out of four drivers choose a $500 deductible for collision and comprehensive coverage. A third of drivers under age 25 shop for the lowest legal amount of liability coverage, but only 19 percent of drivers over 55 do.

Nationwide, the most common coverage profile looks like this: