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Now may be the time for you to shop around for auto insurance.

Competition among insurers, fewer accident claims and more safety features in cars have led 20 auto insurers to cut their Arizona premium rates by 5 percent or more this year.

Nationwide, the average annual cost for auto insurance premiums is down for the first time since 1999, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based nonprofit group supported by the insurance industry.

Some consumers might not notice a difference because of their personal circumstances. Factors such as your credit and driving records, where you live and what you drive affect rates.

But plenty of consumers should be seeing lower rates, said Erin Klug, spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Insurance.

Arizona is a competitive insurance market, with several hundred companies in the business, said Ron Williams, executive director of the Phoenix-based trade group Arizona Insurance Information Association. The ability to buy insurance online also has increased competition, he said, and lowering prices can give a company the edge.

In addition, insurance companies are paying less in accident claims because cars are safer, he said.

"Anytime we can reduce that loss means we can be more competitive and reduce rates," Williams said.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, the largest auto insurer in Arizona and in the nation, is among those cutting overall premiums.

The company quoted a $1,018 six-month minimum-liability premium for a 42-year-old couple with clean driving records and average credit scores, according to an annual Insurance Department comparison of premiums using hypothetical customers. That's down 17 percent from $1,230 two years ago.

State Farm's overall rates in Arizona are nearly 20 percent lower than they were 10 years ago, said spokeswoman Cheryl Willis-Blakes. The company has 57 agents in the Tucson area.

State Farm cut its overall rate level an average of 8.5 percent in January and plans to make another small cut, 0.3 percent, next month, according to the Insurance Department.

The January cut will save Arizona customers $41.1 million this year, according to a company press release.

"We've been seeing fewer and less severe crashes," she said.

Better safety features in cars mean customers are less severely hurt, and the cost of care is lower. Plus, car repair costs are down as processes have become more efficient, she said.

"It all benefits the policy holder with the decreased rates," Willis-Blakes said.

Another factor affecting your bill is the price of gas, said Phyllis Rowe, president emeritus of the Arizona Consumers Council.

People are consolidating trips to make efficient use of the gas they buy, or they aren't driving as fast in an effort to conserve gas, she said. "If people aren't traveling as much, then the exposure for accidents is not so great," so insurance prices come down, Rowe said.

The biggest cuts this year came from Encompass Property and Casualty Co., which dropped its overall rate by 26.2 percent.

Those with the biggest drops aren't necessarily those with the best rates, Klug said.

Encompass' quote for the 42-year-old couple was $1,166, more than three times as much as the cheapest quote, $371 from Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Co.

Some companies could have had high rates to begin with and decided to cut them to stay competitive, or the company could have decided to take on more risk, Klug said.

On the flip side, 18 insurers hiked their rates for Arizonans by 5 percent or more.

The second-largest auto insurer in the state, Farmers Insurance Co. of Arizona, has increased its overall rate twice this year: 5.5 percent in May and then 1 percent in June.

But "many of our customers are actually paying less," said Frank Soldano, president of Arizona operations. Farmers' quote for the state's hypothetical couple was $1,067, slashed 21 percent cut from $1,354 two years ago.

Farmers has focused on maintaining its overall prices for the past few years, while lowering the cost of essential coverage, such as liability, Soldano said. The company also has expanded four discount programs and added nine new discounts in the past three years, including one for paying in full and one for parents of children under age 7.