Los Angeles Times: Insurers learn to pinpoint risks -- and avoid them: "Allstate now sorts its home and auto policyholders into 384 categories, up from the three that it used until a few years ago. At Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm, the nation's largest auto and home insurer, the number of categories the company uses has increased 100-fold. At Cleveland-area-based auto insurer Progressive, the number runs into the millions....'If I have a lot of house fires, [insurance companies] should charge me more,' said Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. 'But when insurers reach and grab information like credit or occupation or education, people say, "Wait a minute. I thought we were talking about insuring my home or auto. What does occupation or education have to do with it?"'"