Of all the things one must shop for, insurance is the most painful.
For homeowners insurance in California, I use the department of insurance website to look up the premiums on their annual survey:
https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/survey/index.jsp
You select some key parameters which roughly match your property.
The survey rates will be all over the place pricewise, and the results will be surprising.
You then call the lowest cost sources and get quotes more tailored to your property and select the one with the best coverage and cost.
I chose CIG insurance as they seemed to give the most product for the least cost.