Auto Insurance

Was looking around for auto insurance at the moment and it seems like my choices are quite restricited considering that some insurance company requires US licence or Social Security#. At the moment I have niether of both. Companies such as AAA and Progressive were willing to insure me but the premium is quite high, that is, nearly $900-1000 for 6 months with no collision coverage (for a 10+ year old car). Even though I have an Australian license for over 3 years and also over 25 years old, the premium is high as they don't recognize foreign licenses and that you have no previous insurance. They told me that it will take a year after you get a US license to get lower premiums. But I think it is possible to get a bit lower premium by first getting an insurance policy somewhere then get a quote with the situation that you are already on insurance -- they normally only provide competitive quotes this way!