Although it may be unfamiliar to some consumers, Mercury Insurance is no new kid on the car insurance block. The company has been around for over 50 years and is the fourth-largest private-passenger auto insurer in California. It also offers auto coverage in 10 other states, as well as additional products such as home, renters and commercial auto insurance. Its policies are sold through a network of independent agents.
Although Mercury Insurance has fairly basic coverage options and less-than-glowing customer reviews, its car insurance prices are generally moderate. Depending on your circumstances, it may be one of the cheapest options available and is at least worth a quote.
» COMPARE: Car insurance rates
Where Mercury Insurance shines
- It offers moderate prices for car insurance.
- You can choose from other types of insurance such as homeowners or renters coverage.
- Mercury Insurance has a strong financial strength rating from A.M. Best.
Where Mercury Insurance falls short
- The company rates poorly for its customer service and handling of claims.
- Coverage options may be too lean to satisfy some customers.
at a glance
- A.M. Best financial strength rating: A+ (superior).
- Consumer complaints: More than the median for a company of its size.
- Size: Mercury is the No. 15 largest auto insurer based on direct premiums written, according to A.M. Best.
In this guide
Homeowners insurance
Other types of insurance
Customer reviews and ratings
Website and apps
Next steps
Mercury auto insurance
Although quotes are available online, you must purchase Mercury auto insurance through a local agent.
You’ll find Mercury Insurance agents in the following states:
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Virginia
Coverage types
Mercury is a meat-and-potatoes auto insurer, with coverage options that start and end at the basics. This includes liability insurance, collision, comprehensive, personal injury protection, medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage.
Discounts
Ask a local Mercury Insurance agent about these and other discount possibilities:
- Multicar discount.
- Anti-theft device discount.
- Safe-driving discount.
- Good student discount.
- Association discount.
Car insurance price comparison
To give you an idea of where Mercury’s prices fall among competitors, NerdWallet sampled rates for car insurance in California from the nine largest insurers in the state. Mercury Insurance notched the fourth-cheapest average quote for 30-year-old drivers with no accidents or violations on record, driving a 2012 Toyota Camry.
| Company | Average rate for 30-year-old good drivers |
|---|---|
| USAA Available only to active or retired military members and their families. |
$970/year |
| 21st Century | $1,314/year |
| Allstate | $1,328/year |
| Mercury | $1,350/year |
| Geico | $1,355/year |
| AAA | $1,381/year |
| Farmers | $1,426/year |
| State Farm | $1,525/year |
| Liberty Mutual | $1,783/year |
We also tested rates for other common driver types.
- For drivers with an at-fault crash, Mercury had the fifth-cheapest rate.
- For retirees who no longer commute, Mercury had the second-cheapest price.
You can likely avoid sky-high rates by choosing Mercury Insurance. Depending on your situation, the company tends to rank in the middle of the pack and sometimes cheaper.
Homeowners insurance
Although Mercury is known primarily for car insurance, the company is also the 34th-largest home insurance company by market share, according to A.M Best.
Mercury’s home insurance coverage options include coverage for:
- Your dwelling.
- Extended replacement cost.
- Personal property.
- Additional living expenses.
- Personal liability.
- Guest medical expenses.
- Identity theft.
- High-limit insurance for valuables such as jewelry and fine art.
Home insurance discounts are also available, including those for bundling home and auto insurance, installing devices such as burglar alarms, living in a gated community and others.
Other types of insurance
In addition to auto and home, Mercury offers the following:
- Condo insurance.
- Renters insurance.
- Mechanical breakdown protection for repairing mechanical and electrical issues with your vehicle (does not pay to repair wear and tear).
- Commercial auto insurance.
- Business insurance.
- Umbrella insurance.
Customer reviews and ratings
Mercury Insurance has an A+ (superior) financial strength rating from A.M. Best.
However, the company doesn’t score strongly when it comes to customer service and claims handling.
Complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show the number of complaints a company gets relative to market share. Mercury’s 2015 complaint ratio was 2.50; the industry median is 1.00, meaning Mercury had a pretty high number of issues compared with other companies.
The majority of customer beefs in 2015 centered on:
- Claim delays and denials.
- Unsatisfactory settlement offers.
- Difficulty getting refunded for a canceled policy.
- Unanswered questions regarding coverage.
The tepid customer reception was also reflected in a pair of 2015 J.D. Power studies — a 2015 Insurance Shopping Study and Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.
| Study | Mercury's customer satisfaction index rating | Ranking among largest insurers |
|---|---|---|
| J.D. Power 2015 Insurance Shopping Study | 791 out of 1,000 | No. 24 (last) |
| J.D. Power 2015 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study | 851 out of 1,000 | No. 16 (about average) |
J.D. Power’s Insurance Shopping Study measured customer satisfaction across the largest insurers for price, policy offerings and distribution method. The Auto Claims Satisfaction Study gauged customers’ satisfaction with their most recent auto collision claim.
Website and apps
Like its coverage options, Mercury’s website is sparse, but it gets the job done.
You can take care of the essentials — like getting a quote, making a payment or finding local agents. You’ll also find well-organized information on all its various insurance types, plus a blog featuring news and insurance tips.
Mercury Insurance does have a mobile app, although links are not provided to access it, a rarity among insurance company sites.
Next steps
Although Mercury Insurance is a well-established name in car insurance with a solid financial base and a variety of policy types, the company struggles to satisfy customers with its service and handling of claims.
It’s worth it to grab a quote to compare Mercury’s rates against other insurers — but if it’s not one of the cheapest options, you can probably find more extensive coverage choices and better service elsewhere.
Try NerdWallet’s car insurance comparison tool to find quotes in your area.
Alex Glenn is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: aglenn@nerdwallet.com.
PRICE COMPARISON METHODOLOGY
NerdWallet averaged rates from the largest insurers for 30-year-old men and women in 10 ZIP codes in California. All drivers carried 100/300/50 liability insurance limits, 100/300 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, and collision and comprehensive with a $1,000 deductible. We used a 2012 Toyota Camry. Our sample retired driver was age 67 and drove 5,000 annual miles; the other groups drove 10,000 annual miles. These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
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