Mercury Auto Insurance Review

Last Updated on November 14, 2023

Mercury General Corporation, also known as Mercury Insurance, is a Los Angeles-based insurance company founded in 1961. The company employs more than 4,500 people while selling auto insurance through a network of independent agents. Currently serving 11 states, Mercury is best known for its auto and home insurance, although the company also offers business insurance, umbrella insurance, and more.

Types of Auto Insurance Coverage Offered by Mercury

Mercury offers similar car insurance products and services to its larger competitors, including everything from minimum liability plans to full coverage car insurance.

Types of auto insurance coverage available through Mercury include:

Liability Protection: Virtually every state requires you to carry bodily injury and property damage liability coverage. Mercury’s liability protection helps pay for another person’s injuries and damages to their car if you are found at fault.

Comprehensive Coverage: Designed to protect your car against non-accident-related damages, comprehensive coverage can protect against hailstorms, fire damage, flooding, theft, vandalism, and more.

Collision Protection: Mercury offers collision protection, which is optional in all states but may be required on leased or financed vehicles. Collision coverage covers damage to your vehicle, regardless of fault.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Mercury offers uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to pay for damages caused by drivers without insurance or with too little insurance. Some states require this coverage, while others do not.

Medical Payments Coverage: Mercury’s medical payments coverage, or MedPay, covers certain injuries to you and your passengers in a covered accident. The coverage is available regardless of fault and can cover medical bills, ambulance expenses, dental injuries, and funeral expenses.

Personal Injury Protection: Personal injury protection covers medical expenses, lost income, and household services after an accident, if necessary. It’s required in Florida, New Jersey, and New York and optional in all other states. Mercury also refers to personal injury protection as “no fault” insurance.

Rideshare Car Insurance: Mercury offers dedicated rideshare car insurance plans, including insurance for Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNC). For as little as $0.90 per day, you can be fully covered when driving for Uber, Lyft, and other TNCs. Although Uber and Lyft provide basic insurance in some situations, their insurance also leaves a significant gap in coverage. Mercury fills in this gap at a reasonable price.

Rental Car Coverage: If you need to rent a vehicle when your ordinary car is in the shop, then Mercury can cover the cost of renting that vehicle. Mercury’s rental car coverage covers $30 to $100 per day for up to 30 days – or as long as your ordinary vehicle is being repaired.

Roadside Assistance: Mercury’s roadside assistance covers towing, locksmith services, flat tire changes, battery jumpstarts, and emergency fluid and fuel delivery services, among other roadside emergencies. For a few extra dollars per month, you can sign up for the Mercury Roadside Assistance program for added protection.

What Makes Mercury’s Auto Insurance Unique?

Mercury has several features that make it unique, including a limited operating range (11 states) and coverage options like mechanical breakdown protection.

Mechanical Breakdown Protection: Mercury offers mechanical breakdown protection insurance, which functions similar to an extended warranty. If your car breaks down within the first few years of ownership, then you can make a claim through Mercury’s mechanical breakdown insurance. This can protect newer vehicles against unexpected repair costs.

Available in 11 States: Mercury sells auto insurance through a network of 9,000 independent agents across 11 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.

Guaranteed Repairs: Mercury guarantees vehicle repairs for life when repairs are performed by an authorized repair shop. When making a claim, you can choose to repair your vehicle at a Mercury authorized repair shop. Mercury guarantees all repairs for the life of your vehicle.

RealDrive Driver Tracking: Mercury offers a driver tracking program called RealDrive that lets you save money based on your mileage. You share driving data with Mercury, then receive a 5% discount automatically on car insurance, with further discounts available for low mileage drivers .

Buy Through Local Agents: Mercury sells car insurance through local Mercury agents. Agents can help you find the best possible bundle of insurance products based on your unique needs, and agents personalize service based on your policy.

Affordable Prices in California: A significant amount of Mercury’s customer base lives in California, and the company is known for offering some of the best prices in California. According to our research, Mercury is one of the top five cheapest car insurance companies in California (along with AAA, GEICO, and Progressive). If you want good car insurance in California without breaking the bank, then Mercury could be the right option.

Rideshare Coverage: Mercury offers dedicated rideshare coverage, making it easy for Uber and Lyft drivers to fill in gaps when driving. Mercury’s rideshare coverage can cover you at all times when driving for a rideshare company, including when the company’s built-in car insurance does not cover you. Although many of Mercury’s larger competitors now offer rideshare insurance, Mercury was one of the first to offer rideshare insurance.

Low Complaints Index: Mercury has a low complaints index to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners relative to other companies of its size. That means more customers are happy with their car insurance than expected.

MercuryGO Driver Tracking Program: Mercury policyholders in Texas can sign up for the MercuryGO driver tracking program, which uses an app to measure your braking habits, acceleration, speeds, and mileage. The more you use the app and the safer you drive, the more you can save.

Strong Mobile App: Mercury’s mobile app has strong ratings on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store, suggesting most customers are happy with their experience with the app and how it worked.

How Much Are Mercury’s Auto Insurance Rates?

According to our research, the average Mercury policyholder pays around $1,461 per year for full coverage car insurance.

In comparison, the average driver in the United States pays around $1,450 per year for full coverage car insurance.

Our research shows the average Mercury customer pays slightly higher rates than average. However, Mercury’s customer base also lies in states with higher-than-average insurance premiums – like California. This can skew numbers.

Generally, Mercury’s auto insurance premiums are competitive with other providers serving the area.

Mercury’s Auto Insurance Discounts

Mercury offers a similar selection of auto insurance discounts, including anti-theft discounts, good student discounts, and more

Available discounts with Mercury include:

Anti-Theft Feature: If your vehicle has anti-theft features, then you could save money. Mercury offers discounts for factory-installed anti-theft devices and aftermarket devices.

AutoPay: If you sign up for automatic payments, then Mercury offers a discount on auto insurance.

Multi-Car: If you add multiple cars to your Mercury policy, then you can save money on each vehicle.

Multi-Policy: If you bundle multiple types of insurance policies under one account, then Mercury helps you save money across all policies. You can bundle home and auto insurance together to save money, for example.

Good Student: Young drivers who do well in school tend to cause fewer accidents. Mercury offers good student discounts to certain qualifying drivers (specific qualifications vary from state to state).

E-Signature: Mercury offers electronic signature discounts to help save time and paperwork.

Good Driver: Mercury provides a good driver discount if you or any driver on your policy has gone a specified period of time without getting into an accident or receiving a ticket.

Pay in Full: If you pay your Mercury auto insurance policy in full upfront, then you’ll receive a pay in full discount.

RealDrive: Mercury offers an insurance product called RealDrive that lets you share driving behavior in exchange for a discount. You receive an automatic 5% discount for signing up for RealDrive, and you could save even more based on your mileage and driving habits.

Defensive Driving Course: Drivers over 55 who complete a defensive driving course approved by the National Safety Council can qualify for additional savings. Mercury also calls this a mature driver discount.

Five-Year Claim-Free and Accident-Free: Drivers who have not made a claim or had an at-fault accident within 59 months (5 years) prior to the policy term can qualify for additional savings.

Three-Year Violation Free: Drivers with no violations or accidents within the 35 months (Three years) prior to a policy term could save money.

Association: Mercury provides discounts to members of certain groups, including alumni associations and professional groups.

Education: You may receive a discount based on the highest level of education obtained by you or your spouse.

Electric Vehicle: You may receive a discount for driving an electric vehicle (EV).

MercuryGO: MercuryGO is a driver tracking program available to drivers in Texas. You can save money by keeping the MercuryGO app active on your phone when driving. It tracks braking, acceleration, and other driving habits to calculate your driving scores, then provides a discount based on your perceived safety.

Pros and Cons of Mercury

Mercury has several advantages and disadvantages over competing insurers, including:

Pros

• Unique insurance options, including mechanical breakdown insurance and rideshare coverage
• Extensive selection of discounts
• 24/7 claims handling
• Lifetime guaranteed repairs through authorized repair shops
• Usage-based insurance, including discounts for tracking driving habits
• Average ratings from J.D. Power and other industry organizations
• Strong financial strength rating from A.M. Best

Cons

• Must purchase insurance through an agent
• Only available in 11 states
• Most changes and claims are made through an agent or over the phone

Mercury Reviews: What Do Customers Have to Say?

Mercury has average to below-average reviews on most industry websites and review aggregator platforms.

On Consumer Affairs, for example, Mercury has an average score of 2.0 stars out of 5 based on 350+ reviews. Meanwhile, WalletHub awarded the company 2.1 stars out of 5 with 450+ reviews.

Industry analysts like ValuePenguin awarded the company a 60% rating for its “slightly better than average” auto insurance coverage, while Investopedia reviewed the company at 3.7 stars out of 5.

J.D. Power, meanwhile, gave Mercury average scores in most subregions, indicating an average number of customers were satisfied with the claims process. J.D. Power gave Mercury a score of 816 in California, for example, which was exactly average for that subregion. Mercury did not have a large enough presence in any other state or subregion to appear on J.D. Power’s rankings.

Financial analysis company A.M. Best, meanwhile, has given Mercury a financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent). A.M. Best claimed the rating reflected Mercury’s very strong balance sheet strength, its strong operating performance, its neutral business profile, and its appropriate enterprise risk management.

Forbes recently selected Mercury as one of the best insurance companies in the United States.

Final Word on Mercury Insurance

Mercury recently celebrated its 60th year of doing business. Today, the company continues to offer effective car insurance in 11 states, receiving particularly strong scores in California. With a network of 9,000 independent agents across its coverage area, Mercury sells a range of auto insurance products and other insurance products to meet your unique needs. For more information, contact Mercury today.

Mercury Insurance
Company Address	4484 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010
Phone Number	1-800-503-3724
Website URL	https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/
States Available	Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.