Is Mercury Auto Insurance Available in a State Near You?

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Mercury Insurance has been in business since the early 1960’s. Being in business for over half a century has given them some experience in the Automobile insurance market, as well as other financial products such as homeowner’s insurance and mechanical breakdown protection. They currently have more than 6,000 agents available in 11 different states, with their largest and most successful market in the state of California.

Mercury Insurance Review

It seems as though Mercury has earned some pretty good ratings, especially within the last multiple years. They have a superior A+ rating from A.M. Best, which specializes in evaluating the strength of insurance companies. They also have a low complaint ratio according to the NAIC and, although the BBB doesn’t have an official rating for Mercury, there has only been one complaint filed against them within the last 3 years.

Ratings Agency	Rating
AM Best Financial Rating (2016)	A+
Better Business Bureau Rating (2016)	N/A
NAIC Complaint Index (2012)	0.67 (Better than Average)

Mercury Insurance Discounts

Mercury doesn’t go into explicit details about how much you can expect to save with their Automobile insurance discounts, but they do offer some of the more popular ones. This is mostly due to the fact that discounts, and the amount of discount they can offer, will vary by state:

Discount Type	Discount Amount
Good Student Discount	10 – 15%

You may also qualify for some of the following discounts, but you’ll have to check with your Mercury agent to know for sure:

• Good Driver Discount
• Multi-Car Discount
• Affinity Membership Discount
• Anti-Theft Discount

Mercury Auto Insurance Options

Mercury, in a sense, focuses on providing Goldilocks-style insurance coverage: not too much, not too little, but just right. You may not get some of the fancier coverage options that other companies offer, but you can at least protect your vehicle with the following coverage options:

• Liability
• Collision
• Comprehensive
• Medical
• PIP
• Uninsured/Underinsured

With Mercury, you also have the option of purchasing Umbrella insurance (should you find the Liability limits on your auto policy to be insufficient) and Mechanical Breakdown Protection. This MBP coverage works like a 7-year/100,000 extended warranty for your car while also providing the following benefits:

• 24-hour Roadside Assistance
• Rental Vehicle Assistance
• Tire Protection
• Trip Interruption Coverage
• Hartford Protection
• Repairs can be done at any licensed U.S. repair facility – you choose where to take your vehicle
• There is no limit to the number of claims you can make
• Coverage is transferrable

Comparing Mercury Insurance Quotes

One of the more popular critiques against Mercury is how much their rates can fluctuate from state to state. We took a look at estimated quotes from four different states for different risk profiles, and the data we collected can be seen in the chart below:

 
As you can see, there is some merit to this claim. The difference between New York, for example, and most other states is pretty significant. Likewise, having poor credit will immensely raise your premiums is places like Florida, but only yields a moderate raise in other states. Renting your apartment or house will make your insurance premiums slightly more expensive in most areas, except for New York, where Automobile insurance isn’t even offered to drivers who don’t own a home.

Pros and Cons of Mercury Insurance

Pro	Con
Network of nearly 6,000 available agents in 11 different states	Wild rate fluctuations depending on the state you live and your risk profile
High financial strength ratings and fairly positive customer service ratings	Some negative reviews from customers regarding delayed response times and lack of follow-up from claims representatives

Overall, Mercury seems like a decently competitive company – if you can find a Mercury office in your area, that is. In addition to having a limited availability, their coverage options are fairly basic and don’t offer many of the fancy bells and whistles that you might get from a competing insurer. While simpler coverage options might save you money in some states, in certain areas of the Northeast, they may still be prohibitively expensive. Regardless, if you want affordable insurance and you aren’t too picky about your coverage options, then comparing Mercury to 3-4 other Automobile insurance providers in your area might help you find a good deal.

Company Headquarters
4484 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010
www.mercuryinsurance.com
1-323-937-1060