Mercury Auto Insurance Review [2024]: Coverage and Discount Savings

Los Angeles-based Mercury Insurance is one of California's top 10 auto insurers. The company also offers auto coverage in 10 other states and aims to expand its operations as an affordable car insurance provider.

However, Mercury Insurance doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to customer satisfaction. Online Mercury auto insurance reviews left by policyholders give the company a score of 2.6 out of 5 stars. Data also shows that the company receives slightly more customer complaints than the average for other insurance companies.

Mercury Insurance: Is it worth it?

Pros	Cons
RealDrive program allows you to pay per mile and potentially save money Special coverage for mechanical breakdowns and rideshare drivers can be added to your policy Claim can be filed online	Availability limited to 11 states Low claims satisfaction scores Above-average number of customer complaints
Our verdict: Mercury Insurance can be an affordable option for people looking for an auto insurance policy in the states it serves. However, the company receives more customer complaints than the average for other auto insurance companies, and online reviews from policyholders give it a low score.

What is Mercury Insurance?

When George Johnson founded Mercury Insurance in 1961, he named the company after the Roman God of commerce and merchants. Johnson envisioned an insurance company that was fast and agile to provide affordable coverage to all drivers, no matter their risk level.

Mercury Insurance sold its first policy on April 1, 1962. Fast forward 60 years to December 2022, the insurer’s products are sold through more than 9,400 independent insurance agents in 11 states across the country. Mercury Insurance has paid more than $20 billion in claims since it opened its doors.

Forbes ranked Mercury Insurance as one of America’s most trustworthy companies in 2022. Mercury also earned an “A” rating for its financial strength from AM Best, a credit rating company focused on insurance companies.

On the other hand, data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) shows that Mercury Insurance receives more customer complaints than the average in the auto insurance industry.

Year founded	1961
Types of coverage	Liability protection Medical payments Personal injury protection (PIP) Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance Collision coverage Comprehensive coverage Rental car reimbursement Roadside assistance Ride-hailing insurance Mechanical protection
Discounts available	Anti-theft features discount Good driver discount Good student discount Multi-car discount Multi-policy discount Autopay discount E-signature discount Pay-in-full discount Organization-based discounts Occupation-based discounts MercuryGO discount Mercury RealDrive discount
Where you can use it	The Mercury Insurance website The Mercury Insurance app on iOS and Android
Customer support	Call 800-503-3724 Send a message through the online contact form
Availability	Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia

What insurance does Mercury offer?

Mercury offers several standard auto insurance options and some unique coverage options, such as mechanical protection. It also offers non-vehicle policies, including homeowners and renters insurance.

Auto coverage options

The Mercury auto policy you get can include liability coverage options many people look for, such as:

• Liability insurance: This coverage helps pay for any injuries or damages you may cause to another driver in an accident.

• Medical payments: This is supplemental coverage you can add to your auto insurance policy to help pay your medical bills if you are injured in an accident.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This coverage helps pay for medical bills and lost wages if you are injured in a car accident, regardless of whether you were at fault.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorists insurance: This insurance helps cover the costs of injuries or damages caused by another driver who doesn’t have adequate car insurance coverage.

You can also add protection to your vehicle by opting in for these coverage types:

• Collision insurance: This coverage helps pay for damages to your vehicle if you get in an accident with another car or an object such as a fence or light pole.
• Comprehensive coverage: This coverage helps with the cost of repairing or replacing your car in a non-collision event that is beyond your control, like an act of nature, an accident with an animal, theft, or vandalism.

If you work for Uber or Lyft, Mercury can get you covered during times you may not be covered by another policy, such as when you don’t have an active customer:

• Ride-hailing insurance: This optional coverage protects drivers who use their vehicles for rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. It provides protection when your ride-hailing app is on but you don’t have a customer.

Accidents and breakdowns can happen to any vehicle. These options may help make your life easier:

• Rental car reimbursement: This coverage helps cover the cost of renting a car when your car is in the shop for repairs due to a covered incident.
• Roadside assistance: This add-on coverage provides you with 24/7 access to vehicle service professionals that can help jumpstart your car, fix a flat tire, or tow your car to the nearest repair shop.
• Mechanical Protection: This insurance comes in a standalone policy form that covers non-accident related repairs. It can help with repairs after your warranty expires, including engine problems, transmission issues, and faulty electrical system systems. This insurance doesn’t cover routine tune-ups, damages due to normal wear and tear, or car owner negligence.

Additional Mercury insurance products

Besides auto insurance, Mercury Insurance also offers the following products:

Homeowners insurance Condo insurance Renters insurance Landlord insurance

Business owners insurance Business auto insurance Umbrella insurance

Mercury customers can save money on car insurance by bundling their auto insurance with Mercury’s homeowners, condo, or renters insurance policy.

Mercury state availability

Mercury auto insurance is only available in the following 11 states:

Arizona California Florida Georgia Illinois Nevada

New Jersey New York Oklahoma Texas Virginia

The company ranks sixth among the largest private passenger auto insurers in California, its home state.

Mercury auto insurance: How cheap is it?

There are many factors that affect car insurance rates, but Mercury Insurance offers several discounts to help bring those costs down. For example, Mercury customers who bundle their car insurance with their homeowners, condo, or renters insurance can get a discount.

How to find discounts

Mercury has several discounts you may qualify for to help bring down the cost of their premiums.

Mercury offers the following safety-related discounts:

• Anti-theft feature discount: You can get a discount on your car insurance by having anti-theft devices in your car.
• Good driver discount: You may qualify for this discount by having a clean driving record with no accidents or tickets for a number of years.

Mercury offers the following discount for younger drivers:

• Good student discount: Young drivers between the ages of 16 and 25 can qualify for a discount on their Mercury auto insurance by maintaining good grades in school.

Mercury also offers several policy-related discounts:

• Multi-car discount: You may qualify for a discount on your Mercury auto insurance by insuring more than one vehicle on your policy.
• Multi-policy discount: You can get this discount by bundling your auto insurance coverage with homeowners insurance.
• Autopay discount: You can get this discount by signing up for monthly premium autopay. This also has the added benefit of ensuring you don’t miss payments.
• E-signature discount: You can qualify for this discount when you help make things easy and convenient by e-signing the necessary paperwork for your car insurance policy.
• Pay-in-full discount: You can save money on your Mercury car insurance premium by paying your policy in full.

Mercury also has special discounts for certain jobs or organizations, including:

• Organization-based discounts: You can get a discount for being a member of AAA, California CPA, California Medical Association, Costco, or Sam’s Club.
• Occupation-based discounts: You may get a discount if you have certain jobs. This includes educators, engineers, government employees, pilots, public safety professionals, scientists, and Bank of America employees.

How to maximize savings

Mercury Insurance offers two special programs that can help auto insurance policyholders save money on their premiums. Both programs, MercuryGO and Mercury RealDrive, offer a 5% participation discount just for enrolling in the programs.

• MercuryGO: This program uses a mobile app that tracks your driving and generates a driving skill score based on excessive speeding, hard braking, and distracted driving habits. Drivers who get good scores can get up to a 40% insurance discount on their auto insurance premiums when they renew their policy.
• Mercury RealDrive: This program uses the odometer data you report to Mercury to offer pay-per-mile car insurance. People who don’t drive a lot may be able to save money by using this program.

More actions you can take to save money on your car insurance with Mercury:

• Increase your deductible. By increasing the deductible that you pay out-of-pocket before your car insurance kicks in, you can reduce how much your premium costs.
• Improve your credit score. By increasing your credit score, you may qualify for lower auto insurance premiums.
• Improve your driving record. By maintaining a clean driving record, you can show that you drive safely and get your insurance policy for a lower cost.

How to get an insurance quote from Mercury

Figuring out how to get car insurance from Mercury is simple. You can do so online or in person. The online method can provide you with a car insurance quote in about 10 to 15 minutes by following these steps:

1. Begin the quote process by entering your zip code on the Mercury Insurance website, then write your name, address, phone number, and email address.

2. Next, you can enter your vehicle’s make, model, and year. Alternatively, you can use your vehicle identification number.

3. Mercury will ask for information about your gender, marital status, driver’s license status, driving violations, and more.

4. Choose whether you want to bundle your car insurance with a homeowners, renters, or condo insurance policy to save money.

5. After you’ve answered all these questions, Mercury Insurance will provide you with a quote you can submit to an agent, who can then finalize the policy with you over the phone.

Mercury Insurance FAQs

Bottom line

Mercury Insurance provides several ways for its policyholders to save money through discounts and savings programs. If you need homeowners, renters, or condo insurance, you could save even more by bundling more than one Mercury policy.

Mercury's auto insurance can also save you money if you don’t drive very often, as its RealDrive program enables you to only pay for the miles you drive.

However, Mercury may not be the best car insurance for your needs. Mercury Insurance ranks low on claims satisfaction and has more customer complaints than the average industry level. That’s why you should proceed with caution when considering its auto insurance.

Methodology

FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.