Mercury Car Insurance Review 2024 (2024)

Forbes Advisor analyzed auto insurance rates for Mercury compared with top insurers on our list of the best car insurance companies.

Mercury Car Insurance Comparison for Good Drivers

Mercury car insurance costs for good drivers are a bit high. Mercury’s rates are about $200 above the national average of $2,026 per year among the companies we analyzed.

Mercury Car Insurance Comparison for Drivers With a Speeding Ticket

Mercury has high rates for drivers with a speeding ticket compared to top competitors. If you have a ticket on your record, it’s wise to shop around because companies calculate rates differently.

Mercury Car Insurance Comparison for Drivers Who Caused an Accident with Injury

Compared to other companies in our analysis, Mercury has high car insurance rates for drivers who caused a car accident that injured someone else. The national average is $3,009 a year based on our analysis of rates from top insurers.

Mercury Car Insurance Comparison for Drivers With a DUI

Mercury has competitive auto insurance costs for drivers with a DUI on their records. A DUI is a costly mistake and you can expect to see a significant increase in your car insurance rates, so shopping around is a way to see if you can lower the financial consequences.

Mercury Car Insurance Comparison for Drivers With Poor Credit

Mercury auto insurance average rates for drivers with poor credit are fairly competitive, coming in more than $250 below the national average of $3,847 per year.

Insurance companies say that a credit score correlates with a person’s likelihood to make insurance claims. For this reason, auto insurers often charge much higher rates to those with poor credit. California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan don’t allow insurance companies to use credit history when calculating auto insurance rates.

Mercury Car Insurance Cost Comparison for Adding a Teen Driver

Mercury’s car insurance cost to add a teen driver to a parent’s policy is $2,318 a year, which is around $40 below the average.

Adding a 16-year-old driver to a parent’s car insurance policy can increase rates substantially. Our analysis found that the national average cost is $2,359 a year, among the companies we analyzed.

Mercury Car Insurance Cost Comparison for Young Drivers Ages 18 to 25

Mercury car insurance rates are pretty high for drivers between ages 18 and 25. Its cost is more than $1,300 above the national average of $3,704 a year, among insurers we analyzed.

The costs below are for young drivers on their own auto insurance policies. To lower costs, try keeping a young driver on a parent’s policy as long as possible and ask about any student discounts.

Mercury Car Insurance Cost Comparison for Senior Drivers Ages 65 to 80

Mercury’s car insurance costs for drivers ages 65 to 80 are a little on the high side compared to top competitors. The national average is $2,150 a year, based on our analysis of large insurers. Mercury comes in $110 a year above the average.

Mercury has a high level of auto insurance complaints based on complaints made to state insurance departments across the country. The most common complaints about Mercury auto insurance are related to claim delays, unsatisfactory claim settlement offers, claim denials and cancellations.

In a survey of collision repair professionals by CRASH Network, Mercury earned a C+ grade.

The opinions of auto body repair professionals are valuable because they have an insider’s view of insurance companies’ use of lower-quality repair parts, whether insurers encourage the use of proper repair procedures, and whether car insurance companies have rapid and satisfactory claims processes for customers.

Mercury car insurance offers usage-based insurance, rideshare coverage and roadside assistance, but it doesn’t have other coverage features such as accident forgiveness and new car replacement.

Does Mercury Car Insurance Offer Accident Forgiveness?

No, Mercury doesn’t offer accident forgiveness. Some other insurance companies have this feature, which doesn’t raise your car insurance rates following an at-fault accident.

Does Mercury Car Insurance Offer New Car Replacement?

No, Mercury doesn’t offer new car replacement. This coverage would provide money to buy a brand new car of the same make and model, minus your deductible, if your car is totaled. Insurers typically only pay for the depreciated value of a totaled car.

Does Mercury Car Insurance Offer a Diminishing Deductible?

No, Mercury doesn’t have a diminishing deductible. A diminishing deductible feature is geared for good drivers and reduces a policy’s deductible every year you don’t make a claim.

Does Mercury Offer SR-22s?

Yes, Mercury offers SR-22 insurance.

An SR-22 is a court-ordered form that verifies you have auto insurance. It’s typically only required for high-risk drivers, such as drivers with a DUI conviction, drivers who have had their license suspended and drivers with too many traffic offenses or accidents.

Does Mercury Offer Usage-based Car Insurance?

Yes, Mercury offers usage-based insurance coverage through MercuryGo.

The app calculates a driving skill score based on categories like speeding, acceleration, hard braking, cornering, distracted driving (such as using your phone) and road type. Drivers who use the app will get an instant 5% participation discount. When you renew your policy, you could get up to a 40% discount, depending on your driving skill score.

The app is also a good way for parents to monitor a teen’s driving behaviors. You’ll get real-time feedback, including what time, where and how fast they are driving. Teen drivers age 18 and younger will get an instant 10% participation discount.

MercuryGo is available in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas.

Does Mercury Offer Rideshare Insurance?

Yes, Mercury offers rideshare insurance.

There may be a coverage gap for rideshare drivers between the time you turn on the app but have not accepted a ride. If you have a car accident during this window, you might have limited coverage from your rideshare company’s insurance. Mercury’s rideshare insurance fills this gap for drivers who work for a rideshare company like Uber or Lyft.

Here’s how it works: Mercury rideshare insurance covers you when your rideshare app is on and you are waiting for a passenger request. When you accept a trip, your Mercury rideshare insurance no longer covers you and you will be covered by the rideshare company’s insurance.

You will need a standard auto insurance policy with Mercury to add rideshare insurance at an additional cost, which starts as low as 90 cents a day.

Does Mercury Offer Roadside Assistance Insurance?

Yes, Mercury’s roadside assistance service is an optional coverage you can add to a policy. It provides: towing up to the limits specified, locksmith services if your key is lost, stolen or locked in your car, battery jump starts, fuel delivery and flat tire changes.

Mercury offers many discounts to help you save on auto insurance:

• Anti-theft: For vehicles equipped with an anti-theft device.
• Autopay: For customers who enroll in autopay.
• E-signature: Sign policy documents electronically and get a discount.
• Good driver: For avoiding at-fault car accidents and traffic violations.
• Good student: For students who maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average, are in the top 20% of their class or have made the Dean’s list.
• Multi-policy: For customers who bundle car insurance with a homeowners, condo or renters insurance policy.
• Multi-vehicle: For insuring more than one vehicle with Mercury.
• Pay-in-full: For paying the bill for your term up front.

Here are more types of insurance available from Mercury:

• Business auto insurance
• Business owners insurance
• Condo insurance
• Landlord insurance
• Mechanical protection
• Renters insurance
• Umbrella insurance

Mercury offers an additional app to help customers easily manage their insurance policies. Here are some of the things you can do:

• 24/7 connectivity to roadside assistance.
• Access policy documents.
• Connect with an agent.
• Get a quote.
• Make payments.
• Report a claim.
• View digital ID cards.

Mercury Insurance was founded in California in 1961 and named after the Roman god known for being fast and nimble. Founder George Joseph believed in affordable insurance for drivers of all types and the best service possible. A Harvard graduate with dual majors in math and physics, Joseph was an actuarial by day and a life insurance salesman by night.

Frustrated by car insurance companies that charged the same rate for all drivers, regardless of their driving record, Joseph believed he could create a better company for California drivers that used different pricing factors to set fair rates for a variety of drivers. He raised $2 million in capital and Mercury sold its first policy on April 1, 1962.

What States Does Mercury Car Insurance Operate In?

Mercury sells car insurance in 11 states:

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Virginia

To identify the best car insurance we evaluated each company on its auto insurance rates, the coverage options offered, complaints against the company and its collision repair process.

Auto insurance rates (50% of score): We used data from Quadrant Information Services to find average rates from each company for good drivers, drivers who have caused an accident, drivers with a speeding ticket, drivers with a DUI, drivers with poor credit, drivers caught without insurance, adding a teen driver, senior drivers and young drivers.

Unless otherwise noted, rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver with a Toyota RAV4 and coverage of:

• $100,000 for injuries to one person, $300,000 for injuries per accident and $100,000 of property damage (known as 100/300/100).
• Uninsured motorist coverage of 100/300.
• Collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible.

Car insurance coverage options (25% of score): Any auto insurance company can provide the basics of liability insurance, collision and comprehensive coverage and other standard offerings. But it’s also important to have access to additional coverage types that can provide greater protection or cost savings. In this category we gave points to companies that offer accident forgiveness, new car replacement, vanishing deductibles, usage-based or pay-per-mile insurance and SR-22s.

Complaints (20% of score): We used complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Each state’s department of insurance is in charge of logging and monitoring complaints against companies operating in their states. Most auto insurance complaints center on claims, including unsatisfactory settlements, delays, and denials. The industry complaint average is 1.00, so companies with a ratio below 1.00 have lower levels of complaints.

Collision repair (5% of score): We incorporated grades of insurance companies from collision repair professionals. We used data provided by CRASH Network, a weekly newsletter covering the collision repair and auto insurance market segments. CRASH Network’s Insurer Report Card used grades from more than 1,100 collision repair professionals to gauge auto insurers on the quality of their collision claims service.