Mercury General Corporation is a multiple-line insurance organization that offers personal automobiles, homeowners, renters, and business insurance. Mercury's primary focus is automobiles and homeowners' insurance. Founded in 1961 and located in Los Angeles, Mercury has assets of over $4 billion, employs 4,500 people and more than 8,000 independent agents in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, New York,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Texas, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

Mercury was founded by George Joseph, who flew 50

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

missions as a navigator before graduating from Harvard on the G.I. Bill in 1949. Joseph then spent more than a decade in the insurance industry before founding Mercury Insurance in 1961 as a low-cost alternative to larger insurance companies. Mercury's California expansion began in 1964 with the opening of its first Orange County office. Two years later, the company spread into the San Fernando Valley and also began operations in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Mercury offices opened in Northern California by 1968.Mercury Insurance Group. "History of an Insurance: Corporate Timeline". Mercury Insurance Site. 25 May 2016. Mercury wrote $1 million in premiums every month by 1970 and sold its first homeowners policy in 1972. The newly created Mercury Insurance Company wrote its first auto policy in 1977. In 1989, Mercury began expansion outside of California, opening offices in Georgia and Illinois. The company insured more than 1 million vehicles in California by 1998. This led to further expansion to Florida in 1998, New York in 2001, and Virginia in 2001.

Awards

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' listed Mercury Insurance on its "100 Most Trustworthy Companies" in 2012 "America’s 50 Most Trusted Financial Companies" in 2014, 2015 and 2016. It has been rated "Excellent" by insurance industry rating agencies AM Best and Fitch. Mercury Insurance was named one of "America’s Best Midsize Employers" by ''Forbes'' in 2017.

Products

Mercury provides personal auto insurance from collision, uninsured or underinsured motorist, and roadside assistance. The homeowners insurance includes the structure and belongings coverage. It may provide additional living expenses if policyholders are forced to vacate their homes due to a covered loss or peril. Its umbrella insurance is additional liability protection for personal auto and/or homeowners in the event losses exceed the underlying policy's liability limits."Our Products: Umbrella Insurance". Mercury Insurance Site. 16 June 2015. The dwelling fire insurance is a policy for landlords to protect rental properties. Its extended warranty coverage, also known as ''mechanical protection'', is Mercury's mechanical protection, which pays for covered vehicle repairs after the vehicle manufacturer's warranty expires.

Driver safety program

Mercury Insurance created the Drive Safe Challenge in 2016, promoting teen driver safety. It began as a collaboration between Mercury Insurance, the Anaheim Ducks and the California Highway Patrol in Anaheim, and has since expanded to Florida through a partnership with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Police Department. Mercury has also developed a free online extension that includes interactive tools and quizzes.

References

External links