Mercury vs. Erie Insurance

Which insurance carrier is right for you? Compare pros & cons, coverage, and quotes from Mercury and Erie.

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Mercury vs. Erie: What You Need to Know

George Joseph founded Mercury General Corporation in Los Angeles with a promise to provide more affordable rates than other carriers and the best customer service in the industry. The first policy was sold in 1962 when the company had only six employees and 90 agents. Two years later Mercury Insurance opened an office in Orange County, CA. In 1966 they opened their first office in the San Fernando Valley and a year later earned an A+ rating from A.M. Best. They continued expanding in southern California with an office opening in San Diego. In 1968 Mercury established a holding company, then acquired shares of Mercury Casualty Company and made it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercury General Corp. They then moved into their newly opened San Jose office. In 1970, Mercury wrote $1 million in premiums in one month and grew to employ 467 agents. In 1972 they sold their first homeowners policy. In 1973 Mercury formed a subsidiary for underwriting preferred risk, thereby increasing business using a 34-page manual written by the company’s founder. In 1974, Mercury opened its first Sacramento office and by 1977, Mercury Insurance becomes the largest insurance subsidiary, producing over $1 billion in premiums by 2011. In 1978, Mercury established a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to fight insurance fraud.

Erie Insurance Exchange was founded in 1925 by H.O. Hirt and O.G. Crawford, in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. H.O. Hirt hoped to create a company based on superior service using the mantra, “The ERIE is Above all in sERvIcE,” with the letters "E-R-I-E" raised in capitals out of the word “service.” It still remains the company tagline today. Three years after being established, the company was doing so well that it expanded its business by opening its first office outside Erie, in Pittsburgh. By 1934, the company created the “Super Standard Auto Policy,” which was used as a model for other insurance companies across the country. The company later expanded its product portfolio into a home, business and in the year 1967, Erie Family Life Insurance Company was formed, offering life insurance to consumers. Erie Indemnity Company was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1994 and in the following year it was listed on NASDAQ. Today, Erie Insurance Company ranks number 381 on the 2019 FORTUNE 500® list and has over 5,000 employees and 12,000 independent agents. Also, the company ranks highest among auto insurers in providing a satisfying purchase experience, with a score of 917 (on a 1,000-point scale).

Below is a list of average rates, rankings, products, and discounts for the two companies. For full company overviews, you can visit Mercury Overview and Erie Overview.

Mercury vs. Erie: How much are the Average Rates?

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Mercury vs. Erie: Rates by Number of Vehicle

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Mercury vs. Erie: Rates by Homeownership

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What is Mercury and Erie Insurance Rating?

Which car insurance company is better? We've made it easy to compare companies side by side. See how Mercury and Erie ranked among the industry ratings.

ComparisonMercuryErie
Year Founded19621925
Market Share1.13%1.29%
A.M. Best RatingA+
BBB RatingA+
Financial StrengthExcellentExcellent
JD Power RankingAverage
Moody’s RatingBaa2
NAIC Complaint Ratio0.22
S&P RatingA

Mercury or Erie: Insurance Products Offered

What coverage is available through Mercury and Erie? Both insurance companies offer Auto, Commercial, Condo, Home, and Renters insurance. Additional products from Erie insurance also includes Health, Life, Motorcycle, and RV insurance. Considering these two top insurance providers? Check out the list below. To view a full list of products that are available, visit Mercury and Erie Insurance page.

InsuranceMercuryErie
Auto Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Condo Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Renters Insurance
RV Insurance
Umbrella Insurance

Mercury or Erie: Ways To Save

Mercury offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Auto Pay, E-signature, and Good Driver discounts. In contrast, Erie also offers a few discounts that Mercury doesn’t, including Young Driver Loyalty, Teen Driver, and Student discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Erie and Mercury insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.

MercuryErie
Anti-theft Feature DiscountAdvance Quote Discount
Auto Pay DiscountAge 55 Discount
E-signature DiscountDriver Training Discount
Good Driver DiscountMulti-Policy Discount
Good Student DiscountMulti-Vehicle Discount
Multi-car DiscountNew Vehicle Discount
Multi-policy DiscountPaid in Full Discount
Occupational DiscountPrior Bodily Injury Limits (BIL) Discount
Pay-in-Full DiscountReduced Usage Discount
Safe Driver Discount
Safety Features Discount
Student Discount
Teen Driver Discount
Young Driver Loyalty Discount

Pros & Cons of Mercury & Erie

Pros

Mercury
  • Offers low rates and excellent coverage for homeowners, condo, renters, umbrella, auto, mechanical breakdown, business auto and business insurance in 13 states.
Erie
  • Erie Insurance is well-known for its competitive price and excellent claims service.
  • It has fewer customer complaints than the industry median, relative to its size.
  • Offers 12-month premium quotes
  • Multiple discounts available
  • It locks in your auto insurance rate, so your premium won’t change unless you add or remove drivers or cars.

Cons

Mercury
  • Mercury Insurance is only available in 13 states.
  • Not all discounts are available in all 13 states.
Erie
  • It doesn’t accept claims online, only by phone.
  • It offers its products in only 12 states.

Mercury or Erie Mobile Apps Options

The Mercury Mobile app is available for android. This insurance tool is where you can manage payments, view auto policy information, download ID cards and more.

The Erie Insurance mobile app is available for iOS and Android.

Mercury Mobile App
iOSN/ANot Available
Android     2.7200 user reviews
Erie Mobile App
iOS     3.318 user reviews
Android     3.819 user reviews

Mercury & Erie Contact Info

Mercury Contact Info
Address4484 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California
Phone1 (800) 503-3724
Websitehttps://www.mecuryinsurance.com
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/MercuryInsurance
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/mercuryins
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/mercury
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/mercury-insurance
Erie Contact Info
Address100 Erie Insurance Place, PA 16530
Phone1-800-458-0811
Websitehttps://www.erieinsurance.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/erieinsurance/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/erie_insurance
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/ErieInsurance
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/erie-insurance-group/

Methodology
The statistics listed on this page are from our own in house reporting. We track and record quotes that carriers have provided based on various criteria. The rates and averages shown on this page should only be used as an estimate.

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