Which insurance carrier is right for you? Compare pros & cons, plans, and quotes from Mercury and Gainsco.
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.
Established in 1978 as a Texas corporation, Gainsco is a property and casualty insurance holding company, concentrating their efforts on the non-standard personal automobile market, specializing in minimum-limits personal auto insurance. They do offer full and standard coverage as well but specialize in minimum liability coverage. The company is based in Dallas, with a regional office in Miami and its operations are conducted through MGA Insurance Company Inc., a Texas corporation. Gainsco sponsors a racing team, the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team, which won the Grand-AM Rolex Sports Car Series twice with the No. 99 GAINSCO “Red Dragon” Daytona Prototype. Gainsco sells insurance through independent partner agents in the District of Columbia and 44 states that include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. All customer service needs can be met in English or Spanish.
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 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Overview.
Which car insurance company is better? We've made it easy to compare companies side by side. See how Mercury and Gainsco ranked among the industry ratings.
Comparison | Mercury | Gainsco |
---|---|---|
Year Founded | 1962 | 1978 |
Market Share | 1.13% | |
A.M. Best Rating | B+ | |
BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
Financial Strength | Excellent | Above Average |
JD Power Ranking | Average | |
Moody’s Rating | Baa2 | |
NAIC Complaint Ratio | 2.34 | |
S&P Rating | A |
What coverage is available through Mercury and Gainsco? Both insurance companies offer Auto insurance. Additional products from Mercury insurance also includes Commercial, Condo, Home, Renters, and Umbrella 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 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Insurance page.
Insurance | Mercury | Gainsco |
---|---|---|
Auto Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Commercial Insurance | ✔ | |
Condo Insurance | ✔ | |
Home Insurance | ✔ | |
Renters Insurance | ✔ | |
Umbrella Insurance | ✔ |
Mercury offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Auto Pay, E-signature, and Good Driver discounts. In contrast, Gainsco also offers a few discounts that Mercury doesn’t, including Renewal, Prior GAINSCO Coverage, and Prior Coverage discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Gainsco and Mercury insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.
Mercury | Gainsco |
---|---|
Anti-theft Feature Discount | Advance Purchase Discount |
Auto Pay Discount | Agency Internal Transfer Discount |
E-signature Discount | Auto-Pay Discount |
Good Driver Discount | Homeowner Discount |
Good Student Discount | Length of Ownership (Loyalty Discount) |
Multi-car Discount | Multi-car Discount |
Multi-policy Discount | Pay-in-Full Discount |
Occupational Discount | Prior Coverage Discount |
Pay-in-Full Discount | Prior GAINSCO Coverage Discount |
Renewal Discount |
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 Gainsco mobile app is available for iOS and Android. This mobile app offers some benefits and services including requesting a quote, making a payment, reporting a claim, requesting an agent, contacting the insurer, and getting the latest Gainsco news.
Mercury Mobile App | ||
---|---|---|
iOS | N/A | Not Available |
Android | 2.7 | 200 user reviews |
Gainsco Mobile App | ||
---|---|---|
iOS | 2.6 | 8 user reviews |
Android | 2.9 | 8 user reviews |
Mercury Contact Info | |
---|---|
Address | 4484 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California |
Phone | 1 (800) 503-3724 |
Website | https://www.mecuryinsurance.com |
https://www.facebook.com/MercuryInsurance | |
https://twitter.com/mercuryins | |
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/mercury |
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercury-insurance |
Gainsco Contact Info | |
---|---|
Address | 3333 Lee Parkway, Dallas, TX 75219 |
Phone | 1-866-424-6726 |
Website | https://www.gainsco.com/ |
https://www.facebook.com/GAINSCOInsurance/ | |
https://twitter.com/GAINSCOAgency | |
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuoo1lEvzyJ7seCjj3NmerA |
https://www.linkedin.com/company/gainsco/ |
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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