Which insurance provider is right for you? Compare coverage, premiums, and quotes from Mercury and Shelter.
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.
Shelter Insurance company is a mutual insurance company that focuses on auto, property, business and life insurance. In, when the company was founded and called MFA Mutual Insurance Company. Its focus was to provide farmers access to reliable insurance protection at prices that they could afford.
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 Shelter Overview.
Which car insurance company is better? We've made it easy to compare companies side by side. See how Mercury and Shelter ranked among the industry ratings.
Comparison | Mercury | Shelter |
---|---|---|
Year Founded | 1962 | 1946 |
Market Share | 1.13% | |
A.M. Best Rating | A | |
BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
Financial Strength | Excellent | Excellent |
JD Power Ranking | Average | |
Moody’s Rating | Baa2 | |
NAIC Complaint Ratio | 0.36 (2013) | |
S&P Rating | A |
What coverage is available through Mercury and Shelter? Both insurance companies offer Auto, Commercial, Condo, Home, Renters, and Umbrella insurance. Additional products from Shelter insurance also includes Farm, 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 Shelter Insurance page.
Insurance | Mercury | Shelter |
---|---|---|
Auto Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Commercial Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Condo Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Farm Insurance | ✔ | |
Home Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Life Insurance | ✔ | |
Motorcycle Insurance | ✔ | |
Renters Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
RV Insurance | ✔ | |
Umbrella Insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
Mercury offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Auto Pay, E-signature, and Good Driver discounts. In contrast, Shelter also offers a few discounts that Mercury doesn’t, including Window Identification System – Louisiana Residents, Safe Driver, and Pay in Full discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Shelter and Mercury insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.
Mercury | Shelter |
---|---|
Anti-theft Feature Discount | Accident Prevention Course Discount |
Auto Pay Discount | Anti-Theft Discount - Kentucky and Illinois Residents |
E-signature Discount | Companion Life Discount |
Good Driver Discount | Companion Policy Discount |
Good Student Discount | Driver Training Course Discount |
Multi-car Discount | Good Student Discount |
Multi-policy Discount | Military Discount |
Occupational Discount | Multi-car Discount |
Pay-in-Full Discount | Multi-coverage Discount - Nevada Residents |
Passive Restraint Discount | |
Pay in Full Discount | |
Safe Driver Discount | |
Window Identification System Discount – Louisiana Residents |
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 Shelter Insurance Mobile app is available for iOS and Android. With the app, you can access your ID cards, report a claim and upload photos, view coverages and policy details, obtain roadside assistance, get in touch with your agent and pay your bill by credit or debit card.
Mercury Mobile App | ||
---|---|---|
iOS | N/A | Not Available |
Android | 2.7 | 200 user reviews |
Shelter Mobile App | ||
---|---|---|
iOS | 2.3 | 35 user reviews |
Android | 2.3 | 240 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 |
Shelter Contact Info | |
---|---|
Address | 1817 West Broadway - Columbia, MO 65218 |
Phone | 1-800-743-5837 |
Website | https://www.shelterinsurance.com/ |
https://www.facebook.com/ShelterInsurance/ | |
https://twitter.com/Shelter_ins/ | |
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shelter-insurance-companies/ | |
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/user/ShelterIns |
https://www.instagram.com/shelter_ins/ | |
https://www.pinterest.com/shelterins/ | |
Vimeo | https://vimeo.com/user48805731 |
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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