SafeAuto vs. Mercury Insurance

Which insurance company is right for you? Compare discounts, plans, and quotes from SafeAuto and Mercury.

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SafeAuto vs. Mercury: What You Need to Know

SafeAuto is an independently owned property and casualty car insurance carrier based in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1993, SafeAuto has been specializing in providing affordable, state-minimum auto insurance and full comprehensive and collision policies. SafeAuto provides a Certificate of Financial Responsibility (CFR) in the form of an SR22, SR22A or FR44 for customers who need to provide a CFR to a court or state government agency. The company also offers motorcycle, renters, homeowners, business, health, supplemental, dental, accident, life, mechanical repair insurance and more (see full list below). SafeAuto is a leader in direct-to-consumer, minimum-limit coverage across 17 states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The company has service call centers that are open at all hours, every day, including holidays. Customers can also access their insurance information easily using the SafeAuto Insurance Mobile App.

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.

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

Safe Auto vs. Mercury: How much are the Average Rates?

Below is a list of the average rates that drivers typically pay with Safe Auto and Mercury. On average, Safe Auto charges approximately $329.19 per month while Mercury comes in at around $153.16 per month. For Safe Auto, the cheapest state average is Arizona at $252.95 per month and the most expensive is Texas at $367.70 per month. For Mercury, the cheapest state average is Illinois at $107.61 per month and the most expensive is Nevada at $231.73 per month.

Safe Auto

Average Rate

$329.19
Mercury

Average Rate

$153.16
National

Average Rate

$133.56
State Safe Auto Mercury
Arizona $252.95 $172.92
California- $141.81
Florida- $220.37
Georgia- $157.29
Illinois $271.60 $107.61
Nevada- $231.73
New Jersey- $231.56
Pennsylvania $296.03 -
Texas $367.70 $159.56

Safe Auto vs. Mercury: Rates by Number of Vehicle

Home

Drivers will typically get a discount if they insure multiple vehicles. Here is a list of average rates that Safe Auto and Mercury typically charge for drivers who have more than 1 vehicle.

Number of Vehicles Safe Auto Mercury
1 Vehicle $293.02 $142.89
2 Vehicles $400.08 $222.27

Safe Auto vs. Mercury: Rates by Homeownership

Home

Drivers who own their home rather than rent can sometimes get a small discount. We found that on average Safe Auto charges $321.90 per month and Mercury charges $162.29 per month for customers who own their home.

Own/Rent Safe Auto Mercury
Own $321.90 $162.29
Rent $336.00 $151.44

What is SafeAuto and Mercury Insurance Rating?

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

ComparisonSafeAutoMercury
Year Founded19931962
Market Share1.8%1.13
A.M. Best RatingA-
BBB RatingA+A+
Financial StrengthExcellent
JD Power RankingAverage
Moody’s RatingBaa2
NAIC Complaint Index1.74
S&P RatingA

SafeAuto or Mercury: Insurance Products Offered

What coverage is available through Safeauto and Mercury? Both insurance companies offer Auto, Commercial, Home, and Renters insurance. Additional products from SafeAuto insurance also includes Health, Life, Motorcycle, and SR22/FR44 insurance. Considering these two top insurance providers? Check out the list below. To view a full list of products that are available, visit Safe Auto and Mercury Insurance page.

InsuranceSafeAutoMercury
Auto Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Condo Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Renters Insurance
SR22/FR44
Umbrella Insurance

SafeAuto or Mercury: Ways To Save

SafeAuto offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Good Student, Homeowner, and Multi-vehicle discounts. In contrast, Mercury also offers a few discounts that Safeauto doesn’t, including Pay-in-Full, Occupational, and Multi-policy discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Mercury and Safeauto insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.

SafeAutoMercury
Driver Improvement Course DiscountsAnti-theft Feature Discount
Good Student DiscountAuto Pay Discount
Homeowner DiscountE-signature Discount
Multi-vehicle DiscountGood Driver Discount
New Business TransferGood Student Discount
Multi-car Discount
Multi-policy Discount
Occupational Discount
Pay-in-Full Discount

Pros & Cons of SafeAuto & Mercury

Pros

SafeAuto
  • Affordable state-minimum car insurance.
  • R22, SR22A or FR44 as Certificate of Financial Responsibility available.
Mercury
  • Offers low rates and excellent coverage for homeowners, condo, renters, umbrella, auto, mechanical breakdown, business auto and business insurance in 13 states.

Cons

SafeAuto
  • On average, premiums through SafeAuto cost more than some competitors.
Mercury
  • Mercury Insurance is only available in 13 states.
  • Not all discounts are available in all 13 states.

SafeAuto or Mercury Mobile Apps Options

The SafeAuto app is available for iOS and Android. This insurance concierge allows you to see your insurance information and pay premiums.

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.

Safeauto Mobile App
iOS     4.826.6K user reviews
Android     1.845 user reviews
Mercury Mobile App
iOSN/ANot Available
Android     2.7200 user reviews

SafeAuto & Mercury Contact Info

Safeauto Contact Info
Address4 Easton Oval, Columbus, Ohio 43219
Phone1 (614) 456-2940
Websitehttps://www.safeauto.com
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/SafeAuto/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/safeauto
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/safeauto
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/safeauto-insurance-company/
Mercury Contact Info
Address4484 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California
Phone1 (800) 503-3724
Websitehttps://www.mercuryinsurance.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/MercuryInsurance
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/mercuryins
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/mercuryinsurance
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/mercury-insurance

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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