Mercury vs. Esurance Insurance

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

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Mercury vs. Esurance: 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.

Founded in 1999 and purchased by Allstate in 2011, Esurance has the spirit of a startup but the backing of Allstate as a multiline insurance company with an A+ financial rating. Using state-of-the-art technology, Esurance offers online and mobile services that enable a more efficient payment and claims process. Esurance sells the vehicle and property insurance around the county, and they are still growing. In 1999, Jean-Bernard Duler, Jeffrey L. Goodman, Huyen Bui, David Griffin, and Charles Wallace founded Esurance as one of the first insurance companies to sell policies directly to consumers online, without the need for in-person meetings or telephone calls.

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 Esurance Overview.

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

Below is a list of the average rates that drivers typically pay with Mercury and Esurance. On average, Mercury charges approximately $149.47 per month while Esurance comes in at around $170.66 per month. For Mercury, the cheapest state average is Illinois at $117.63 per month and the most expensive is New Jersey at $248.75 per month. For Esurance, the cheapest state average is California at $125.79 per month and the most expensive is New York at $347.60 per month.

Mercury

Average Rate

$149.47
Esurance

Average Rate

$170.66
National

Average Rate

$133.59
State Mercury Esurance
Arizona $166.43 $164.75
California $138.62 $125.79
Florida $211.80 -
Georgia $181.46 -
Illinois $117.63 -
Michigan- $235.92
Nevada $215.79 -
New Jersey $248.75 $210.33
New York- $347.60
Pennsylvania- $192.30
Texas $151.90 $180.98
Virginia $185.56 -

Mercury vs. Esurance: 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 Mercury and Esurance typically charge for drivers who have more than 1 vehicle.

Number of Vehicles Mercury Esurance
1 Vehicle $140.80 $165.33
2 Vehicles $224.78 $229.46

Mercury vs. Esurance: Rates by Homeownership

Home

Drivers who own their home rather than rent can sometimes get a small discount. We found that on average Mercury charges $167.88 per month and Esurance charges $180.99 per month for customers who own their home.

Own/Rent Mercury Esurance
Own $167.88 $180.99
Rent $146.27 $169.30

What is Mercury and Esurance Insurance Rating?

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

ComparisonMercuryEsurance
Year Founded19621999
Market Share1.13%
A.M. Best RatingA+
BBB RatingA+A-
Financial StrengthExcellentAbove Average
JD Power RankingAverage
Moody’s RatingBaa2
NAIC Complaint Ratio1.14
S&P RatingAAA-

Mercury or Esurance: Insurance Products Offered

What coverage is available through Mercury and Esurance? Both insurance companies offer Auto, Commercial, Condo, Home, Renters, and Umbrella insurance. Additional products from Esurance insurance also includes Health, Life, Motorcycle, Pet, 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 Esurance Insurance page.

InsuranceMercuryEsurance
Auto Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Condo Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Pet Insurance
Renters Insurance
RV Insurance
Umbrella Insurance

Mercury or Esurance: Ways To Save

Mercury offers a wide range of discounts to its policyholders, including Auto Pay, E-signature, and Good Driver discounts. In contrast, Esurance also offers a few discounts that Mercury doesn’t, including Switch & Save®, Safety Device, and Renters Plus® discounts. Start taking advantage of discounts offered by insurance providers like Esurance and Mercury insurance and save yourself some money. You can review the full list of discounts that these two companies offer below.

MercuryEsurance
Anti-theft Feature DiscountAnti-lock Brakes Discount
Auto Pay DiscountAnti-theft Discount
E-signature DiscountClaim-free Discount
Good Driver DiscountDefensive Driver Discount
Good Student DiscountEmergency Road Assistance Discount
Multi-car DiscountFast 5 Discount®
Multi-policy DiscountGood Driver Discount
Occupational DiscountGood Student Discount
Pay-in-Full DiscountHomeowners Discount
Multi-car Discount
Multi-policy Discount
Online Shopper® Discount
Paid-in-full Discount
Renters Plus® Discount
Safety Device Discount
Switch & Save® Discount

Pros & Cons of Mercury & Esurance

Pros

Mercury
  • Offers low rates and excellent coverage for homeowners, condo, renters, umbrella, auto, mechanical breakdown, business auto and business insurance in 13 states.
Esurance
  • Very few complaints from customers.
  • It has fewer customer complaints than the industry median, relative to its size.
  • Backed by Allstate, a large insurer that is financially sound.
  • Esurance is available in most states.

Cons

Mercury
  • Mercury Insurance is only available in 13 states.
  • Not all discounts are available in all 13 states.
Esurance
  • Does not score very high on the repair process
  • Prices are a bit higher than other budget insurers like Progressive and Geico

Mercury or Esurance 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 Esurance mobile app is available for iOS and Android.

Mercury Mobile App
iOSN/ANot Available
Android     2.7200 user reviews
Esurance Mobile App
iOS     4.81,194 user reviews
Android     4.78,655 user reviews

Mercury & Esurance 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
Esurance Contact Info
Address650 Davis Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone1-800--378-7262
Websitehttps://www.esurance.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/Esurance/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/esurance
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpp4vbWpy_aTBhmhigENpHw
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/esurance/

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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