Mercury vs. Shelter Insurance

Which insurance provider is right for you? Compare coverage, premiums, and quotes from Mercury and Shelter.

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Mercury vs. Shelter: 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.

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.

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

Below is a list of the average rates that drivers typically pay with Mercury and Shelter. On average, Mercury charges approximately $149.36 per month while Shelter comes in at around $211.76 per month. For Mercury, the cheapest state average is Illinois at $93.89 per month and the most expensive is New Jersey at $250.37 per month. For Shelter, the cheapest state average is at $0.00 per month and the most expensive is at $0.00 per month.

Mercury

Average Rate

$149.36
Shelter

Average Rate

$211.76
National

Average Rate

$133.59
State Mercury Shelter
Arizona $166.43 -
California $138.45 -
Florida $211.19 -
Georgia $178.44 -
Illinois $93.89 -
Nevada $225.64 -
New Jersey $250.37 -
Texas $156.20 -

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

Number of Vehicles Mercury Shelter
1 Vehicle $140.60 $210.62
2 Vehicles $225.01 $

Mercury vs. Shelter: 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 $167.56 per month and Shelter charges $ per month for customers who own their home.

Own/Rent Mercury Shelter
Own $167.56 $
Rent $146.37 $228.53

What is Mercury and Shelter Insurance Rating?

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.

ComparisonMercuryShelter
Year Founded19621946
Market Share1.13%
A.M. Best RatingA
BBB RatingA+A+
Financial StrengthExcellentExcellent
JD Power RankingAverage
Moody’s RatingBaa2
NAIC Complaint Ratio0.36 (2013)
S&P RatingA

Mercury or Shelter: Insurance Products Offered

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.

InsuranceMercuryShelter
Auto Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Condo Insurance
Farm Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Motorcycle Insurance
Renters Insurance
RV Insurance
Umbrella Insurance

Mercury or Shelter: Ways To Save

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.

MercuryShelter
Anti-theft Feature DiscountAccident Prevention Course Discount
Auto Pay DiscountAnti-Theft Discount - Kentucky and Illinois Residents
E-signature DiscountCompanion Life Discount
Good Driver DiscountCompanion Policy Discount
Good Student DiscountDriver Training Course Discount
Multi-car DiscountGood Student Discount
Multi-policy DiscountMilitary Discount
Occupational DiscountMulti-car Discount
Pay-in-Full DiscountMulti-coverage Discount - Nevada Residents
Passive Restraint Discount
Pay in Full Discount
Safe Driver Discount
Window Identification System Discount – Louisiana Residents

Pros & Cons of Mercury & Shelter

Pros

Mercury
  • Offers low rates and excellent coverage for homeowners, condo, renters, umbrella, auto, mechanical breakdown, business auto and business insurance in 13 states.
Shelter
  • Shelter Insurance offers personalized service through a network of more than 1,400 agents.
  • The company has a few customer's complaints, which indicates high satisfaction.
  • You can start your claims online or by phone.

Cons

Mercury
  • Mercury Insurance is only available in 13 states.
  • Not all discounts are available in all 13 states.
Shelter
  • The company covers only 15 states. If you don’t live in the Midwest, you’ll need to look for another carrier.

Mercury or Shelter 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 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
iOSN/ANot Available
Android     2.7200 user reviews
Shelter Mobile App
iOS     2.335 user reviews
Android     2.3240 user reviews

Mercury & Shelter 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
Shelter Contact Info
Address1817 West Broadway - Columbia, MO 65218
Phone1-800-743-5837
Websitehttps://www.shelterinsurance.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ShelterInsurance/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Shelter_ins/
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/shelter-insurance-companies/
Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/user/ShelterIns
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/shelter_ins/
Pinteresthttps://www.pinterest.com/shelterins/
Vimeohttps://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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