Mercury Insurance Group

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Mercury Insurance Group

Type
Founded	1961
Headquarters	Los Angeles, CA
Key people	Gabe Tirador, CEO & President, George Joseph, Founder & Chairman
Industry	Insurance
Revenue	$3.09 billion USD (2006) ^[1]
Employees	5,100
Website	www.mercuryinsurance.com

Mercury Insurance Group NYSE: MCY is an American automobile and property insurance company founded by George Joseph in 1961. The company's headquarters is in Los Angeles, CA.

1 History
2 Usage of Independent Brokers
3 Basis of Premium Charges for Automobile Insurance
4 Policy Eligibility for Automobile Insurance
5 Resources
6 References

[edit] History

George Joseph founded Mercury Insurance in 1961 after working in the industry for a few years. The company operated solely in California until 1990, and since then has started expanding to other states. The core of its operations still remains in CA today, and growth in other states hope to be fruitful in the near future.

[edit] Usage of Independent Brokers

Mercury sells insurance solely through third-party agencies and insurance brokers. This is the main pathway they use to market their local presence in every region they sell insurance. These brokers are responsible for sales, initial underwriting, vehicle inspections, general customer service, some forms of billing and collections, endorsements, policy cancellations and other duties.

Although Mercury uses brokers to sell their insurance, Mercury also follows up with phone reports from their own call center to ensure the application was completed correctly and honestly with the customer.

[edit] Basis of Premium Charges for Automobile Insurance

The Mercury Insurance Group takes in the standard considerations for premium charges such as age, gender and claims history as well as the applicant's credit score, which decides what level of insurance the applicant is allowed to obtain, what discounts apply, and what payment plans an applicant is eligible to have. Good credit can also render a reasonable discount for applicants.

While some standard discounts still apply, such as the good student discount, Mercury depends almost entirely on its many-leveled tier system to build the premium upon. This can range from Tier 0, where individuals with good credit, clean records and high-quality policies often land, to the far lower tiers that penalize applicants for poor credit or numerous tickets and/or accidents on their driving records.

[edit] Policy Eligibility for Automobile Insurance

The Mercury Insurance Company refuses to insure drivers who, within three years of their application, have had three or more accidents, regardless of fault. This is also grounds for non-renewal for current customers.

The Mercury Insurance Company may also refuse drivers based on information such as an applicant's criminal record, credit score and current employment status, particularly when the applicant has been found guilty of stealing or fraud, and if the applicant is unemployed with numerous negative entries in their credit history.

Mercury also turns away any and all applicants who are purchasing insurance for ineligible vehicles which include, but are not limited to, discontinued vehicles, vehicles from countries where political turmoil may interfere with service (such as the UzDaewooAvto line,) and vehicles considered to be too high a risk, (such as a Lamborghini and certain vehicles of the Porsche make.)