User:MaryGaulke/sandbox/Mercury General requests: Difference between revisions

Hi, I’m here on behalf of Mercury General, a client of mine, requesting some updates to this article.

• In the infobox, update (using existing ref name^[1])

| num_employees = 4,300^[2]

| num_employees_year = 2017

to

| num_employees = 4,300^[1]

| num_employees_year = 2026

Mercury General Corporation is a multiple-line insurance organization that offers personal automobiles, homeowners, renters, and business insurance. Mercury’s primary focus is automobiles and homeowners’ insurance.^[3]

Founded in 1961 and located in Los Angeles, Mercury has assets of over $4 billion,^[4] employs 4,500 people and more than 8,000 independent agents in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.^[4]

to

Mercury General Corporation is an American property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company provides personal automobile, homeowners, renters, and commercial insurance products.^[5]

Founded in 1961, Mercury has assets of over $4 billion^[4] and employs 4,300 people and more than 8,500 independent agents in 11 states.

Reworked this with some more standard MOS:FIRST wording and updated info. Per MOS:CITELEAD, keeping the refs for the updated figures in the final sentence in the proposed “Operations” section below. The full list of states also struck me as overkill, especially for the lead.

• In addition to the changes below, this article has changed dramatically since {{advert}} was first added. Please let me know if the updates below are insufficient to justify removing this flag.

Mercury was founded by George Joseph, who flew 50 World War II missions as a navigator before graduating from Harvard on the G.I. Bill in 1949. Joseph then spent more than a decade in the insurance industry before founding Mercury Insurance in 1961 as a low-cost alternative to larger insurance companies.

with citations:

Mercury was founded by George Joseph, who flew 50 World War II missions as a navigator^[6] before graduating from Harvard on the G.I. Bill^[7] in 1949.^[8] Joseph then spent more than a decade in the insurance industry before founding Mercury Insurance in 1961^[7] as a low-cost alternative to larger insurance companies.^[9]

Mercury wrote $1 million in premiums every month by 1970 and sold its first homeowners policy in 1972.

with a source:

Mercury sold its first homeowners policy in 1972.^[10]

I couldn’t find an independent source for the first half, which also sounds a bit promotional, so I took it out.

The newly created Mercury Insurance Company wrote its first auto policy in 1977.^[11]

I couldn’t find this detail outside of primary sources.

In its early years, the company grew its business by minimizing overhead costs, carefully screening applicants, and using an intricate system of varying rate levels to offer significant discounts to drivers with various attributes.^[12] Mercury had its initial public offering in 1985.^[7]

In 1989, Mercury began expansion outside of California, opening offices in Georgia and Illinois. The company insured more than 1 million vehicles in California by 1998.^[11] This led to further expansion to Florida in 1998, New York in 2001, and Virginia in 2001.^[11]

to

Mercury began expansion outside of California in 1990, opening offices in Georgia and Illinois.^[12] By 2003, the company had expanded to Florida and Texas as well.^[13]

Added independent sources and updated to reflect.

George Joseph stepped down as CEO in 2006; he remained the company’s chairman while Gabriel Tirador became CEO.^[14]

In the early 2020s, the company increased its presence in California’s home insurance market, growing from the state’s seventh largest home insurer in 2021 to its third largest in 2024.^[15] In May 2024, Mercury made a deal with Tokio Marine Holdings to continue insurance coverage for Tokio Marine customers after Tokio Marine withdrew from the California home insurance market.^[16]

In 2025, following the 2018 Camp Fire, Mercury became the first insurance company to write new homeowner policies in Paradise, California,^[17][18] after company leaders visited the town to evaluate local wildfire risk mitigation efforts.^[19][20] In May 2026, the company’s focus on wildfire mitigation in California led Mercury to invest BurnBot, a technology company that reduces risk in wildfire-prone areas by using robotic tools to clear brush and excess vegetation.^[21]

Add a new section:

Mercury operates in 11 states,^[22] with most of its business in California. As of 2025^[update], Mercury is the third-largest provider of home insurance in California.^[23] The company has an A credit rating from AM Best as of February 2025.^[24]

Mercury has more than 4,300 employees and 8,500 independent agents.^[1] The company distributes insurance primarily through independent agents rather than a direct-only model; Mercury claims that independent agents are able to maintain stronger relationships with customers.^[25]

The company has had sponsored partnerships with various California sports organizations, including the L.A. Kings,^[26] the San Diego Padres,^[27] and the Anaheim Ducks.^[28]

Update

Mercury provides personal auto insurance from collision, uninsured or underinsured motorist, and roadside assistance.^[29][30] The homeowners insurance includes the structure and belongings coverage. It may provide additional living expenses if policyholders are forced to vacate their homes due to a covered loss or peril.^[31] Its umbrella insurance is additional liability protection for personal auto and/or homeowners in the event losses exceed the underlying policy’s liability limits.^[32]

The dwelling fire insurance is a policy for landlords to protect rental properties. Its extended warranty coverage, also known as mechanical protection, is Mercury’s mechanical protection, which pays for covered vehicle repairs after the vehicle manufacturer’s warranty expires.^[32]

to

===Auto insurance===

Mercury offers auto insurance including liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage.^[33] The company’s RealDrive program offers mileage-based pricing tied to how much a customer drives.^[34] Mercury’s MercuryGO app is a usage-based insurance program that acts as a virtual driving coach and gives discounts of up to 40% based on driving behavior.^[35]

The company also offers mechanical protection (vehicle service contracts) that covers repairs after manufacturer warranties expire.^[34]

===Homeowners insurance===

Mercury offers homeowners,^[36] renters,^[37] condo and landlord insurance products.^[38] The company’s homeowners policies include dwelling, personal property and liability coverage.^[36]

===Umbrella insurance===

Mercury offers umbrella insurance that provides additional liability coverage above standard policies.^[39]

The dwelling fire insurance is a policy for landlords to protect rental properties.^[32]

Adding independent citations, updating to reflect, and incorporating subheads for readability.