Foremost vs. Mercury: Which Is the Best? (2024)

Mercury wins over Foremost based on its lower rates and more extensive coverage options.

Jessica Martel
Written byJessica Martel
Jessica Martel
Jessica Martel

Jessica is a freelance writer, professional researcher, and mother of two rambunctious little boys. She specializes in personal finance, women and money, and financial literacy. Jessica is fascinated by the psychology of money and what drives people to make important financial decisions. She holds a Masters of Science degree in Cognitive Research Psychology.

Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

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Updated October 2, 2024

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Foremost and Mercury are both large insurance companies that offer various home and auto coverage options. But Mercury has lower average insurance premiums and more auto insurance policy add-ons to choose from. Foremost has a more limited selection of auto insurance options but also provides insurance policies for boats, motorcycles, and off-road vehicles.

When choosing between Foremost and Mercury, it’s important to compare quotes, coverage options, discounts, and customer service ratings. Here’s how these two auto insurance companies compare.

Quick Facts
  • The average monthly cost of liability insurance is $137 with Foremost and $81 with Mercury.

  • Foremost specializes in coverage options for boats, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, and motor homes.

  • Mercury has a usage-based telematics program to help drivers save money, but Foremost doesn’t.

Foremost vs. Mercury: The verdict

Mercury wins over Foremost due to its cheaper car insurance rates across driver categories. Even though Foremost specializes in insuring high-risk drivers, Mercury’s average premiums for drivers with accidents, tickets, and driving under the influence (DUI) convictions are lower.

Mercury also offers more coverage options than Foremost, including comprehensive and collision coverage. Foremost focuses more on non-standard coverage options, including uninsured and underinsured motorist, rental reimbursement, and medical payments coverage.

The best car insurance company for you depends on your personal needs and budget, but if you’re deciding between Foremost and Mercury, the latter could be the better option.

Factor
Foremost
Mercury
IQ Score7.48.0
Customer satisfaction score3.253.5
Average quote: liability only$137$81
Number of discounts78
Number of states where it operates5011
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
  • Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.

    We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.

    • Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
    • Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 28,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
    • Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
    • Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
    • Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.

Foremost

Foremost is a specialty insurance company that started in 1952 and sold insurance to Americans living in mobile homes. Since 2000, Foremost has been under the Farmers Insurance Company umbrella, so it has the backing of an industry giant.

Foremost logo
User Reviews
3.6
IQ Score
The Insurify Quality (IQ) Score uses more than 15 criteria to objectively rate insurance companies on a one-to-ten scale. The Insurify editorial team researches insurer data to determine the final scores.
7.4 /10
Liability Only
Liability-only insurance, sometimes called minimum-coverage insurance, pays for bodily injury and property damage to others in an accident the policyholder causes. It does not pay for the insured’s own damages.
$137/mo
Full Coverage
Full-coverage car insurance generally includes liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, and may include other optional coverages such as uninsured motorist coverage. Collision covers a policyholder’s repair or replacement costs in case of an accident. Comprehensive covers damages caused by non-accident events. The average quote displayed here reflects policies with the following coverage limits: $50,000 bodily injury liability per person; $100,000 bodily injury liability per accident; $50,00 property damage liability per accident; $1,000 collision deductible; and a $1,000 comprehensive deductible.
$292/mo
3.6
A solid optionBased on 15 verified guest reviews and ratings
How drivers feel about Foremost

Drivers appreciate the patient customer service and flexible payment options but dislike the roadside service and inconsistent pricing.

AI-generated from the text of verified reviews collected by Insurify
Best For
High-risk drivers
Collectible auto coverage
New and financed vehicles
How drivers feel about Foremost

Drivers appreciate the patient customer service and flexible payment options but dislike the roadside service and inconsistent pricing.

AI-generated from the text of verified reviews collected by Insurify
Best For
High-risk drivers
Collectible auto coverage
New and financed vehicles
Reviews (9)

Jessica

September 10, 2024

Verified Review

Somewhat Fair

During the COVID period, they didn't come out to my home for a claim. I feel they should have covered it based just on pictures.

Ronald

August 19, 2024

Verified Review

I have had no correspondence with them since I joined. The rates just keep going up despite having no claims. I'm not happy about that considering what I pay.

I have had no correspondence with them since I joined. The rates just keep going up despite having no claims. I'm not happy about that considering what I pay.

Johnny

June 24, 2024

Verified Review

Not too satisfied with customer service

I assumed my payment would be on the first of every month, but it's not.
JD Power
J.D. Power data measures overall customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction based on a 1,000-point scale.
NR
NAIC Index
Average amount of customer complaints relative to competitors on a 0-5 scale. A lower score represents fewer complaints.
1.4
A.M. Best
A.M. Best analyzes an insurer’s financials, operating performance, business profile, and other factors to generate an opinion-based rating of a company’s financial and credit strength. Ratings range from A++ (exceptional) to D (poor).
A
Why we picked this company

Founded in 1952, Foremost is a member of the Farmers Insurance Group and operates in all 50 states. Foremost offers car insurance through its partnership with Bristol West. In addition to car insurance, Foremost offers home insurance, classic car coverage, motorcycle insurance, and more. Its range of insurance products allow Foremost to offer discounts for multiple policies with the insurer, multiple cars, paperless billing, and more. Foremost has an A.M. Best rating of A for financial strength and credit, but more than five times the expected number of complaints in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Customer Complaint Index.

Pros
  • Covers a wide variety of vehicles

  • Coverage available for high-risk drivers

Cons
  • Poor A.M. Best ratings

  • Company website gives no information on the company’s history or affiliations

Mercury

Mercury is the 16th-largest private passenger auto liability company, with almost 1% of the overall market share.[1] Mercury earned above-average ratings in J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study for overall customer satisfaction for midsize insurers but below-average ratings for auto claims satisfaction.[2] [3]

Mercury logo
User Reviews
3.6
IQ Score
The Insurify Quality (IQ) Score uses more than 15 criteria to objectively rate insurance companies on a one-to-ten scale. The Insurify editorial team researches insurer data to determine the final scores.
8.0 /10
Liability Only
Liability-only insurance, sometimes called minimum-coverage insurance, pays for bodily injury and property damage to others in an accident the policyholder causes. It does not pay for the insured’s own damages.
$81/mo
Full Coverage
Full-coverage car insurance generally includes liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, and may include other optional coverages such as uninsured motorist coverage. Collision covers a policyholder’s repair or replacement costs in case of an accident. Comprehensive covers damages caused by non-accident events. The average quote displayed here reflects policies with the following coverage limits: $50,000 bodily injury liability per person; $100,000 bodily injury liability per accident; $50,00 property damage liability per accident; $1,000 collision deductible; and a $1,000 comprehensive deductible.
$161/mo
3.6
A solid optionBased on 438 verified guest reviews and ratings
How drivers feel about Mercury

Drivers appreciate the exceptional service, fair prices, and attentive support, but some find the premiums can increase unexpectedly.

AI-generated from the text of verified reviews collected by Insurify
Best For
Competitive rates
Rideshare drivers
Numerous discounts
How drivers feel about Mercury

Drivers appreciate the exceptional service, fair prices, and attentive support, but some find the premiums can increase unexpectedly.

AI-generated from the text of verified reviews collected by Insurify
Best For
Competitive rates
Rideshare drivers
Numerous discounts
Reviews (238)

Elton

October 1, 2024

Verified Review

Okay, But

The value is decent, but having to deal with an independent agent is not great.

Patrick

October 1, 2024

Verified Review

Great Customer Service

Great Customer Service

Claudette

September 25, 2024

Verified Review

Excellent

Good experience; just comparing rates.
See all Mercury reviews
JD Power
J.D. Power data measures overall customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction based on a 1,000-point scale.
827
NAIC Index
Average amount of customer complaints relative to competitors on a 0-5 scale. A lower score represents fewer complaints.
0.48
A.M. Best
A.M. Best analyzes an insurer’s financials, operating performance, business profile, and other factors to generate an opinion-based rating of a company’s financial and credit strength. Ratings range from A++ (exceptional) to D (poor).
A
Why we picked this company

Mercury is a 62-year-old insurance company that sells auto, home, condo, renters, and business insurance. In addition to standard car insurance coverage types, Mercury also offers rental car reimbursement, roadside assistance, rideshare insurance, and more. Mercury customers can save with multiple discounts, and the opportunity to bundle their auto insurance with home or renters coverage. The compay has an A rating from A.M. Best for financial stability. Mercury has nearly twice as many complaints as expected in the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s Consumer Complaints Index. However, J.D. Power ranked the company fourth incustomer satisfaction in California.

Pros
  • Numerous coverage options, discounts, and bundling opportunities

  • Competitive auto insurance prices

Cons
  • Only available in 11 states (including California)

  • Only available in 11 states (including California)

MercuryGO telematics program

The MercuryGO Program is a voluntary usage-based insurance program that can result in a discount on your insurance premium.

Drivers on your policy can download the MercuryGO app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Then, the app collects driving data, like miles driven, trip duration, acceleration rate, vehicle speed, braking, collision data, and phone usage. Mercury uses this data to calculate a driving skill score, which correlates to a discount on your premiums at renewal.

You can get a 5% discount just for participating in the telematics program, but Mercury advertises you can get up to 40% off your premiums at renewal. And teen drivers can get a discount of up to 10% just for participating.

While it’s free to participate, MercuryGO is available only in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.

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Foremost vs. Mercury: Which is the cheapest?

Mercury offers cheaper car insurance rates than Foremost in general. But your insurance premiums depend on several factors, including your age, gender, ZIP code, driving record, credit history, and the car you drive.

Mercury: Cheapest for drivers with a clean driving record

Car insurance companies consider your driving record when determining your premiums. Generally, the better your driving record, the lower your premiums. Mercury offers cheaper car insurance for drivers with a clean driving record, on average.

Driver Type
Foremost
Mercury
Clean driving record$137$81
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Mercury: Cheapest for drivers with a speeding ticket

Car insurance rates generally increase after a speeding ticket because it shows car insurance companies that you engage in risky driving behavior behind the wheel. Mercury offers cheaper average car insurance rates than Foremost for drivers with a speeding ticket.

Driver Type
Foremost
Mercury
Drivers with a speeding ticket$191$111
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Mercury: Cheapest for teen drivers

Teen drivers pay the highest insurance rates because they present a higher level of risk to insurers. Teen drivers and young adults looking for the cheapest car insurance may find lower rates with Mercury.

Driver Type
Foremost
Mercury
18-year-old$248$150
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Mercury: Cheapest for senior drivers

Senior drivers usually pay much cheaper rates than teens and young adults, but their rates can still increase a bit once they’re 70 years old. Older drivers may have age-related issues that affect their driving ability, so they pay higher rates.[4]

But Mercury has cheaper average rates than Foremost.

Driver Type
Foremost
Mercury
Senior drivers$105$59
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Mercury: Cheapest for drivers with bad credit

Most states allow car insurance companies to consider your credit history when determining your car insurance rates. Insurance companies believe that your credit history correlates to your risk of filing a claim, so drivers with good credit pay cheaper rates than drivers with poor credit.[5]

Mercury offers lower rates than Foremost for drivers with a bad credit score.

Driver Type
Foremost
Mercury
Drivers with bad credit$164$96
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Compare coverages: Foremost vs. Mercury

While Mercury offers standard auto insurance options — including liability, collision, medical payments, personal injury protection (PIP), and comprehensive coverages — Foremost focuses on non-standard coverage.

Foremost doesn’t advertise collision or comprehensive insurance but provides bodily injury and property damage coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and medical payments, among other add-on options.

Here’s how these two insurers’ optional coverages compare.

Coverage
Foremost
Mercury
Gap insuranceYesNo
Rideshare insuranceYesYes
Roadside assistanceYesYes
Rental reimbursementYesYes
New vehicle replacement coverageYesNo

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Compare discounts: Foremost vs. Mercury

Foremost and Mercury offer a handful of discounts, including multi-policy, multi-car, and good student discounts. But many of Mercury’s discounts are available only in certain states. It’s a good idea to contact both companies to determine which car insurance discounts are available to you.

Discount
Foremost
Mercury
Clean driving recordYesYes
Defensive driving courseNoNo
Multi-policyYesYes
Multi-carYesYes
Low mileageNoNo
TelematicsNoYes
Anti-theft deviceYesYes
New carNoNo
Military/affiliationNoNo
Good studentYesYes
LoyaltyNoNo
Auto payNoYes
Student away at schoolYesNo
Alternative fuelNoNo

Foremost vs. Mercury FAQs

Still have questions about Foremost’s and Mercury’s coverages and details? Check out the additional information below.

  • What are the main differences between Foremost’s and Mercury’s insurance coverages?

    While Mercury offers standard auto insurance options, including liability, collision, and comprehensive, Foremost is focused on non-standard options. Foremost is available nationwide, but Mercury is available in only 11 states.

  • Is Mercury Insurance a reputable insurance company?

    Yes. Mercury is the 16th-largest private passenger auto liability company, with nearly 1% of the overall market share. Mercury earned above-average customer satisfaction ratings in J.D. Power’s insurance shopping study for midsize insurers and has an A (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best.

  • Is Foremost good at paying claims?

    Foremost has an A (Excellent) AM Best rating, which signals that it’s able to meet its ongoing and future insurance obligations, including paying out claims. And it’s part of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, so it has the backing of an industry giant as well.

Methodology

Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.

Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).

Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:

  • Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
  • Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
  • No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
  • Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
  • Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible

Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.

Sources

  1. NAIC. "2023 Property and Casualty Market Share."
  2. J.D. Power. "2023 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study."
  3. J.D. Power. "2023 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study."
  4. III. "Senior driving safety and insurance tips."
  5. NAIC. "Credit-Based Insurance Scores Aren’t the Same as a Credit Score. Understand How Credit and Other Factors Determine Your Premiums."
Jessica Martel
Jessica Martel

Jessica is a freelance writer, professional researcher, and mother of two rambunctious little boys. She specializes in personal finance, women and money, and financial literacy. Jessica is fascinated by the psychology of money and what drives people to make important financial decisions. She holds a Masters of Science degree in Cognitive Research Psychology.

Courtney Mikulski
Edited byCourtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

Featured in

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