Mercury has low rates, but is a LARGE E&O potential for any agent that sells their bare bones policy. If you’d put yourself in their limited coverage policy, then you don’t understatnd that all auto insurance policies are NOT equal, and, certainly Mercury’s is not on par with 95% of the admitted carriers in california
I would agree if you are talking about the Standard HO-3, and I doubt anyone is still selling it. We converted all ours to the Superior plan years ago. They’ve also announced a major rate reduction in HO lines in August. Keep in mind they haven’t been in HO lines that long…they started very conservatively.
Mercury dropped the 15/30/10 limit on permissive users on auto back in April…but personally I always liked it. It was just used against them by competitors…who were probably tired of picking up the excess losses.
I’m a 37 year Mercury agt. and handle all their claims complaints myself. I average 1 a quarter.
Any Mercury agent will tell you that their Claims Dept. is waking up to the new reality of speed of service and friendliness with clients.
It does take a while to turn a corporate ship…but if you know of a more agency oriented carrier with only one means of product distribution…us…let me know.
Kudos to adjusters. It seems that the blasted company officers are the ones that view them as a drain on assets. Hope $agent$ enjoys those tires. I’ll think of you while I drive home in my Yugo. You are certainly in the minority about Mercury.
Having represented multiple carriers, including Mercury, I can tell you that there are much better companies when you look not only at claims but the whole picture. I used to think that MIC was the best until I started representing Travelers, Kemper and Safeco and when you speak to these agents they all have the same opinion of Mercury. Yuck…the dump their garbage on MIC and put their better clients with the true preferred markets who offer a better contingency program(not a 3 year rolling average sham), a quality service center and a claim handeling department that has brought me complements. I am sometimes concerned in how quickly they handle these claims but they are much more concerned about reputation than a few extra bucks being paid out. If you as a Mercury agent have not represented Travelers, Hartford, Kemper, Allied, Travelers or Safeco, than you DONT KNOW what it is to be truely pleased with who you represent. Mercury has become the “punching bag” for the DOI. Why does MIC still require all that paper to be sent in on each app? Do they realize that their competition allows their trusted agents to keep all the docs in the file and they dont have to mail anything in but the check? George Joseph either does not trust his agents or he is slow to learn what his competition is doing. Go ahead and lower your rates again George. Your agents love to earn LESS as you scramble to show premium growth. We got your number Joey and doin quite fine without you. Excuse me. I need to go deposit my sweet contingency and premium growth check with Travelers…
Read some of the later posts since they reflect a much larger feeling. I applaud your efforts & volume (please, don’t tell me your commission rate) and if it works for you, so much the better. Mercury does seem to changing for the better, but it will take time to convince most of us.
Mercury is terrible here. You know what agents use them for here? To write the customers they know will file claims. Mercury gets the cream of the crap in Texas because they’re the most annoying company for an agent to deal with. Their underwriting is overkill, and they’re high maintenance hell. I once had to have a customer sign a driver exclusion for their 3 YEAR OLD SON. I don’t have time for stuff like that in my agency.
Love all the comments from the “agents” on this “Claims Journal” website. As with anything – you get what you pay for. Most insurance companies that I have had experience with (including my own) have the mindset that claims adjusters are at best a necessary evil and are treated as such. Most of us are extremely overworked, little appreciated and have few opportunities for advancement either professionally or financially. Underwriters take on questionable risks, Agents write everything and anything with the hope that something will be accepted so they can collect more commission, but when the loss ratio’s go south, where does the axe fall the hardest – the claims dept.
Tell me Mr Agent – is it true that the harder you work the more you can expect to be rewarded (commissions)? Do you understand the reality of claims adjusting is the harder you work the more work you get – with little to no reward for doing an excellent job except the rare condecending pat on the back from some agent for saving his renewal commission, and if you are lucky a yearly “raise” that is typically less then the cost of inflation.
Bonus’, incentive programs/rewards for “quality claims handling” simply do not exist anymore except at the very top which is usually staffed by marketers who do not like to share wealth or power. Despite all that, the vast majority of adjusters take great pride in doing a thankless job well, and look forward to the day when we no longer have to put up with arrogant agents, hostile plaintiff atty’s and threats on our lives by claimants.
Mercury Insurance may be a excellent or they may be bad – I don’t know anything about them. But to sit back and comment about how well adjusters are or are not doing a good job without walking a mile in their shoes is simply another example of Marketing’s arrogance and greed.
Interesting comments, Demos. Some out of frustration and some well-founded.
But let me ask you a question; have you ever walked a mile in an agent’s shoes? Found out how hard it is to find, propose, get and keep a client only to lose them because of poor claims handling?
If not, then don’t be too swift to blame the marketing department.
Remember, NOTHING happens until someone sells something.
Now, for you and your kind (claims adjusters) to be treated poorly and be unappreciated is just plain wrong. Your services are what agents sell (and why carriers are in business).
Yours may be the most important job on the company side. Often, you are the only member of the insurance company clients ever see; making you “the company.”
Adjusters are no longer trained or cared for as well as they were in days past. As you said, treated as a necessary evil.
The fact seems to be that no one on the company side is afforded the necessary education, training and respect necessary and deserved and are rather treated as a commodity.
The carriers need the agents; agents need the carriers; and both need good underwriters, claims and loss control personnel.
Although its true that “nothing happens until something is sold” – it’s also true that you have nothing to seel without the “service” proivded by the claims dept – correct? I understand it is difficult to find and keep clients, but agents have significant rewards to do just that – not true for adjusters. Just ask any one of them on the front lines. Ask yourself, when was the last time you called an adjuster directly to compliment them on their hard work instead of calling an Insurance Co contact (ususally their Marketing Dept). Bad news and sh** roll down hill fast and we will hear about it immediately – doesn’t seem to work the other way when good news comes in. Again, just ask any adjuster on the job for a while.
Enough venting – we need each other, but I for one am very tired of being blamed for all the bad things that happen as well as being treated like dirt by Agents.
Glad the venting is over. Now, to be fair, I always thanked my adjusters.
Not all claims are covered and when they are not, I expected them to be denied. But when there was the possibility of coverage or enough gray area I took the adjuster to task not to take te easy way out. But it was not a yelling match, just prove to me you looked for ways to cover the claim – if there is no reasonable way to find coverage, I’m fine with that.
Either way, the adjuster and I ended the conversation on the same page – no unkind words, no animosity; we’ll be working together again some day.
I’ve always believed everyone is due the respect I want; if I don’t give it, I don’t deserve it. Sounds like you’ve been steped on by those who don’t practice that and think they are above the need to respect others.
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Mercury has low rates, but is a LARGE E&O potential for any agent that sells their bare bones policy. If you’d put yourself in their limited coverage policy, then you don’t understatnd that all auto insurance policies are NOT equal, and, certainly Mercury’s is not on par with 95% of the admitted carriers in california
I would agree if you are talking about the Standard HO-3, and I doubt anyone is still selling it. We converted all ours to the Superior plan years ago. They’ve also announced a major rate reduction in HO lines in August. Keep in mind they haven’t been in HO lines that long…they started very conservatively.
Mercury dropped the 15/30/10 limit on permissive users on auto back in April…but personally I always liked it. It was just used against them by competitors…who were probably tired of picking up the excess losses.
I’m a 37 year Mercury agt. and handle all their claims complaints myself. I average 1 a quarter.
Any Mercury agent will tell you that their Claims Dept. is waking up to the new reality of speed of service and friendliness with clients.
It does take a while to turn a corporate ship…but if you know of a more agency oriented carrier with only one means of product distribution…us…let me know.
Kudos to adjusters. It seems that the blasted company officers are the ones that view them as a drain on assets. Hope $agent$ enjoys those tires. I’ll think of you while I drive home in my Yugo. You are certainly in the minority about Mercury.
Having represented multiple carriers, including Mercury, I can tell you that there are much better companies when you look not only at claims but the whole picture. I used to think that MIC was the best until I started representing Travelers, Kemper and Safeco and when you speak to these agents they all have the same opinion of Mercury. Yuck…the dump their garbage on MIC and put their better clients with the true preferred markets who offer a better contingency program(not a 3 year rolling average sham), a quality service center and a claim handeling department that has brought me complements. I am sometimes concerned in how quickly they handle these claims but they are much more concerned about reputation than a few extra bucks being paid out. If you as a Mercury agent have not represented Travelers, Hartford, Kemper, Allied, Travelers or Safeco, than you DONT KNOW what it is to be truely pleased with who you represent. Mercury has become the “punching bag” for the DOI. Why does MIC still require all that paper to be sent in on each app? Do they realize that their competition allows their trusted agents to keep all the docs in the file and they dont have to mail anything in but the check? George Joseph either does not trust his agents or he is slow to learn what his competition is doing. Go ahead and lower your rates again George. Your agents love to earn LESS as you scramble to show premium growth. We got your number Joey and doin quite fine without you. Excuse me. I need to go deposit my sweet contingency and premium growth check with Travelers…
Read some of the later posts since they reflect a much larger feeling. I applaud your efforts & volume (please, don’t tell me your commission rate) and if it works for you, so much the better. Mercury does seem to changing for the better, but it will take time to convince most of us.
Mercury is terrible here. You know what agents use them for here? To write the customers they know will file claims. Mercury gets the cream of the crap in Texas because they’re the most annoying company for an agent to deal with. Their underwriting is overkill, and they’re high maintenance hell. I once had to have a customer sign a driver exclusion for their 3 YEAR OLD SON. I don’t have time for stuff like that in my agency.
Love all the comments from the “agents” on this “Claims Journal” website. As with anything – you get what you pay for. Most insurance companies that I have had experience with (including my own) have the mindset that claims adjusters are at best a necessary evil and are treated as such. Most of us are extremely overworked, little appreciated and have few opportunities for advancement either professionally or financially. Underwriters take on questionable risks, Agents write everything and anything with the hope that something will be accepted so they can collect more commission, but when the loss ratio’s go south, where does the axe fall the hardest – the claims dept.
Tell me Mr Agent – is it true that the harder you work the more you can expect to be rewarded (commissions)? Do you understand the reality of claims adjusting is the harder you work the more work you get – with little to no reward for doing an excellent job except the rare condecending pat on the back from some agent for saving his renewal commission, and if you are lucky a yearly “raise” that is typically less then the cost of inflation.
Bonus’, incentive programs/rewards for “quality claims handling” simply do not exist anymore except at the very top which is usually staffed by marketers who do not like to share wealth or power. Despite all that, the vast majority of adjusters take great pride in doing a thankless job well, and look forward to the day when we no longer have to put up with arrogant agents, hostile plaintiff atty’s and threats on our lives by claimants.
Mercury Insurance may be a excellent or they may be bad – I don’t know anything about them. But to sit back and comment about how well adjusters are or are not doing a good job without walking a mile in their shoes is simply another example of Marketing’s arrogance and greed.
Interesting comments, Demos. Some out of frustration and some well-founded.
But let me ask you a question; have you ever walked a mile in an agent’s shoes? Found out how hard it is to find, propose, get and keep a client only to lose them because of poor claims handling?
If not, then don’t be too swift to blame the marketing department.
Remember, NOTHING happens until someone sells something.
Now, for you and your kind (claims adjusters) to be treated poorly and be unappreciated is just plain wrong. Your services are what agents sell (and why carriers are in business).
Yours may be the most important job on the company side. Often, you are the only member of the insurance company clients ever see; making you “the company.”
Adjusters are no longer trained or cared for as well as they were in days past. As you said, treated as a necessary evil.
The fact seems to be that no one on the company side is afforded the necessary education, training and respect necessary and deserved and are rather treated as a commodity.
The carriers need the agents; agents need the carriers; and both need good underwriters, claims and loss control personnel.
Although its true that “nothing happens until something is sold” – it’s also true that you have nothing to seel without the “service” proivded by the claims dept – correct? I understand it is difficult to find and keep clients, but agents have significant rewards to do just that – not true for adjusters. Just ask any one of them on the front lines. Ask yourself, when was the last time you called an adjuster directly to compliment them on their hard work instead of calling an Insurance Co contact (ususally their Marketing Dept). Bad news and sh** roll down hill fast and we will hear about it immediately – doesn’t seem to work the other way when good news comes in. Again, just ask any adjuster on the job for a while.
Enough venting – we need each other, but I for one am very tired of being blamed for all the bad things that happen as well as being treated like dirt by Agents.
Demos,
Glad the venting is over. Now, to be fair, I always thanked my adjusters.
Not all claims are covered and when they are not, I expected them to be denied. But when there was the possibility of coverage or enough gray area I took the adjuster to task not to take te easy way out. But it was not a yelling match, just prove to me you looked for ways to cover the claim – if there is no reasonable way to find coverage, I’m fine with that.
Either way, the adjuster and I ended the conversation on the same page – no unkind words, no animosity; we’ll be working together again some day.
I’ve always believed everyone is due the respect I want; if I don’t give it, I don’t deserve it. Sounds like you’ve been steped on by those who don’t practice that and think they are above the need to respect others.