We are going to call this a cautionary tale.

I don't like negativity.

I especially don't like spreading negativity. There's enough crap slinging in the world without my adding to it.

However.

If you are insured by Mercury Car Insurance, I highly recommend researching them with a fine toothed comb and then decide if they are the right company for you. If you love them, that's great!

Over two years ago, I was rear-ended by someone at a stoplight. I was sitting at the red light and the guy just kablammed into the back of me without putting on his brakes. This guy was insured by Mercury. He and the company acknowledged it was his fault for the wreck. (Ummm, yeah. CLEARLY.)

Since it was a Saturday afternoon, I didn't have the option of just calling my chiropractor or going to urgent care or whatever so I had to go to the ER.

I bounced back from delicious whiplash pretty fast. I even ended chiropractor sessions something like six weeks early. I didn't want to be one of those wreck crazy people who milk the system. I was fine and called it a day. Or so I thought.

The second it came down to reimbursing me for a VERY small amount of (less than 5k) doctor bills, Mercury clammed up and wasn't having it. Although they recognized their client was at fault, they refused to pay the bills. They even went so far as to tell me I had no right going to the ER on a Saturday afternoon.

No right to go to the ER...

Someone I know is an amazing lawyer. He offered to help me get things sorted out.

Over 2 years later, we finally arrived at a settlement. The settlement pretty much hosed everyone involved, and it just barely covered out of pocket medical bills.

If you're a Californian, remember Prop 33 in the most recent election??

Here's some research I discovered:

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mercury-hikes-auto-insurance-rates-california-63-million-192600135.html)
Prop 33 is just the latest in a long history of Mercury's broken promises to California consumers and illegal practices that illustrate to voters why Mercury Insurance can't be trusted. The company's checkered history includes:

A recent California Department of Insurance enforcement action against the company, in which the Department stated that: "Mercury has a deserved reputation for abusing its customers and intentionally violating the law with arrogance and indifference."

Internal reports prepared by California Department of Insurance investigators that show that Mercury used a variety of internal company rules – many unwritten – to overcharge or refuse to sell insurance to many Californians it deemed "unacceptable," including Americans serving in the military, small businesspeople, unmarried people living together, people with diabetes, and the unemployed.

Years during which Mercury illegally surcharged hundreds of thousands of drivers for a lack of prior insurance coverage, until the insurer was ordered by a court to stop in 2005. These illegal surcharges are the same price increases Joseph is trying to enact with Prop 33.

An internal training manual produced in a civil trial that reveals how Mercury Insurance trained employees to mistreat, neglect and even threaten customers who file claims.Allowing its insurance agents to charge illegal broker fees to unsuspecting customers until Mercury was forced to stop by a California court.
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It is companies like this that are in charge and making a ton of money bending people over. When the hell are we going to stand up and say I HAVE HAD ENOUGH?????

I am only one chick with one voice. But together, we can be SEVERAL voices and revolt against those who try to victimize our fellow humans with money.

Peace

Michelle Tomlinson

http://www.michelletomlinson.net