Farmers Insurance vs Mercury Insurance

Verdict

In California these are the second- and third-largest homeowners groups: Farmers with 14.30% of 2025 premiums and Mercury with 6.85%, according to NAIC data. Beyond California they are very different in scale. Farmers ranked #5 nationally ($10.31 billion) and operates in all 50 states, mainly in the West; Mercury ranked #18 ($1.67 billion) and sells homeowners in 10: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. Farmers-branded home policies were discontinued in Florida in 2023, and Mercury does not write homeowners there.

They are built differently. Farmers is three policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges managed by Farmers Group, Inc., a Zurich subsidiary, and sells mainly through exclusive Farmers agents. Mercury is NYSE-listed (MCY) and sells through about 8,510 independent agents, its own AIS and PoliSeek agencies and online quotes routed to agents, so an independent agent can show you Mercury beside other carriers.

Both took part in California's Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which allows catastrophe models in rates in exchange for writing more in wildfire-distressed areas. Mercury's filing, approved in December 2025, added 6.9% overall from July 2026, with a commitment of more than 6,000 new policies over two years. Farmers removed its monthly cap on new California homeowners policies on November 21, 2025, and a plan approved in May 2026 added an average 1.5% from September 15, 2026, with a 22% home-and-auto discount and a pledge to market to at least 300,000 policyholders in wildfire-distressed areas.

On coverage, Farmers offers guaranteed replacement cost, which pays the full rebuild cost even above the dwelling limit where available, plus matching and residence glass. Mercury offers extended replacement cost of up to 150% of the dwelling limit, a set cap. Ratings also differ: Farmers carries AM Best A (Excellent) with a stable outlook, affirmed August 2025; Mercury carries AM Best A (Excellent) with a negative outlook since February 2025 and Moody's A3 (negative). Neither profile spells out roof settlement terms.

Choose Farmers if

• You want an exclusive agent and are comfortable that the agent cannot quote other carriers.
• Guaranteed replacement cost, matching of undamaged property and glass coverage are priorities, and you will confirm availability on your quote.
• You live in the Mountain West, Northwest or another state where Mercury does not write homes; Farmers was a top-10 homeowners group in 38 states in 2025.
• You will take advantage of a large home-and-auto discount (22% in California from September 2026).

Choose Mercury if

• You want an independent agent who can compare Mercury with other carriers.
• You are in California, Texas or another of its 10 states and want a home, auto and umbrella package, with extended replacement cost, scheduled property, service line, equipment breakdown or home cyber add-ons.
• You can accept wildfire-driven pricing: the San Francisco Chronicle reported individual changes under Mercury's filing from a 10% cut to a 60% increase.

Key differences

Before you decide

Get quotes for the same Coverage A, deductibles and endorsements from both, and ask each whether it is writing new business at your address. Ask Farmers whether guaranteed replacement cost is available for your home and what it requires, and ask Mercury for its extended replacement cost wording. California's Sustainable Insurance Strategy explains the filings both made, captive agents, independent agents and direct insurers covers the sales models, extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage explains the two replacement-cost options, and how to compare homeowners insurance quotes shows how to line the quotes up.