Mercury Insurance Launches MercuryGO for Virginia Drivers

Mercury's usage-based insurance app could save customers up to 40% on auto insurance and comes with a virtual driving coach

LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mercury Insurance announced that the company has made its usage-based insurance app, MercuryGO, available to drivers in Virginia to help improve driving skills and traffic safety. The app acts as a virtual driving coach, providing skill scores that give real-time feedback about driving behavior. Mercury auto insurance policyholders who enroll to use the app immediately receive a 5% participation discount and teen drivers will receive up to a 10% discount. Then, when MercuryGO customers renew their policies, they could receive a discount of up to 40%, depending upon their driving score.

"Mercury Insurance wants to leverage technology to make driving safer, and we also want to reward drivers for being cautious behind the wheel," said Mercury Insurance Director of Product Management Mike Dawdy. "MercuryGO is an intuitive and easy-to-use app that helps you stay safe in the driver's seat and it puts money back in your bank account."

The Virginia Department of Transportation reports there were 967 motor vehicle traffic fatalities and 161 injuries a day on Virginia roadways in 2021. 

The MercuryGO app generates a driving skill score, which is calculated based on categories that are closely correlated with car crashes: excessive speeding, hard braking, distracted driving (i.e., phone motion and screen interaction), and road type.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), Mercury's technology partner, is the world's largest smartphone telematics provider, winning multiple awards. CMT is the pioneer of: usage-based insurance with smartphones (in 2012); the measurement of phone distraction (2013); behavior-based insurance (2014); and real-time crash alerts with roadside assistance (2015). 

"Mercury Insurance is utilizing the DriveWell platform to help drivers reduce distracted driving, speeding, and hard braking by keeping them engaged and providing timely feedback," said Ryan McMahon, CMT's Vice President of Insurance and Government Affairs. "MercuryGO will help make Virginia roads safer and has the potential to reduce the number of car collisions, injuries and fatalities."

CMT's research shows that 37% of all car trips in the U.S. in 2019 involved significant driver phone distraction; between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., that figure rises to 41% of all U.S. car trips. MercuryGO will help solve that problem by using technology that has reduced distracted driving by 29%, speeding by 45%, and hard braking by 17%.

MercuryGO provides useful in-app tips to help users become safer drivers. Added benefits include:

• A sharing option for families, which allows all participating drivers to see who is the safest.
• The ability for parents to receive real-time feedback about their teen's driving behavior, including when, where and how fast they're traveling.
• Licensed teen drivers, 18 years and younger, who are registered for MercuryGO will instantly receive a 10% participation discount on auto insurance.
• The opportunity to earn up to a 40% discount at renewal.

"It's important to remember that driving is a privilege and one that shouldn't be taken lightly," said Dawdy. "Drivers of all skill levels can benefit from the MercuryGO, while also putting money back in their pockets."

Currently, MercuryGO is available to Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas drivers. Visit www.mercuryinsurance.com/GO or contact a local Mercury Insurance agent to enroll.

Tweet the news: MercuryGO is available in Virginia and could save drivers up to a 40% on auto insurance. Visit www.MercuryInsurance.com/GO

Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY) is a multiple-line insurance carrier predominantly offering personal auto, homeowners, renters and commercial insurance through a network of independent agents in Arizona, California, Illinois, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, as well as auto insurance in Florida. Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including business owners and business auto, landlord, home-sharing, ride-hailing and mechanical protection insurance.

Since 1962, Mercury has provided customers with tremendous value for their insurance dollar by pairing ultracompetitive rates with excellent customer service. Mercury has earned "A" ratings from A.M. Best and Fitch, as well as ranking highest in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study^SM and four consecutive "Best Auto Insurance Company" awards from Insure.com. For more information visit www.MercuryInsurance.com or follow the company on Twitter or Facebook.

CMT's mission is to make the world's roads and drivers safer. Since its first product launch in 2012 that pioneered mobile usage-based insurance, CMT has become the world's leading telematics and analytics provider for insurers, rideshares, and fleets. CMT's DriveWell platform uses mobile sensing and behavioral science to measure driving risk and incentivize safer driving, while its Claim Studio reduces the claims cycle time with real-time crash detection, crash reconstruction, and damage assessment using telematics and artificial intelligence. CMT has over 50 active programs with insurers and other partners, improving safety for millions of drivers every day around the world. Started based on research at MIT, CMT is headquartered in Cambridge MA. To learn more, visit www.cmtelematics.com and follow CMT on Twitter @cmtelematics.

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SOURCE Mercury Insurance