Mercury vs. New Jersey Skylands: Which Company is the Best Fit for You?

Quick Facts

• Based on national averages for insurance, Mercury offers significantly more affordable rates than New Jersey Skylands
• Mercury offers cheaper average premiums for policyholders who live in urban areas
• New Jersey Skylands has more affordable prices in NJ

Mercury or New Jersey Skylands: Which Company has the Cheapest Car Insurance?

So, you're considering switching to a new insurance policy. You've probably seen commercials and billboards from companies offering hefty savings, but exactly how much money can you save by switching?

You've maybe even narrowed your search down to Mercury or New Jersey Skylands for your next policy, but which carrier will save you the most?

Looking at the national average rates for both carriers, New Jersey Skylands is quite a bit more expensive than Mercury, with premiums averaging $460 a month compared to just $295 with Mercury.

Even so, Mercury may not be the lowest or best option for every driver out there. Auto insurance companies vary their rates depending on things like how good your credit score is, how clean your driving record is, where you live, how old you are, and a ton of other factors, so premiums will change quite a bit from person to person.

So, if you want to find out which of Mercury or New Jersey Skylands is really the best for you, keep reading to see average prices for each carrier broken down by multiple different rate factors.

Mercury vs. New Jersey Skylands: Average Car Insurance Rates by State

Mercury and New Jersey Skylands only compete against each other in New Jersey, where Mercury offers the cheaper average rates. Mercury drivers tend to pay about $81 per month less on average compared to drivers who use New Jersey Skylands for their car insurance.

But there's more to auto insurance than just the state you live in. As we mentioned above, there's a lot of things that go into how insurance carriers determine your prices. Keep reading to learn more.

Which is the Best Company For Young Drivers?

Young drivers -- especially teens -- generally pay a lot for car insurance compared to older drivers. It's because teen drivers are statistically much more likely to get into accidents since they have less experience on the roads.

But still, even with seemingly sky-high rates, teen drivers can still find ways to save money. As you can see above, teens who use Mercury save almost 25% a month compared to those who use New Jersey Skylands. It's worth noting that Mercury offers insurance in 11 different states compared to New Jersey Skylands's one, which can skew the average premiums a bit, but the difference here is still considerable.

That being said, both companies will offer you dramatically lower prices by the time drivers turn 25. For example, average premiums for Mercury policyholders decrease around $500 and New Jersey Skylands's rates drop about $500 over that time.

Which is the Best Company for Retired Drivers?

Once you approach retirement age, you'll typically enjoy the cheapest auto insurance premiums you'll ever find. You've been on the road for years, and all that experience pays off when it comes to your monthly prices for insurance.

But who has the best rates for retired drivers between Mercury and New Jersey Skylands? Mercury gets the edge, with prices for drivers 65 and older nearly 40% less expensive than the national average for New Jersey Skylands.

Which is the Best Company for Married Drivers?

Married policyholders tend to get slightly cheaper car insurance rates than single policyholders. That's because policies for married drivers normally cover multiple vehicles, which several carriers will give you a discount for.

For single drivers, the difference in average premiums between these two companies is significant, with Mercury prices coming in at a third less than New Jersey Skylands's. The advantage for married couples with Mercury is also obvious, where drivers save almost $150 per month.

Mercury or New Jersey Skylands: Average Rates by Gender

Because women are less likely to get tickets and get into accidents, they have a lower chance of filing a claim with insurance. So, women tend to get cheaper rates than men.

Women usually pay around 5% a month less than men with Mercury, but with New Jersey Skylands, the difference is closer to 2% per month.

Looking at overall affordability, Mercury comes out as the lowest option for both genders. On average, women save about $169 a month and men save about $162 with Mercury compared to the average New Jersey Skylands policyholder.

Mercury vs. New Jersey Skylands: Compare State Minimum vs. Full Coverage Rates

*State minimum value indicates liability-only policies at each state's minimum bodily injury and property damage (BI/PD) limits

**Full coverage indicates state minimum BI/PD limits with collision and comprehensive coverages added to policy.

Auto insurance isn't the easiest topic to understand. Everyone needs insurance, but there are so many different coverages and limits that it can be hard to find the right policy for you.

The two most common policies end up falling into two different types of coverage -- liability coverage (which covers the other party's property damage and injuries if you cause a collision) and full coverage (which includes collision and comprehensive coverages that protect your own car, alongside what you get with a liability policy).

Looking specifically at state minimum limits for liability insurance, Mercury has the significant edge, with average monthly rates coming in at $184. If you want a full coverage policy with the same state minimum limits, Mercury again has the edge, with policies averaging around $406 per month to New Jersey Skylands's $624.

Is Mercury or New Jersey Skylands Better for Drivers with Spotty Records?

It's no secret -- drivers with good records end up getting the best deals on their car insurance. But that's not to say you can't save money if you don't have the best driving record, either.

You'll probably end up paying more with speeding tickets and at-fault collisions on your record, but which of these two carriers offers the most affordable premiums to drivers with less-than-ideal driving records?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Speeding Tickets?

Policyholders who use Mercury for their auto insurance can generally expect their monthly bill to go up about 19% after getting a speeding ticket. New Jersey Skylands policyholders can expect a less drastic increase of around 17%.

But Mercury has less expensive rates for drivers in both categories -- their rates are around 26% cheaper for drivers with clean records and 24% more affordable for those with a ticket.

Which Company is Best for Drivers After an Accident?

After an accident, drivers who have their insurance through Mercury can expect to see about an $109 -- or around 32% -- rise in their auto insurance prices. Drivers who use New Jersey Skylands for their car insurance will see a monthly bill about $67 (or 17%) more expensive after reporting an accident to their auto insurance company.

At the end of the day, Mercury offers the cheapest premiums for drivers with an at-fault collision on their records, with average rates coming in at $346 compared to New Jersey Skylands Insurance's $387.

Which Company is Best for Drivers with a DUI?

On average, a DUI offense is going to cost you much more than a single accident or ticket when it comes to your insurance bill. On average, New Jersey Skylands will climb your premiums around 57% after a DUI, while Mercury's average prices rise by more than 20%.

Mercury has the overall most affordable rates for drivers with a DUI on their records at $303 per month, but it's worth noting that Mercury's average rates come from 11 states compared to just one for New Jersey Skylands, so the data may be skewed slightly.

How does Credit Score Impact Mercury and New Jersey Skylands Rates?

In many cases, your credit score can be used as one of the variables to calculate your monthly car insurance prices. This isn't true for everyone (Hawaii, for example, has banned the use of credit score as a car insurance factor) but it will come into play for many drivers.

Insurance companies argue that someone with good credit is more likely to pay their bills on time, which makes them less risky to insure. Because of that, policyholders with good credit will often be rewarded with less expensive premiums.

Looking specifically at Mercury and New Jersey Skylands, which company has the best prices for drivers at different credit levels?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Good Credit?

If you have a solid credit score, Mercury will normally reward you the most. For policyholders with "excellent" credit scores, Mercury comes in over 35.36 cheaper. Drivers with "good" credit scores usually save about 33% with Mercury compared to average rates from New Jersey Skylands.

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Bad Credit?

Mercury typically offers lower premiums than New Jersey Skylands when it comes to drivers with a below average credit score. Drivers with "fair" credit pay around 35% a month less with Mercury compared to New Jersey Skylands, and those with "poor" scores typically save an average of about 36% a month.

Is Mercury or New Jersey Skylands Better for Drivers who Work from Home or Have Short Commutes?

How much you drive can have a pretty big impact on your monthly prices. That's because the fewer miles you put on your vehicle each year, the less likely you are to be in a collision and file an insurance claim.

In this case, neither Mercury or New Jersey Skylands report increasing rates for drivers with higher annual mileage figures. Even so, Mercury comes out as the cheapest for drivers at both intervals, whether they put 6,000 or 12,000 miles on their car yearly, with average premiums of $295 per month for both.

Mercury or New Jersey Skylands: Compare Rates for Urban, Suburban, and Rural Drivers

Where your home is can have a sizable impact on your monthly car insurance bill. Usually, those who live in rural areas will pay less than drivers in urban areas because of the small number of vehicles that are on the roads where they live.

Mercury tends to offer the most affordable rates for drivers in every type of area, no matter if it's urban, suburban, or rural.

Those in rural areas can expect to pay around $209 monthly with Mercury and $355 with New Jersey Skylands. Drivers in suburban ZIP codes pay about $275 with Mercury compared to New Jersey Skylands's $471 per month. For drivers in urban ZIP codes, Mercury's average premiums are around $401 while New Jersey Skylands offers prices about $555.

Mercury vs. New Jersey Skylands Discounts

You want to save as much money as you can, right? The best way to do that is by utilizing as many auto insurance discounts as possible.

But with what seems like a million different discounts out there, it can be difficult to find all the ones you can take advantage of or to nail down the company that has the most discounts for your unique driver profile.

Luckily, we did the hard work for you and broke down all of the different discounts offered by both Mercury and New Jersey Skylands so that you can easily see which company offers the most discounts and see which ones you might be able to take advantage of.

Mercury blows New Jersey Skylands away when it comes to the sheer amount of discounts available, offering 27 different discounts to New Jersey Skylands's 18.

A couple of those are overlapping for things like anti-theft discounts, distant student discounts, discounts for being a good driver, and discounts for being a homeowner. Mercury also offers discounts for ABS, continuous insurance, COVID-19 relief, and more.

On the other hand, New Jersey Skylands has a few proprietary discounts of their own for things like company car discounts, education discounts, ESC discounts, and more.

Final Thoughts: Is Mercury or New Jersey Skylands Best for You?

You've seen the role certain factors have on your insurance and the different discounts carriers offer. That's all well and good, but when it comes down to it, which insurance carrier is the best carrier for you and your specific driver profile?

Mercury might be best for you if....

• You have a clean driving record, free of accidents, tickets, or DUIs.
• You have above-average credit.
• You live in a rural neighborhood.

New Jersey Skylands might be best for you if...

• You like the personalized touch of a small, local company.

Hopefully, this guide has ben a valuable resource as you compare Mercury and New Jersey Skylands. We also hope we've given you the information you need to make the best decision about your auto insurance.

At the end of the day, the sure-fire way to make sure you're getting the best deal on your car insurance policy is to compare quotes from a handful of companies, not just Mercury and New Jersey Skylands. Luckily, sites like Compare.com make it easy for you to do just that. Just enter your ZIP code below and get free quotes from dozens of the top auto insurance carriers in your area, all in just a few minutes.

Mercury vs. New Jersey Skylands FAQs

Is Mercury or New Jersey Skylands cheaper?

Mercury is the more affordable of the two companies when looking at national average rates, with policies averaging $295 a month with Mercury and $460 for New Jersey Skylands. However, that doesn't mean Mercury will be the cheapest carrier for every policyholder, since there are many different variables (things like driving record, age, gender, etc.) that play a role in how much you pay.

Who is better, Mercury or New Jersey Skylands?

Sadly, the only answer we can give you is "it depends.". No single company is "better" for everyone -- it all depends on the makeup of your unique insurance profile.

Why do Mercury and New Jersey Skylands offer me different rates?

Car insurance carriers use lots of different factors when determining the prices they charge. Variables such as where you call home, age, where you park your car, gender, and sometimes even things like your credit score can all be taken into consideration. Both Mercury and New Jersey Skylands calculate rates using different factors, so it's likely they'll offer different premiums. The best way to determine which carrier is the lowest for you is by comparing personalized quotes from a range of different companies.

How do I know if Mercury or New Jersey Skylands is right for me?

The only way to find the insurance company that's right for you is by getting quotes from several carriers and finding the one best suited for your individual budget. Luckily, sites like Compare.com do all the hard work for you. Just enter your area information and you'll get quotes from dozens of your local top car insurance companies for free. With those, you can guarantee you're getting the cheapest rate. And maybe you'll find that the best carrier for you isn't Mercury or New Jersey Skylands at all, but another you hadn't even thought of!

Methodology

All of the data referenced in this article has been gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. We analyzed more than 2.5 million rows of carrier-reported data to calculate the average rates referenced above. All rates are based on an insurance profile of a single-vehicle policy for a driver that owns a 2016 Honda Accord. For more information on how we calculate rates, please reference our data methodology.