George Joseph, who founded Mercury General Corp. nearly 65 years ago, has died at age 104, the company announced this week.
Joseph served as chairman from the company’s founding and led Mercury as CEO for 45 years, ending his time at the helm in 2006. After stepping down as CEO, he remained the company’s as executive chairman.
During his time as CEO, Mercury grew from a small California insurer with six employees and 90 agents into a large writer of private passenger automobile insurance. The company completed a public offering in 1985, and expanded beyond California beginning in 1989. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996. The company’s written premiums broke the $3 billion mark in 2006.
Joseph was recognized during his career for his contributions, including being named “Company Person of the Year” by the Professional Insurance Agents Association in 1987.
Joseph was also known for his efforts to change Proposition 33, California’s insurance law, which many carriers have blamed for forcing them to use outdated catastrophe models and for keeping them from raising rates to better reflect the state’s growing wildfire risk.
In 2010 and 2012, he backed two insurance persistency initiatives to change the law, in an effort he said would be good for consumers and create healthy competition among insurers. Both initiatives were defeated, though he personally sunk more than $16 million into backing them.
In the past year, efforts to make changes to Prop. 103 have met with more success. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the California Department of Insurance have been trying to revamp the state’s intervenor process, in which groups or people are paid for intervening in rate hearings. That is one of several changes being made to the law to address a growing homeowners insurance crisis in California.
Joseph was raised in Beckley, West Virginia, the son of Lebanese immigrants. During World War II, he served as a B-17 navigator and flew 50 missions. He later attended Harvard College on the GI Bill and graduated in 1949 with a degree in math and physics.
Mercury’s board of directors appointed Gabriel Tirador as chairman of the board, effective immediately. He will continue to serve as CEO.
Joseph’s son, Victor Joseph, 39, has served as Mercury’s president and chief operating officer since 2024. Joseph’s wife, Vicky Joseph, assumed ownership of his Mercury General stock. She was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2021.
Joseph is survived by his wife, five children and 10 grandchildren.