Mulitple-line insurer Mercury Insurance has been named one of “America’s Most Trustworthy Companies” by Forbes.com.

The insurer, with independent agents and brokers in states including New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, is one of only 10 companies to appear on the list three years in a row and received one of the highest scores awarded, according to the company.

The annual list, developed by Audit Integrity, ranks the nation’s top 100 companies that have consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management, according to company officials. The list is compiled by scanning more than 8,000 companies traded on U.S. exchanges with market caps of $200 million or more.

Other insurance companies making the 2009 list were property-casualty insurers Loews, headquartered in New York; California-based Zenith National Insurance; Safety Insurance Group of Massachusetts; and United Fire and Casualty, headquartered in Iowa. Life insurer American National Insurance also made the list.

Gabriel Tirador, president and CEO of Mercury General Corp., said the company “has always worked very hard to earn the trust of our customers and the investment community.”

“We are very proud that these efforts have been recognized, and that Mercury has once again been named as one of America’s most trustworthy companies,” he said in a statement.

Mercury offers predominantly personal automobile and homeowners insurance through independent agents and brokers in 13 states.