Mercury Insurance said that it will cut its auto insurance rates by up to 10 percent for California policyholders after state officials approved the reduction request.

The Los Angeles company said Thursday that its California customers should save an average of about $36 per vehicle, a total $72 million overall in the state. Mercury insures nearly 2 million vehicles in California.

The rates will go into effect for policies that start or are renewed after Dec. 15. The company also announced a special discount for college graduates who are members of alumni associations.

“Mercury’s already low rates are now even lower, and we’ve added some great benefits to bring even more value to our California customers,” Chief Product Officer Robert Houlihan said in a statement. “These savings will help families stretch their hard earned dollars as the nation’s economy moves toward recovery.”

The Santa Monica advocacy group Consumer Watchdog said Mercury was responding to consumer outrage over earlier plans to hike rates, which were rejected by regulators. “Mercury is lowering rates today only because regulators blocked the insurance company from gouging customers as it originally planned,” Executive Director Doug Heller said.