About Root Car Insurance
Root insurance was founded in 2015 and uses mobile technology to track driving habits and price policies accordingly. The idea is that better drivers should pay less for car insurance. Root’s “Drop the Score” initiative pledges that the company will stop using credit scores as a pricing factor by 2025.
Root Car Insurance
While Root may not be a traditional insurer, it offers the same coverage types you’d find at traditional car insurance companies.
Liability Car Insurance
Property damage and bodily injury liability auto insurance pays for damage and injuries to others if you’re at fault for an auto accident. Liability insurance also pays for judgments, court settlements and your lawyer fees.
Comprehensive Insurance
Comprehensive insurance theft and damage from vandalism, fire, floods, hail, falling objects or animal collisions. It’s not required by states but if you have a lease or loan, your lender or leasing company will require it along with collision coverage.
Collision Insurance
Collision insurance pays to repair or replace your car if you hit something, like a guardrail or pole, regardless of fault. Collision coverage pays out the actual cash value of your vehicle if it’s declared a total loss, minus your deductible. Collision and comprehensive coverage are both optional.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Insurance
Uninsured motorist coverage pays for medical expenses if you or your passengers are injured in an accident caused by a driver who is uninsured or doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your bills. Uninsured motorist coverage is required in 22 states, and normally match your liability limits.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Pays for medical expenses as well as lost wages and replacement services, such as house cleaning if you can no longer perform the task. Personal injury protection (PIP) is required in 15 states.
Medical Payments Insurance (MedPay)
Medical payments insurance (MedPay) covers medical expenses for injuries to you and your passengers resulting from a car accident, regardless of fault. It’s required in some states and optional in others.
Other Types of Car Insurance From Root
You can add these additional coverage types to your Root car insurance policy:
- Rental reimbursement insurance from Root covers your rental vehicle if your car is in the shop due to a problem covered by your policy (such as a fire). This coverage also reimburses you for Lyft rides.
- Roadside assistance insurance from Root covers the vehicles on your policy for expenses like tow trucks, jump start and locksmith. You’ll be covered for up to three incidents per vehicle per six-month policy term, up to $100 per incident.
Cost of Root Car Insurance
Car insurance rates will vary depending on your driving record and other factors. Here’s a comparison at Root car insurance costs in Arizona.
Root Car Insurance Cost for Good Drivers in Arizona
Drivers who avoid accidents and traffic violations in Arizona can find cheap car insurance rates with Root. If you’re looking for a more traditional type of policy, get quotes from Geico and Progressive.
| Company | Average annual cost in Arizona |
|---|---|
|
Root
|
$876
|
|
$1,372
|
|
|
$1,395
|
|
|
$1,661
|
|
|
$2,986
|
Root Car Insurance Cost for Drivers With a Speeding Ticket in Arizona
A speeding ticket in Arizona is going to result in an increase in car insurance costs. Root may be your best option, but also consider getting a quote from Geico.
| Company | Average annual cost in Arizona |
|---|---|
|
Root
|
$1,047
|
|
$1,469
|
|
|
$1,788
|
|
|
$1,897
|
|
|
$3,254
|
Root Car Insurance Cost for Drivers Who Caused an Accident With an Injury
If you’re at fault for an accident that results in injuries to others, you can expect your car insurance rates to go up. Root is hundreds of dollars cheaper compared to top competitors.
| Company | Average annual cost in Arizona |
|---|---|
|
Root
|
$1,104
|
|
$2,076
|
|
|
$2,197
|
|
|
$2,236
|
|
|
$3,709
|
Root Car Insurance Cost for Drivers With Poor Credit
Poor credit can often result in higher car insurance costs. Root car insurance is much cheaper compared to top competitors.
| Company | Average annual cost in Arizona |
|---|---|
|
Root
|
$1,116
|
|
$1,818
|
|
|
$2,400
|
|
|
$3,928
|
|
|
$7,960
|
Comparison of Auto Insurance Complaints
Root’s level of complaints is more than twice the industry average. Car insurance complaints tend to be about claim denials, unsatisfactory settlements and delays.
Root Car Insurance Grade from Collision Repair Professionals: C
In a survey of collision repair experts by CRASH Network, Root Insurance earned a C grade.
The opinions of auto body experts are valuable because they see how insurers compare in terms of using lower-quality repair parts, whether they encourage the use of repair procedures recommended by car manufacturers, and whether insurers have claims processes that lead to fast and satisfactory claims for policyholders.
Root Car Insurance Discounts
Root Insurance doesn’t take the traditional approach of offering “driver initiated” discounts that you may have to ask for at other insurance companies, such as good driving discounts, good student discounts and vehicle-specific discounts (like having seatbelts, airbags and anti-theft devices).
Instead, Root Insurance says its discounts are built into a car insurance quote. Since Root’s rates are based on measuring actual driving, the company says good drivers can save up to $900 per year.
Root Car Insurance App
Root uses a smartphone app to track customers’ driving behaviors. The app can track your car’s location, speed and mileage. Root’s app also monitors the following safe driving factors:
- Braking: Frequent braking suggests you might not be focused on the road or you are driving too closely to the car in front of you.
- Turning: Root’s app gives you a better score for “gentle” turning, meaning you turn safely by slowing down and ease into and out of your turns.
- Time of driving: Root tracks when you drive, including times when it is more dangerous to be on the road, such as late at night on the weekends.
- Attention to driving: Root tracks whether you have “focused driving” and are avoiding distracted driving behaviors, like texts on your phone.
How Root Car Insurance Works
Once you install the Root app, it evaluates your driving, based on the metrics above, over the course of about three weeks in what Root calls a “test drive.” The company then lets you know if you qualify for coverage and, if so, gives you a quote.
If you do poorly on the test drive, Root likely won’t offer you coverage. If you don’t score well enough to buy Root insurance, you can’t retake the driver test.
Root sells six-month policies, which you manage and pay for through the app.
The company says that driving gets more weight than any other single factor when pricing a policy, but it does take into account some non-driving variables. Root factors in where you live, your credit, your driving record, marital status, type of vehicle you have, your age and if you had prior insurance coverage.
Root is not available in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, District of Columbia, Idaho, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming and Vermont.
Methodology
Average rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver with a clean record insuring a new Toyota RAV4 with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability (known as 100/300/100), uninsured motorist coverage and any other coverage required in the state. Rates also include collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible. Source: Quadrant Information Services.
