What Is Root Car Insurance?

Root Car Insurance is a car insurance company that offers car insurance rates primarily based on how a customer drives. At Root, good drivers pay less for insurance. Driving behavior is the number one factor in your auto insurance rate at Root. And the Root app uses mobile technology to measure a customer's driving habits. And if you complete the test drive with flying colors, you'll be offered a low auto insurance rate. According to Root, customers save up to $900 a year using Root auto insurance.

Root Insurance Quote

At Root, you can get started with a car insurance quote in less than two minutes. You get your Root insurance quote online and then you manage your policy in the Root app.

Root Auto Insurance

At Root, you can customize your auto insurance policy online or choose a recommended insurance plan. If you are offered insurance on day one, you'll pick out your insurance plan straight away. And you'll be insured with that insurance rate for up to 60 days. Next, you take a test drive to determine your final insurance rate. A test drive takes up to 30 days. And the prospective customer just drives their usual routes and patterns. The Root app will measure things like braking, turning and focused driving.

Once Root has measured a customer's driving, the test drive ends. Root then offers the customer a new rate based on their driving. A customer has 30 days to accept the rate or cancel. If Root is not able to insure the driver, they will let the driver know so the driver can find coverage with another insurance company.

Additional Offers from Root

Root customers earn cash offers, ranging from $10 to $100, for referring friends to Root. Root also offers free, 24-hour roadside assistance with every policy and free Lyft credits on select holidays.

At Root, roadside assistance covers jump-starts, towing, fuel delivery, spare tire installation, lockout service when you lock the keys inside your car and winching when your car gets stuck in the mud or sand.

Root roadside assistance covers any service up to $100, up to three times per vehicle, per every six-month policy period.

The only cost to the customer is if you request roadside service more than three times during a six-month period or if you request an emergency service that costs more than $100.

Switch Insurance Company and Save

Where Is Root Available?

Root is currently available to drivers in 30 states. These states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

What Phones Does Root Support?

The Root app is available for iPhones, 5s and up, as well as most Android phones.

Factors that Won't Be in Root Auto Insurance Pricing

Root does not use factors such as education and occupation in its auto insurance pricing. Root plans to drop credit scores from its auto insurance rate pricing by 2025.

Other Insurance Companies Rewarding Good Driving

Root Insurance isn't the only insurance company rewarding drivers for their good driving habits. There are several usage-based car insurance programs. With usage-based car insurance, the insurance company uses a smartphone app or an installed device to record the insurance customer's driving habits such as driving speed and miles driven.

With Progressive's usage based Snapshot program, drivers earn discounts and rewards for safe driving. With Snapshot, customers choose between a plug-in device or a mobile app. The data from the device or the app is used to calculate insurance quotes as well as discounts and rewards.

MetroMile uses the MetroMile mobile app to track a customer's mileage for 17 days. After that time, insurance rates are established for the customer. MetroMile only tracks a customer's mileage and not driving habits such as speed and braking.

Allstate's Drivewise program uses a mobile app to track speed, mileage and braking and other driving habits. Discounts of up to 30 percent are available in most states for customers displaying safe driving habits.

Nationwide's usage-based program, SmartRide, offers discounts of up to 40 percent. With SmartRide, a device is installed in your car or a mobile app can be used. Driving factors that affect the discount include mileage, braking, acceleration and time of day when driving.

Esurance's usage based program is called DriveSense and customers get an automatic 5 percent discount upon enrolling. The DriveSense mobile app tracks braking, mileage, speed acceleration and driving hours. The DriveSense app has a standby mode that can be activated if you are a passenger in your car, a passenger in someone else's car or if you are taking public transit.

Comparing Rates with Insurance Companies

Instead of spending hours getting a quote from each company that will reward you for being a good driver, just fill out one form and SmartFinancial will get you quotes in no time. Just enter your zip code below to get started.