Is Root legitimate?
Yes. Root is a legitimate insurance company. Root is relatively new to the insurance industry, but the company offers affordable policies for safe drivers.
Root offers car insurance with a focus on your driving habits. In fact, the company bases your car insurance premiums primarily on your driving habits. The company reports that safe drivers tend to tap into big savings. But drivers with unsafe habits might not be able to work with Root at all.
If you’re a safe driver looking for affordable coverage, Root might be a good option. But it’s not available in every state.
How Root stacks up
As the company has expanded to more than 30 U.S. states since 2015, Root has made offering safe drivers affordable coverage a priority.
In general, Root tends to offer cheaper car insurance rates than its competition. While customer service is on par with other similar insurance companies, Root customers tend to find more discount opportunities.
How does Root auto insurance work?
Root’s focus as an insurance company is to reward safe drivers with low premiums. Before you can lock in a policy with Root, you must agree to a test-drive through the Root app. The app uses telematics to monitor your driving behavior over a few weeks.
After gathering this information about your driving habits, Root will use it as a primary factor when determining an auto insurance quote for you. While it does consider other factors, how you drive matters more than your credit score, vehicle type, age, driving record, marital status, gender, or ZIP code.1
Average cost of Root auto insurance
On average, drivers with Root pay $94 per month for liability-only car insurance. For a full-coverage policy, drivers with Root pay an average of $150 per month.
Root’s average costs are significantly lower than the national average. Across the nation, the average car insurance policy costs $182 per month for full coverage and $103 per month for a liability-only car insurance policy.
Root insurance reviews and ratings
Root launched in 2015, which means it’s relatively new to the insurance industry. Overall, the car insurance company has earned relatively positive reviews. For example, the mobile app earned a 3.4 in the Google Play Store and a 4.7 in the App Store. However, some customers shared negative experiences.
Root customer reviews
Read reviews from verified Root customers.
Root ratings
Insurance companies receive ratings for different metrics, like customer complaints and financial stability. Root hasn’t received some of these ratings, like an AM Best rating or J.D. Power customer satisfaction score. But it has received reviews on various customer rating websites:
Trustpilot: 4.3 out of 5 stars, with more than 1,100 reviews
Better Business Bureau: A+ BBB accreditation, 1.16 out of 5 stars, with 251 reviews
Google Play Store: 3.4 out of 5 stars, with more than 36,000 reviews
Apple App Store: 4.7 out of 5 stars, with more than 65,000 reviews
NAIC Complaint Index: 5.02 (Higher than expected)
Root car insurance coverage options
For every state that Root operates in, the car insurance company offers at least the state minimum required car insurance coverage. The liability coverage options include both bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage.
But in many states, Root offers more than the bare minimum coverages; other options include the following:2
Root auto insurance rates by driving history
Most insurance companies take your driving history into account when determining car insurance premiums. In general, drivers with clean driving records pay less for car insurance than drivers with past incidents.3
Root auto insurance works a little bit differently. Instead of focusing on your driving record, Root looks at your current driving behaviors. If you commit to safe driving habits, and Root confirms this by tracking your driving, you should find more affordable rates than a risky driver.1
The table below shows average monthly rates for Root drivers with varying levels of incidents on their driving record.
Root car insurance cost by age
Teen drivers pay more for car insurance than older drivers because they have less experience behind the wheel and are more likely to engage in riskier driving behaviors like speeding, driving under the influence (DUI), and other violations.4
The trend holds true with Root. In general, young drivers pay more for Root car insurance than older drivers.
The table below includes the average monthly quotes for different age groups for a full-coverage policy through Root.
Root car insurance discounts
The right discounts can make a big difference to your auto insurance costs. Root offers various discounts to help you tap into savings.
Below is a closer look at the car insurance discounts you might be eligible for through Root.
Root vs. other insurance companies
The car insurance market is highly saturated, which means that drivers have many insurance companies to choose from. Root is relatively new to the car insurance industry, but the company takes a different approach — by choosing to focus on driving habits, Root is able to reward safe drivers with relatively low car insurance premiums.
Here’s how Root stacks up against other car insurance companies.
Root vs. Elephant
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Elephant has been around since 2009 and sells many kinds of insurance, including auto insurance. Currently, Elephant works with drivers in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Like most car insurance companies, Elephant considers your driving history when determining your premiums. But unlike Root, Elephant won’t track your driving habits, which means good driving habits won’t positively influence your car insurance premiums.
If you’re a rideshare driver, Elephant might be a better fit because it offers rideshare coverage. Additionally, Elephant offers a longer list of car insurance discounts, including a work-from-home discount and claims-free discount. However, the limited availability across the country will eliminate Elephant as an option for many drivers.
Root vs. Mile Auto
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Mile Auto offers pay-per-mile car insurance policies. Essentially, this means that you’ll pay for the number of miles you drive, on top of a base rate.
The car insurance company currently offers policies in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
According to Mile Auto, low-mileage drivers can save between 30% and 40% off their current rates. If you’re an infrequent driver, Mile Auto might be a better choice than Root. Also, Mile Auto measures your mileage through monthly odometer pictures that you provide. That means Mile Auto won’t monitor your driving habits, which Root does.
How to file an auto insurance claim with Root
You can file a claim with Root to ask the company to pay for damages and injuries after a covered incident. Below is a closer look at the steps you’ll need to take:
Open the mobile app. You can file a claim through the app.
Answer some questions. You’ll need to provide some information about the incident.
Take pictures. Provide as many pictures of the damage as you can.
Wait. Root will reach out with any additional questions or simply complete the claim on their end. You’ll receive the claim amount via check or electronic payment.
Root car insurance FAQs
Learn about switching car insurance companies, and check out the answers to common questions about Root car insurance.
How does Root insurance work?
The premise of Root auto insurance is to reward safe drivers with low premiums. Most drivers need to complete a test-drive through the Root app to receive a final auto insurance quote. When you work with Root, the company will continue to monitor your driving behavior through the mobile app.
What is the average cost of Root car insurance?
The average cost of Root car insurance is $150 per month for full coverage and $94 per month for liability coverage.
Is Root good at paying claims?
It’s a little unclear. Root has a NAIC complaint index of 5.02, which is five times more than expected for a company of its size. With the high number of complaints, it’s possible customers experience a bumpy claims process.
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