Root Insurance may be a good option if you want cheap car insurance with a good company. There are pros and cons to Root as there are with any company. But Root Insurance has an interesting way of doing things, and if you’re a good driver (more on that soon), it may be a good choice for you.
We’ll dig into the roots of Root below.
- Root Insurance boasts low premiums. The company says good drivers will save up to $900 per year off a typical insurance policy.
- Root Insurance has been around since 2015, so it’s a relatively new company compared to competitors, but it is publicly traded on Nasdaq.
- Root is available in most but not all states.
- To keep premiums at rock bottom, Root only insures drivers they deem as low risk.
Root auto insurance coverage options
Root offers the typical types of car insurance you would expect to get from a reputable, solid insurance company.
What Root auto insurance covers
For instance, you can get liability coverage. That covers injuries and damage to other people and property. So, if you somehow careen through a restaurant, sending food flying and patrons fleeing, your insurance will pay any hospital bills and that gaping car-sized hole in the wall.
With Root’s MedPay medical payments coverage, if you or your family are injured in an accident, regardless of fault, you’ll have help paying covered medical expenses. You can also buy liability and collision and comprehensive car insurance.
If you careen through a restaurant (don’t worry; nobody was seriously injured in our hypothetical example), Root will not only pay for the damages to the restaurant and hospital bills for other people; it also will pay to fix your car and for any medical care that you receive.
With its uninsured motorist property damage and uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage, you’ll be covered even if someone without insurance hits you.
It also provides insurance such as rental coverage. While you’re waiting for your car to be removed from the restaurant’s dining room and kitchen, Root will pay for a rental car. They’ll also offer you the option of being reimbursed with rideshares like Lyft.
A value-added bonus: Root includes roadside assistance with every policy and is available from the Root app.
What doesn’t Root car insurance cover?
While Root offers typical types of car insurance, they don’t insure every type of vehicle. There is no motorcycle insurance or insurance for all-terrain vehicles, for instance.
They also don’t have gap insurance, which is worth considering. Gap insurance is important in some situations, like if you total your car but owe more on it than the insurance company will pay you for it.
Root car insurance discounts
Root’s motto is “savings made simple,” and it doesn’t offer the buffet of discounts many insurers do because it ensures the lowest prices possible from the start.
Root Insurance asserts that it isn’t skimpy on the discounts because you’re already getting the cheapest coverage possible by being a good driver, and any discount you qualify for is immediately to your quote.
If you continue to prove that you’re a good driver, Root will lower your premium as low as possible, so there’s no need for additional discounts.
It doesn’t base your insurance on whether your kid gets A’s or F’s in school. Rates are based on whether your kid is a good driver. This approach may save you time and hassle in the long run.
Many insurance companies base your premium on your credit score, at least partly. If you have low credit, you’ll have a higher premium. Root does that, too, but they’ve made it a mission to eliminate credit-based scoring by 2025.
As a general rule, Root gives you a steep discount for being an excellent driver.
If you bundle your car insurance with home insurance through Root, you can even lower your car insurance (and homeowners insurance).
And while it isn’t quite a discount but a perk, it’s worth noting that Root includes roadside assistance with every policy (although in California, you have to pay for it separately).
Any service under $100 is covered for vehicles, and you get up to three incidents per six-month policy term. They also will pay you a cash bonus, usually $10, if you refer friends to Root.
Where is Root insurance available?
Root insurance is available in most states but is unavailable in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, North Carolina or Washington, D.C.
Root financial stability ratings
It’s essential to feel comfortable that an insurance company is financially solvent and will not collapse and cannot pay its claims. That’s why companies like AM Best, S&P and Moody’s rate insurance companies for their financial strength. Root Insurance isn’t rated by AM Best.
Root customer reviews and complaints
Root has no ratings from J.D. Power, the marketing research firm many companies mention in their TV commercials when they have ratings worth bragging about.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which collects complaints from state insurance departments, gave Root a complaint index score of 4.60 for its insurance policies.
A score of 1 is average, which means Root’s car insurance has a little more than 4.5 times more complaints than the national average.
So, we looked up some customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau to further our search. Root gets an A+ rating on BBB as a BBB-accredited business. However, out of 102 reviews by BBB users, its customer service rating averages just 2.65 out of 5 stars.
There have also been 308 customer complaints closed in the past year.
We reviewed the complaints left by policyholders and found that many of them involved billing disputes, where policyholders felt they were unfairly billed for more than one month. Others related to Root dropping coverage due to what Root perceived as poor driving habits.
Root responded directly to every complaint on the BBB website.
Root car insurance claims
According to Root, filing a claim on the app takes three minutes. You can also call in your claim 24/7, but you won’t be able to talk to a human at all hours, just business hours (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST).
As noted earlier, there is no J.D. Powers Claim Satisfaction rating yet.
Root website and apps
Your insurance card is on the app (Root will also mail you a paper card). You file claims through the app or website, and you can refer friends to Root (and get a cash bonus if they sign up) and request roadside assistance through the app. Root’s website is easy to navigate and read, and it takes a simplistic, no-nonsense approach.
Who is Root car insurance good for?
Root car insurance may be ideal for tech-savvy, good drivers.
The verdict: Is Root worth it?
Root insurance customer complaint ratings might make some people suspicious. Still, it may be worth giving Root Insurance a shot if you’re looking for low premiums and don’t mind having your insurance policy contingent on how well you drive.
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