By: Kelly | Last updated July 22, 2020 
Root Insurance is a car insurance company that was founded in 2014 and operates in 25 states. The states in which Root is currently available are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah. Root promises to cover the remaining ones ‘till the end of 2019.
It is not easy to choose the right car insurance company and there are several aspects you have to consider: the deductible (how much you have to pay out of your pocket in case of a car accident), the premium (the monthly rate you have to pay to the insurer), the coverage (what does the insurance company cover).
How does Root Insurance work?
Root Insurance has a different system than most of its competitors. Root Insurance doesn’t work with agents and papers, doesn’t make you come to their office to fill in forms and so on. It doesn’t discriminate based on factors such as your age and experience in driving, your ZIP code, your credit score, your previous insurance rate and other such factors.
Root Insurance calculates your insurance based on just one thing: your driving skills. Those skills are tested during a test drive as they call it, which takes around 2 to 3 weeks to complete. And instead of being supervised by an agent, your driving behavior will be monitored and analyzed by a phone app: Root.
Root is an app that can be download both from the Google Play and Apple’s App Store and uses AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning and complex algorithms to score your driving. It also uses your phone GPS (which has to be always ON during the test drive period) and your phone’s sensors. Those motion sensors act differently when you are driving and when you are in the passenger seat, which makes it possible for the app to only rate you when you are driving.
What does the Root app analyze during the test drive?
The Root app analyzes the way you are using the brakes, the way you take your turns (how fast), how many times you start and stop the engine, during which hours you drive the most, how smooth you overall driving is.
In order to obtain a good score on the test drive, you should drive consistently: don’t abuse the gas pedal, avoid hard braking, ease into every turn, try to drive during safer hours and avoid late night trips as much as possible.
Once the app gathers enough data, an overall score will be presented to you and based on it, you will get an insurance rate.
What makes Root Insurance a good car insurance service?
- The fact that everything happens through your phone, which saves you a lot of time
- You don’t have to worry about your credit score, age, previous insurance rate, because Root Insurance is only interested in how you drive
- You can add and remove coverages based on your needs
- You can save up to 52% compared to your previous insurance rate, if you get a good score for your test drive
- You can become a better driver because you have to do well on your test drive and you’ll pay more attention when you drive
