What is a car insurance calculator?

How do car insurance calculators work?

Many insurance companies offer users a way to estimate what the cost of their insurance policy might be as they are shopping around and comparing rates. If you’ve ever done a Google search for anything car insurance related, it’s likely you’ve come across this tool while browsing. 

Car insurance calculators will often require you to input information about yourself such as your driving history, estimated annual mileage, and demographic information (ZIP code, marital status, age, etc.). 

This information can then be used to provide you with a rough car insurance estimate based on how that particular car insurance company calculates their rates. 

When your insurance estimate doesn’t match your quote

The estimate you receive from the calculator will not necessarily match the quote you get if you decide to move forward with a particular car insurance company. It’s not uncommon for the quote to be higher.

Even if the information you provided was accurate and true to the best of your knowledge, sometimes insurance companies discover new data once they look into your driving and personal history. You might not have thought certain things were relevant when you originally put your information into the calculator. 

You also might decide at some point during the process that you want or need to have more coverage than you initially thought you did. The more coverage you wish to have, the higher your quote will be. 

Car insurance premium amounts depend on a variety of factors (driving history, age, etc.) and ultimately you will not know what you truly have to pay until you go through the process of getting a quote. The quote decision process varies from company to company. 

How Root calculates car insurance rates vs. others

Every car insurance company determines their rates differently. This means your estimate will vary across different websites as you shop around and use their calculators. Any quote you opt to receive will also vary for the same reason. 

Not to mention, most car insurance companies will use their calculator to get you in the door and then hit you with a quote that is based heavily on factors out of your control such as your demographics. This means your premium could be negatively impacted because of a factor like your age or credit score. 

At Root, we do things differently.  

We base your rate primarily on your driving behavior, not your credit history. Put simply—the better you drive, the more you could save. 

How your good driving could get you a better rate

We don’t rely on a calculator because we focus on more than just your demographics. If you have safe on-the-road habits, you could benefit from switching to a car insurance company like Root that offers fair rates to good drivers.

We use our mobile app to gather information about your on-the-road behavior, and you can’t put that data into a calculator. Here are some of the things we consider when measuring safe driving behavior:

• Safe hours 

It’s riskier to be on the road during certain time periods. Stick to driving during the daytime whenever possible, particularly on weekends. 

• Smooth braking 

While driving, always leave plenty of room for yourself to brake. If you’re hard braking often this might imply that you’re too close to the car in front of you. Be mindful and alert.

• Focused driving 

Do not respond to texts or adjust the music on your phone while you’re driving. Those things can wait until you’ve reached your destination. 

• Gentle turning 

Always give yourself plenty of room to slow down before making a turn. Turning at full speed puts you and your passengers at risk. 

The app will gather this data over the course of a few weeks so we have the information we need to provide you with a quote based primarily on your driving behavior. All you need to do is download the Root app and you can get started in just minutes. 

A different type of car insurance company 

At Root, we insure good drivers. This is to make sure everyone receives a fair and affordable rate and not one based on the risk level of other drivers. We also don’t use calculators to gather demographic data like many other car insurance companies.

Instead, when determining your rate, we primarily consider a factor you can control—your driving behavior. Thanks to this method, our policyholders can save up to $900/year.

Ready to put your good driving to the test to see if Root could save you hundreds? Get a quote.