Vehicle insurance with Root

Types of vehicle insurance

For safe drivers, Root can get you a quote that can save you hundreds of dollars each year while giving your vehicle the coverage it needs.

However, Root isn’t for everyone. While we take care of most four-wheeled passenger vehicles on the road, motorcycles, ATVs, exotic, and commercial vehicles aren’t yet covered by our services. Additionally, we don’t cover high-risk drivers—we believe it's not fair for our customers to have to pay more to cover the riskiest drivers. 

For the typical safe driver,  we have a type of insurance policy that will fit any need at an affordable price. 

Coverage of vehicle insurance

Root gives you highly customizable coverage that can be easily adjusted at any time directly through the Root app. We make sure that your insurance covers your state minimum requirements, then is flexible enough to fit your own specific needs. 

Liability coverage

Liability insurance comes into play if you cause an accident that injures another person (Bodily Injury coverage) and/or damages someone else’s property (Property Damage coverage). Both of these are required in all states, but each state sets its own required minimum.

• Bodily Injury: Your state’s requirement could look something like $15,000/$30,000. The first number is the amount Root will cover for each injured person. The second number is the total amount covered for each accident.

• Property Damage: This is the amount Root pays to replace or repair damaged property such as cars and personal belongings. It’s represented by a single figure such as $30,000.

Car coverage

Root has a variety of coverages that will keep your car protected while ensuring that, in the case of an accident, you’re on the road again quickly. 

• Roadside Assistance: All Root customers get Roadside Assistance included in their car insurance policies. It’s easily accessible through our app and can be used in the event you lock your keys in your car, need a tow, or need a quick battery jump.

• Collision: Collision covers the damage to your own vehicle and kicks in when you cause an accident, are the victim of a hit-and-run, or are hit by someone without insurance. This isn’t always required, but if you lease or finance your vehicle, it most likely is.

• Comprehensive: Theft, natural disasters, or vandalism can cause damage to your vehicle outside of an accident. In those cases, Comprehensive may cover repairs.

• Rental: Car repairs take time. If your vehicle is ever out-of-commission and you need to travel, rental coverage with Root will provide you with a rental.

• Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD): This covers your property (your car) that’s damaged by someone uninsured. Note that Collision does cover the same scenario, so if you already have Collision then you likely don’t need UMPD.

Medical Payments

Medical expenses can add up after an accident. If you don't want you or your family on the hook for the total costs of medical treatment that might come from an accident, then you should consider this type of coverage. Depending on your state, these coverages could be available: 

• Personal Injury Protection: No matter who caused an accident, Personal Injury Protection covers the medical expenses and lost wages for you and your family.

• Medical Payments: Medical Payments coverage covers the cost of medical treatment regardless of who caused an accident. Additionally, it covers you no matter where you are or what type of vehicle you're on at the time (bike, public transit, friend's car, etc). 

• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UM/UIM): If you are ever injured by an uninsured driver or someone who is vastly underinsured, you could be on the hook for your entire medical bill. If you don't want to be, then get UM or UIM. 

How we calculate vehicle insurance

At Root, your driving behavior is at the core of your car insurance rate. Instead of relying primarily on data points such as age, ZIP code, or credit score like other vehicle insurance companies do, we use the Root app to measure your driving habits to develop a highly personalized policy that rewards safe drivers.

It’s why you won’t see any sort of vehicle insurance calculator on our site. To calculate a rate, we have you take the Root test drive to see how safe of a driver you are. 

The app measures several different driving habits to figure out your cost, but there are four key categories worth focusing on.

• Focused driving: Being a focused driver means not fidgeting with your phone, music, texts, or other distractions. Drivers who score the best here keep their eyes on the road.

• Smooth braking: Sharp and sudden braking is a sign that you’re not focused on the road or giving the drivers around you enough space. The safest drivers gently ease into stops.

• Gentle turning: Slowing down before entering corners and gently easing out is the best practice for safe driving.

• Safe hours: There are a few times of day where the roads are simply more dangerous. Late-night weekend trips and rush hour are some of the times worth avoiding if you can.

The test drive generally lasts a few weeks—enough time to create an accurate picture of how you drive. We even provide you with a scorecard that shows you a breakdown of how you’re doing in the app. We’ll then use your driving habits as the #1 factor we consider in your rate.

If you want a fair insurance policy that's affordable and easy to customize, then get a quote today.