On the second day of my Root test drive, I didn’t do a whole lot of travel. I dropped my kiddos off at school and headed home. No nap this time. Boo. I Must Be Doing OK...The app gave me what I think was a bit of encouraging news. The main screen changed to: “Nice. Everything looks good. Keep driving,” and if I clicked “View Driving Score,” I got an “Estimated Driving Discount Message,” telling me that “Based on things so far…” I could save 20-50%. Yay! However, at this point, the Driving Score page still said “We need more trips” and to “check back soon” for a score. Moreover, the nice happy indicators that were supposed to be showing me what I was doing well and what I needed to work on had not budged. The Errors BeganI started getting random errors that read: “Oops We’ve hit a roadblock. Your current settings won’t let us track your trips, which means we can’t determine your discount. To update your settings, open Settings and tap the Motion & Fitness toggle to turn it on.” That was odd, considering I hadn’t touched my settings and had been immobile all morning. I closed the app and restarted it again and it was fine. Still no driving score though. Customer Service Emailed Me BackRoot customer service emailed me back within 24 hours. Here’s what I learned:
The Errors ContinuedThe app is doing something odd in the background and keeps thinking I’m shutting stuff off that I’m not. I don’t know what’s causing it, but if it happens while I drive I guess that ride does not count. Side note: I wonder if I get a serious lead foot, if I can just shut off location services for a while and go 80. (Only kidding… sort of.) I Learned About Allstate Drivewise… and Signed Up for It TooAs I gathered info I needed to set up this site, I happened to log into my Allstate account. Apparently, they have an app that works similar to the Root car insurance app. The major difference is, it’s for existing customers, and it looks like you get a bill credit or cash which you can cash in every six months. Note to my Allstate agent: Had you told me about that feature when I told you I couldn’t afford my insurance, we wouldn’t be here now. Instead, I’m putting both apps head to head, to see which one saves me more. Follow Along on My Root Car Insurance Test Drive Adventure I’m writing this blog as I’m trying both products out and I have no idea how it will wind up. If you have experience with either product and want to share your story, click “Share Your Story” in the main menu. If you’re reading this after June 2018, you can also skip to the end of the blog to find out what happened or read along in sequence as I write.
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If you’ve decided to get the Root car insurance app, setting it up is super easy. Here's a quick overview as well as how I overcame some blips during my signup process. 1) Go to the Root Car Insurance site.Go to the Root site by clicking this link. (Please use that one instead of going straight to it. The link gives us both $25 if you drive well enough to get a quote from them.) 2) Sign up and download the app.You can get an iOS or Android version. 3) Add your personal info.Input a few basic details about yourself, including your driver license info. The app has a feature that is supposed to capture your driver license info via the phone camera. It did not work despite repeated attempts on my iPhone, but entering my DL number took like ten seconds, versus the five minutes I spent trying to use the photo option. Root is crazy smart. It’ll automatically know your vehicles. They do not ask for any kind of payment info up front. 4) Add drivers.Add more drivers if you’ll be insuring others in your household. 5) Give permissions.Enable Location, Motion & Fitness, and Cellular Data if you’re using iOS, like I was. Android users, you’re on your own. Word to the wise, if you get stuck like I did and the app does not take you to the right place to enable Motion, you’ll need to go to: Settings>> Privacy>> Motion & Fitness Then, enable Fitness Tracking. If Root appears in the list below, enable it. If it doesn’t, close settings, then close the Root app, and go back into the Motion & Fitness section again. If it’s there, enable it. If it’s not, open Root again and check for the prompt. I had to do a little back and forth to get it to play nice. 6) Drive.Root will track you in the background and monitor how you drive for a few weeks. If you’re a good driver, Root will provide you with an insurance quote, which will hopefully save you some cash. I decided to try Root car insurance because my car insurance premium payments were too dang high. I’ve had had Allstate my whole life and have been loyal to them. I’ve obviously known other auto insurance companies existed, but I was afraid to take the plunge because I worried that any other company wouldn’t provide the same level of service. After all, the last thing anyone wants is to be stuck with a non-responsive insurance company when you really need them. At the end of the day, though, I’m not sure Allstate is as loyal to me as I am to them, and when I learned I might be able to cut my car insurance bill in half, I had to give it a shot and see. I downloaded the app and decided to take it for a trial run. My StatsMe: 36-year-old divorced woman Location: Somewhere in the Phoenix metro area Record: My only accident was nearly two decades ago and I have no tickets Vehicle: 2006 Chevy Uplander (Current KBB value under $2,000) Premium: My Monthly Allstate Bill is $164.23 I Don't Want to Leave AllstateEven when I was a teenager, I was on my mom’s Allstate plan. When I moved out on my own, I kept the same agent. We were on a first-name basis and I always found the office to be personable, friendly, and down-to-earth. They helped me cope with my first, and only (knock on wood), car accident. When I got married, I moved onto my husband’s insurance policy. His family had the same agent for more than 20 years and the office was only a couple blocks away from my old agent. There’s a lot of history there. I know and trust my agents to do right by me. My agent was also the first person I called during my divorce and I had to start creating all my own independent accounts. To this day, I remember crying intermittently through the call and the compassion my agent showed me. I sincerely hold Allstate in high regard. Allstate Could Have Done Better By Me As much as I love Allstate and as loyal to the brand as I am, not everything has been sunshine and roses. It didn’t occur to me to try Root car insurance or any other options until I saw an ad recently, and then I seriously started wondering if I was with the right company for me. Allstate Wasn’t There When I Needed Them A few years ago I was locked out of my car. I had just dropped my son off at daycare, got in my van to leave, and started the engine, then I realized the sliding back door wasn’t closed all the way. I hopped out of the driver’s seat and walked around the van, closed the door, and heard the click of the auto-lock. Yup, I was locked out and the engine was running. Not to worry, or so I thought, I had roadside assistance. Only, roadside assistance couldn’t find my account. They said it had been cancelled. So, I had to pay someone to come out and pick the locks, at over $100. When I got home and got access to my documents again and verified I had and was still paying for roadside assistance, I called again. Only, the second rep found my account right away and confirmed I should have been covered. My only recourse was to submit my bill to Allstate and wait for repayment, but, of course, Allstate’s allowable fee was significantly less than I had paid, so I not only had to wait for payment, but had to eat some of the cost as well. This was a genuine hardship because my husband had moved out just a few weeks prior and I was still scrambling to keep the kids fed. Allstate Won't Help Me Reduce My BillDespite having what I would call a good relationship with my agent, I still don’t feel like they have my best interests at heart. Cost is a recurring theme here. I first attempted to get my bill reduced a little over a year ago when I learned that Allstate had a program that would offer a discount if you let them monitor your driving with a device that hooked up to your car. I called my agent and asked for the device but was told I couldn’t install it until my policy renewed. Well, my policy auto-renews, so I never found the sweet spot to go in and have it done, thus effectively preventing me from ever seeing that discount. Despite my contact with them, they never suggested any alternatives to help lower my bill. A couple months ago I had a major unexpected repair bill for my van and I had trouble paying several bills that month and the month after. My Allstate plan was one that fell behind. Mind you, I’ve never had a payment problem in the 20 years I’ve been with them, but this time, I did receive a notice that my policy might be cancelled if I didn’t pay up soon. The email came in outside normal business hours, so I fired off an email to my agent, who was actually kind enough to reply that night and tell me not to worry- that I had some time and they’d call me the next day. They did, and I explained my situation. They reassured me I still had something like two weeks before I was in trouble, then tried to get me to bundle other policies to save money. I wasn’t in a position to bundle for reasons I won’t get into here, so that was a no-go. What my Allstate agent failed to mention was that the mishap would cost me my “good payer discount,” which increased my monthly bill by about $15. What my Allstate agent also failed to mention was that they have a new program called Drivewise, which might also help me lower my bill. I only just now discovered the program exists because I went online to grab a copy of my policy for this blog. It’s Now a Battle: Allstate Drivewise vs. Root Auto Insurance I’m only on the first day of blogging and have already changed course. I’m not only going to try out Root auto insurance to see if it can save me money, I’m going to compare it to Allstate’s similar Drivewise program. Follow Me as I Try Root Car Insurance As I write this, I’ve technically had the Root car insurance app for three days, and have just now realized it would make an epic blog to share my story with others who are considering taking the plunge. I’m going to be documenting my experiences in real time, as I try Root car insurance and compare it to Allstate Drivewise. My results may not be your results- this is my personal journey and experience. However, I also welcome Root and Allstate Drivewise reviews from readers, and I’ll be uploading ones that appear legit, readable, and relevant as I go too. Please check back for updates and use the link in the main menu to share your personal experience too!
I didn’t drive the first day I downloaded the Root app, so by the next day I was totally chomping at the bit to see it in action. My first drive with the app on was a quick two-mile round trip to take my kiddos to school in the morning. I made the drive and checked my phone when I got home. Nothing. So, I took a nap and checked it an hour or so later. (In my defense, I worked until 3am that morning, so I’m not a total bum. lol)
Second TripMy second trip of the day was to an appointment about ten minutes away by freeway. I tossed my purse with my phone in it on the passenger seat and headed out. I drove insanely cautiously in the slow lane (which travels at a minimum of about 70mph here in the Phoenix area if you don’t want to be rear-ended). Midway there, I realized I had some pretty ferocious dragon breath and decided to fish some gum out of my purse, but the gum was elusive, and I started shaking my purse about trying to dislodge it from its hiding place… that’s when it hit me. OMG the app probably thinks I’m on a crash course ramming into everything in sight, when really, my eyes are still on the road (HONEST!) and I’m driving well. Shoot! It’s barely into the first day and they’ve got enough data to unequivocally know I’m a menace to society. Forget any potential savings… I’ll be lucky if they don’t alert the authorities about the madwoman cruising through the Phoenix suburbs. I reluctantly give up on the gum and continue on to my destination, giving my phone sideways glances as I go, curious to know if I’ve already been denied, but too afraid to look at my phone and be labeled as a bad driver for touching it while the vehicle is in motion. Upon my arrival, I check my phone anxiously… nothing. By the time I left my appointment 90 minutes later, still nothing. And when I got back home, even still more nothing. Come on, Root! Don’t give me the silent treatment! It wasn’t until later in the day that the app updated my timeline. 3-4 Weeks to Go! Third TripIn the evening, I hit the grocery store and decided to go visit a friend who lives about 20 minutes away. I almost never drive as much as I did this day, let alone in the evening hours. I’m a bit of a recluse. Traffic was touch and go. Even if you allow ample stopping distance on the freeway here, people will still cut you off or slam on their brakes because they realize at the last minute they’re supposed to be taking an exit or whatever. I seriously began to wonder if I should even be on the freeways at all while the test drive was underway, but then quickly realized there was no way on earth I could avoid them for a whole month. Email to Customer ServiceBy the end of the day, I was seriously starting to wonder if everything I had ever done or known about driving was wrong. I had also begun to worry if my phone was my new arch nemesis. Could the tech be trusted? Did I already ruin it by jostling my purse? Using the speakerphone while I was in a parking lot? Driving on the freeway? Did it matter that the phone was on the seat next to me during the first drive, in my purse for the second, and in my back pocket while I drove to the store? Surely these things mattered and impacted the tech inside the phone somehow. Maybe I needed one of those fancy holders like Lyft drivers have. Or maybe, I should give up driving altogether. I emailed customer service to ask them all this, and also just how much damage would happen to my non-existent score if I passed my phone off to my kids while I was driving… I mean, if the app can tell who the driver is, can it tell when it’s not me holding my phone? Paranoia had set in.
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