If you only check out one page on my Root car insurance blog, this is the one to see. Lots of people are apprehensive about Root, wondering if Root is legit and if quotes from Root are as good as Root says they are. The advertising says you can save up to 50% by switching to Root, which is a pretty tall order. I wasn’t sure at first either, but when I read about Root, I decided I had to see for myself.
Throughout this blog, I’ve captured my experiences using the Root car insurance app as well as Allstate Drivewise. I put the two in a head-to-head challenge… mostly because I’m a nerd who likes data, but also because I’m a single mom who really needs to save money anywhere I can. I thought Root might do that for me, but it’s also a “new” thing on the market, which makes a lot of people suspicious about whether it’s legit or not. So, I ran my challenge. I will do other comparisons in the future, but I think the most pressing questions are answered here. Does Root Offer the Same Coverage as Allstate?
Sort of. As you’ll see in my chart below, there are minor differences, but when there are, Root comes out on top. For example, Rental car coverage is a little cheaper with Root, plus you can get Lyft credits instead of a rental car. The Allstate towing coverage cuts you off at $50 per incident, while Root gives you up to $100. Aside from that, the policy I picked via Root is seemingly identical to what I had with Allstate.
It’s also worth noting that Root is more like a “marketplace.” You can customize any of the coverage levels and they let you see exactly how much more or less you’ll pay. It’s all done via the app and very transparent. So, if I wanted more or less coverage than I had previously, it would be easy for me to set up. Try doing that wit Allstate?!? Umm… I’m guessing that would require a lengthy call with a rep and would be much less transparent. Can you imagine that call? Asking for each of the various price points individually? What a mess. Policy-By-Policy Coverage Comparison: Allstate vs Root
Screenshots of Allstate and Root PoliciesGot Something to Say or Want to Try Root?
I’d love to hear your experiences too. You can either comment on this page or click “Share Your Story” at the top if you have a blog-worthy narrative. If you’ve decided you want to download the Root car insurance app and do your own test drive, use the link here and they’ll give us both $25 after you qualify for a quote.
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Although I haven’t been blogging as religiously as I initially thought I would, I think I’m at about day 26 of my Root test drive. My story probably isn’t too different from yours. I saw an ad for Root car insurance, saw that the savings could be astronomical, and decided I just might be willing to leave Allstate- a company I’ve literally been with for my entire life as a driver. After I started the Root test drive, I realized Allstate’s Drivewise program also works similarly. You download the app. They track you. You get a 3% discount for using it and can qualify for as much as 15% cash back, whereas Root strictly reduces fees because they don’t insure bad drivers and save costs by only operating online, and they help good drivers save cash up front. Anyway, I’m a single mom. Money is super tight. I’ve had trouble paying my car insurance premiums and even got a cancellation notice a few months back because I ran into an unexpected car problem that had to be taken care of. That cost me my “good payer” discount… not that it was worth much anyway, but every little bit helps. My point being, I’m super broke most of the time, and I really needed to reduce costs wherever I could. I previously asked Allstate about it and they offered no solutions. I even asked about signing up for Drivewise when it was a thing you plug into your car vs. an app and was told I’d have to wait until my policy renewed… but, I’m on auto-renewal, so I just kept paying like usual and it would renew for six months again, and I’d remain locked in. It sucked. I Faced a Glitch on My Final DayThe Root app glitched out on me today. It said: “You’re so close, but something looks off. Contact support.” I sent off an email to support first thing this morning (around 7am). I didn’t get a response back, but around 10:30am I got a notice saying my quote was ready. Root Will Save Me $100/ Month
Root is Saving Me 64%If I’m purely comparing apples to apples, it’s $59 vs $163.44 per month paying month-to-month, meaning I’m saving 64%. Root’s last estimate to me was 20-40% savings. Lol Yeah. Wow. Just wow. My final Root score was an 8/10, by the way. I’m clearly not a perfect driver, but I’m not a bad one either. *pats self on back* Share Your Root Test Drive ExperienceI haven’t signed up for Root car insurance yet. I’m waiting until the funds hit my account to enable me to prepay the full six months, so I’ll probably sign up in the next day or so. I’ll be adding more blogs here, such as a side-by-side comparison of plans and more details about what happened when I signed up. However, what I’d really like is to add some commentary from you, the readers. If you’ve signed up for a Root test drive or have used Allstate Drivewise or similar, click “Share Your Story” at the top, so I can share your experience with other readers too!
So… I took some time off from reporting on my Root test drive. Life happened. I really haven’t driven much at all since then. After my last entry, I drove one more time, and I really didn’t drive well at all. I was lucky enough to win tickets to Band Splash, for those of you who live in the area and are familiar with it. That was pretty much the high point of my year so far- I’m a huge fan of the Dreamers and never get to go out much. Unfortunately, I was also helping my new roommate move in the same weekend. Needless to say, the stars didn’t align well. The day of the concert, I figured I’d be fine as long as I got out there by 8:45pm or so- just to catch the last band, but I had to run a bunch of errands first- jetting from one end of the valley and back again. Allstate nailed me for every possible offense- speeding and hard braking. The app may have been right that time. You know… Dreamers. Meh. Suffice it to say, I didn’t make it and I totally blew both my scores for driving that way. On top of that, we still haven’t finished unpacking my new roomie and my car keys are MIA. They’ve been gone for a week now. They may be in a box somewhere, in the trash, or goodness knows where, but I’ve devoted at least 10 hours to looking for them, so now I need to pony up some cash in order to get a new transponder key… see, Uplanders have this nifty ignition lock device to prevent theft. All keys have a little chip in them. No chip, no engine start. The dealers charge $150 for a single replacement key and programming. Boo… Allstate Drivewise Still SucksIn all the melee, I haven’t been driving. I’ve been a passenger numerous times, but I haven’t been driving. The Allstate Drivewise app marks me down as the driver every time. Somehow, my estimated return became 3%, down from 8% despite the fact that I haven’t driven. I deleted all the trips that weren’t me and my return is at 4%. I’m becoming less and less a fan of Allstate every day. Root Rates Me 8/10During my night of horrible driving, my Root score dropped from 9 to 8 and it now says I may save 25-40% instead of up to 50%. Fair enough, Root, I shot myself in the foot. I don’t know if Root is counting all these other trips toward me or not, but I’ve been an 8 since the day after the concert. As of today, it says I have 1-2 days left of the test drive. So, it now looks like I’ll wrap up as an 8 instead of a 9 or 10. Whether that will reduce my payments enough to make the switch worthwhile, I don’t know. Join Me on My Root Test DriveI’ll continue documenting anything noteworthy, should it pop up before my test drive concludes. Failing that, I’ll be popping back in with the final results if/when Root offers me a quote.
If you’ve tried Root or a car insurance app like Root and think others will benefit from hearing it, click “Share Your Story” at the top. |
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