Looking for a real-life comparison of Root vs Progressive auto insurance? I can't speak for everyone, but as a safe driver with a clean record, I'll share my personal experiences with Allstate, Root, and Progressive here. My Policy Settings with Root, Progressive, and AllstateTo give some background, I'm a divorced female in my late 30s. I haven't had a ticket since I was 19-ish and I haven't had an accident since I was 16 or 17. My record comes up clean and I've qualified for accident-free and good driver discounts with all three insurers. I live in a larger city that's a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. My credit has waxed and waned over the years, though I've generally had good credit as well. I note these things because rates vary dramatically based on these factors. I have a male friend roughly the same age with a much darker driving background and poor credit who pays almost three times what I do with one of these companies and gets much less coverage. That said, I would venture to guess if I'm seeing such a huge difference in pricing for the same packages, you will too. My policies consist(ed) of:
Allstate Charge: $936.38/ 6 mosI don't have current Allstate rates, but I was paying $936.38 every 6 months in 2018. I was with Allstate for most of my life; first under my mom's policy, then on my own with the same neighborhood agency, then on my husband's policy, and then on my own again. I really had a great relationship with my local agencies. I could talk face-to-face with someone and I felt well taken care of. However, time went by and my situation changed. You can read why I decided to leave Allstate here, but the gist is, I was paying way too much and I couldn't get my payments where I needed them to be. Starting Root Charge: $266/ 6 mosSwitching to Root was a no-brainer cost-wise. You can see my initial policy comparison between Root and Allstate here and read how the Drivewise app compares to the Root App here. Root didn't have the service Allstate did. In fact, their service sucked. It would sometimes take days to get a response when I emailed them. They outsource their roadside assistance and I was left stranded overnight with my kids in a remote area because no tow truck ever showed up. And, I had trouble getting reimbursement once as well since you have to pay for your roadside assistance and then they pay you back a certain amount. But, Root did have the savings and I was broke. At least, they initially had the savings back in 2018 when I signed up. Final Root Charge: $858/ 6 mosOut of nowhere, Root doubled my insurance rates overnight. You can read about that here. They would not explain to me why my rates went up, so I filed a complaint with my state regulator. You can read about that here. I was super ticked, but one of the factors that likely impacted my rate was my credit. Like many, I used my credit cards during COVID and that increased my credit usage, thus decreasing my score. There were lots of other reasons given (all outlined in the blog), but I thought with my credit score being lower than usual, I wouldn't get a lower rate with another insurer. So, I decided to stick it out with Root until I repaired my credit. I'm happy to say I got my credit score higher than it's been in years- the highest it was at any point with Root- and I was eager to see what my next renewal rate would be. When it came, I discovered it was going up by $5/mo. Not down. Up. I wrote again and got the canned response about how things are more expensive now. Blah, Blah. Blah. Goodbye Root. Progressive Charge: $381.50/ 6 mosIf I didn't have the add-ons with Progressive (Deductible Bank and Gap), I'd be paying $305.50 per month. This is also without using Snapshot- their driver tracking program. It works like Root's Test Drive or Allstate Drivewise and tracks for six months giving a small discount during the test period (I think $30 over 6 mos). It's my understanding that it will also notify you in real time when you're doing things wrong so you can improve your driving. However, unlike the other programs, Progressive will actually increase your rate if you perform poorly. Since I'm planning a family road trip in a couple months, which is something I maybe do once every five years at this point, I was wary of being tracked on the trip. The sheer number of miles could potentially do me in even if I drove like a saint. That said, I would have only been paying $300/ 6 mos if I kept my coverage identical. Root vs Progressive vs Allstate: Final Cost Comparison
I really feel like I got the bait-and-switch from Root. Their platform is all about how you save more by being a safer driver, and they may have started out that way, but that's not true anymore. Being tracked and pooled with other good drivers didn't really help me at all in the end. It saved me a measly $13/mo over Allstate and, if I was going into it knowing just how bad the service would be, I would have gladly paid the extra $13 to know I could count on my insurance company. In the end, I switched to Progressive. (Hi, Flo!) I don't know how the service will be, but they'd have to work really hard to outdo Root in that department. I do, however, know that the savings are there, and Flo makes a pretty cool copilot. How Did Root Work Out for You?Did you try Root too? How'd it go? Did you save? Did you leave too? Tell us in the comments!
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