Root Insurance, a startup usage-based auto insurance company, has launched roadside assistance in partnership with another insurtech, Agero.
The roadside assistance program, a standard component of every Root policy, includes the ability to request service directly from the Root mobile app, map where the customer vehicle is located, and track service trucks live.
While assistance had been part of the Root offering since the beginning, the initial implementation required multiple manual interactions that didn’t deliver on Root’s promise of an end-to-end digital experience, says Sarah Woods, director of product for the insurer.
“Customers had to do a bit more work to make sure they were getting the benefit of that coverage,” she says. The partnership, which was launched about a year ago, “has created a seamless digital experience,” she says.
Agero, which is based in Boston, refers to itself as “powered by Swoop,” a web-based dispatching platform it acquired in 2018. Its API-based offering routes requests and provides dashboarding and metrics for analysis.
Root, based in Columbus, uses its mobile application to monitor driver performance and deliver personalized rates. With a valuation of more than $3 billion, it is one of the insurtech sector’s few “unicorn” companies valued at more than $1 billion. Founded in 2015, it has two million policyholders in 30 states.
