Root Insurance

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website: https://www.joinroot.com/
• Customer service and new claims (Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-8 p.m. ET): 866-980-9431
• Existing claims: 866-489-1985
• BBB-listed additional phone: (844) 208-0665
• Customer service (replies aimed within 48 hours): [email protected]
• Roadside Assistance receipts: [email protected]
• File a claim (app or online, 24/7): https://www.joinroot.com/claims/
• Refund policy: https://www.joinroot.com/refund-policy/

Locations

Root Insurance cancellation, refunds, claims and complaints: what Root's own pages say (checked October 7, 2026)

Root's own pages, opened on October 7, 2026, set out the routes below. Policy terms and rules differ by state; the policy documents and notices you received govern, and state insurance law applies to cancellations, refunds and claims.

Cancel a Root policy. Root's questions-and-answers page says: "if you wish to cancel, you can do so in the app. We'll ask the reason why you're cancelling and let you select your policy end date." Root's customer service line is 866-980-9431 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET) and its email is [email protected] (Root says it tries to answer emails within 48 hours).

Refunds. Root's Refund Policy page states: "If a policy is cancelled, any refund due will be computed on a daily pro rata basis. The effective date of cancellation stated in the notice shall become the end of the policy period." It adds that policies are neither severable nor divisible, so a cancellation is effective for all coverages, persons and vehicles. Root's help page says payment is processed on the purchase date even when the policy starts later, that policies renew automatically every 6 months and that paying monthly may carry a fee. Root's California FAQ says a policy cancelled by the customer or for non-payment can be reinstated through the app up to 30 days after the original payment date (California page only). Root's general questions-and-answers page says: "If you come back within 30 days, we may be able to reinstate your old policy" and that after 30 days Root may offer a new quote for a brand new policy.

File a claim. Root says claims can be filed 24/7 in the app or online (about 3 minutes), and that people who are not Root customers but were in an accident with a Root policyholder can file online as well. After the report Root says it will call to complete the claim, look at the damage and may pay by check or electronic payment; you can pick your own repair shop. Phone lines for claims: new claims 866-980-9431, existing claims 866-489-1985 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET); mail: Attn: Claims Department, 80 E Rich Street, Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215. Root's claims page has a separate link for reporting suspected claim fraud. On payment timing Root's questions-and-answers page says it "takes an average of 1-2 weeks" and, if the car's title is not in the claimant's name, "8-12 weeks on average"; these are Root's own estimates, not guarantees.

Denied, delayed or underpaid claim. The NAIC's complaint guidance says state insurance departments can look at issues such as "Unfair claim delays or denials" and tells consumers to "Gather your policy number, documentation, bills, and records." A practical file is the policy, any denial or valuation letter, bills and photographs, and a dated log of calls and emails with the resolution you are asking for; a complaint then goes to the insurance department of your own state.

Rate changes. Root's help page lists reasons rates can change (changes on the customer's side, around the customer, and on Root's side) and says Root's rates are "consistent with our filed rates and rules in the state in which you reside." See the regulator section for a Pennsylvania order that addressed mid-term telematics rate increases.

If the dispute is not resolved. The Ohio Department of Insurance (Root Insurance Company's primary regulator, according to Root's 10-K) says on its complaint page that if you have a complaint you should "call your company first" and that it reviews complaints about cancellations, refunds, sales practices, claim disputes and more; Ohio residents can submit a complaint there, and policyholders in other states can use their own state insurance department. For a total-loss dispute, the Oregon order described below shows one state regulator reviewing how Root valued vehicles and notified insureds.

Regulator orders and examinations involving Root Insurance Company

The documents below are primary sources opened on October 7, 2026; each paragraph keeps the order's own wording about admissions. These are findings by regulators on the dates stated, not a rating of the company today.

Pennsylvania Insurance Department (November 19, 2025). Consent Order, Docket No. MC25-10-006, issued after a market conduct examination of Root Insurance Company covering January 1 to December 31, 2023 (examination report dated September 22, 2025; Root responded October 22, 2025). The order incorporates all findings of the report, requires Root to cease and desist from the activities described, to pay $100,000 and to comply with the report's recommendations. The report's findings include 12,353 declined auto applications for which the Department found no written notice of refusal (40 P.S. 991.2008(b)); 961 policies where coverage was provided past the termination date without payment; 15,177 new-business policies without surcharges lacking the required boldface rental-vehicle collision notice (75 Pa. C.S. 1725); in the separate review of new-business policies with surcharges, 4,150 violations of the same rental-vehicle notice requirement and 4,150 violations of 75 Pa. C.S. 1799.3(d), where the report says the Company "failed to provide the amount of surcharges / rate penalties at the time of renewal for the 4,150 files noted"; and claims-handling violations involving first-party medical bills and peer review. The report records a concern that telematics-based rate increases were applied before the 12-month renewal, and the order requires procedures so that such increases occur only within the first 60 days or at the 12-month anniversary. The order also requires reports at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years on policies issued through Root's "Zero Day Program" and on cancellations and premium changes after the test-drive period. In its own complaint review Root identified 47 consumer complaints for 2023 and the Department reviewed 25 of the files; of those 25, 11 concerned cancellation or non-renewal, 8 claims, 3 premiums or rating and 3 customer service, and it found no violations in the complaint-file review but noted two inquiries not answered within 15 working days.

New York Attorney General (March 20, 2025). The Attorney General's press release says the office secured $975,000 in penalties from Root for failing to protect the personal information of about 45,000 New Yorkers; the office states that Root does not offer insurance in New York. According to the release, Root's online quoting tool "pre-filled" data including driver's license numbers, Root exposed full plaintext license numbers in a PDF generated at the end of the quote process, Root discovered in January 2021 that bad actors were exploiting the prefill feature, and some stolen license data was used to file fraudulent unemployment claims. Root must also keep an information security program, a data inventory, authentication procedures and logging and monitoring. BBB lists the matter as Assurance No. 25-009 (an Assurance of Discontinuance). The release does not quote an admission or denial.

Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (three consent orders; Root consented "without admitting or denying" the findings in each).

• INS-20-0054, September 21, 2020: $10,000 civil penalty for 100 violations of a COVID-19 emergency order that suspended cancellations and non-renewals; the Division found that between March 25 and May 23, 2020 Root sent 100 non-renewal notices and that 36 were not withdrawn and the policies were non-renewed.
• INS-20-0076, December 10, 2020: $50,000 civil penalty for 8,433 violations of ORS 742.502; the Division found that from February 8, 2018 to January 15, 2020 Root issued 8,433 motor vehicle liability policies to 5,899 Oregon consumers without uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and that 54 of those policyholders had claims Root initially treated as not covered. Root told the Division the cause was a "technical anomaly". The order requires restitution to the claimants.
• INS-21-0031, August 5, 2021: $70,000 civil penalty (with $30,000 suspended for two years on conditions in the order) after a consumer complaint led the Division to review Root's total-loss claims from November 2018 to December 2020; of 1,069 total-loss claims it found 671 insureds did not receive the required Oregon total-loss notice and 27 insureds were underpaid a combined $22,952.91 (average $850.11) because a lower vehicle trim level was used. The order directs restitution with interest; when Root signed, 24 of the 27 had accepted payment.

Connecticut Insurance Department (Docket MC 22-23, stipulation signed by Root April 13, 2022, dated by the Commissioner May 24, 2022). After a market conduct examination of calendar year 2020, the order lists producers acting without required license or appointment, five early bodily-injury settlements, failure to undertake to pay loss-of-use coverage to property-damage claimants (34 instances in the report) and an improperly formatted complaint register. Root "admits the allegations" in the order and agreed to pay a $43,500 fine and review its practices.

Other examinations. Root's 10-K for fiscal 2024 says Virginia's Bureau of Insurance examined Root Insurance Company and fined it for various market conduct violations (the amount is not stated there; Virginia's report was not retrievable on the date checked), and that as of December 31, 2024 Root was undergoing examinations by the Maryland, Colorado, California, Pennsylvania and Missouri insurance regulators. Root's 10-K for fiscal 2025 says past fines were immaterial and that it is subject to consent orders concerning certain business practices. No published outcome for the Maryland, Colorado, California or Missouri examinations was found in the sources checked on October 7, 2026.

About Root Insurance Company and Root, Inc.

Root, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROOT) is headquartered at 80 E. Rich Street, Suite 500, Columbus, Ohio. Its 10-K for fiscal 2025 says the company was formed in 2015, began writing personal auto insurance in July 2016 and operates mainly through three wholly-owned regulated insurance subsidiaries: Root Insurance Company and Root Property & Casualty Insurance Company (both Ohio-domiciled) and Root Florida Insurance Company (Florida-domiciled). The Ohio Department of Insurance is the primary regulator of the first two and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation of Root Florida. Root also has a Cayman Islands reinsurer, Root Reinsurance Company, Ltd. Root sells auto and renters insurance directly through its app and website and through partners, and its 10-K reports a licensed producer arm, Root Insurance Agency, LLC, and other agency subsidiaries.

How the product works, according to Root: drivers use the Root app for a test drive of a few weeks, Root measures driving through phone sensors, and the quote is "based primarily on how you drive" (company statement). Root's home page says over 3 million drivers have switched to it and cites a 4.7-star App Store rating as of May 2026 (company statements, not verified by this site). Coverage is offered in selected states; Root's own page says it is offered in 35 states, and the 10-K lists the states where Root Insurance Company is licensed. Root says it is not available in every state, and California and Maryland policies do not use telematics for rates, according to the disclaimers on Root's pages.

Recent company news: Root filed its 10-Q for the second quarter of 2026 on August 5, 2026, and on September 1, 2026 announced with Carvana an extension of their exclusive embedded insurance partnership through at least August 2028 (reported by Coverager; the partnership's insurance product is sold as 'Carvana Insurance Built with Root'). Neither item changes how to cancel, claim or complain.

Complaint record: BBB, Trustpilot and this site's archive

BBB (as displayed on 2026-10-07). The BBB profile for Root, Columbus, OH shows rating A+, BBB Accredited, 351 total complaints in the last 3 years and 99 complaints closed in the last 12 months, and 'Average of 610 Customer Reviews' at 3.14 out of 5. BBB's page says that because of the high volume of complaints it may publish 1 out of every 4 complaints it handles, and that the complaint text displayed may not represent all complaints. BBB's rating is its own assessment; its customer-review average is a separate figure.

Trustpilot (as displayed on 2026-10-07). Root's Trustpilot page shows 3.8 out of 5 from 3,121 reviews (220 in the last 12 months), a claimed profile since October 2021, replies to 92% of negative reviews, and the notice that the company has not invited customers recently so reviews may not be representative. Trustpilot does not fact-check reviews.

Regulator-reported complaint data. The Pennsylvania examination report summarised in the regulator section is the only regulator complaint tally found in the sources checked; it covers Pennsylvania in 2023 and is not comparable with BBB or Trustpilot figures. These sources are not added together.

This site's archive. A search of approved usacomplaints.com complaints on October 7, 2026 for the names Root Insurance, Root Insurance Company, Root Car Insurance and joinroot found no posts about this company, so no complaint themes are shown. If you have a complaint about Root, use Root's own routes first (see the practical section), then your state insurance department.

Lawsuits and settlements involving Root Insurance Company

Company-reported matters are taken from Root, Inc.'s SEC filings and the court documents linked in the case list; allegations in a complaint are not findings.

• Missouri total-loss sales tax class action (Hess v. Root Insurance Company). The complaint alleged Root underpaid insureds by excluding sales tax from total-loss payments. The Circuit Court of Cape Girardeau County granted final approval of the class settlement on January 30, 2023 and dismissed the class claims with prejudice. The settlement website states the maximum available to class members was $1,492,914.94 (with attorney fees and a service award paid separately by Root) and the claim deadline was February 4, 2023 (passed). The final order states the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
• Texas total-loss sales tax putative class action (W.D. Tex. 1:22-cv-01328). Filed December 19, 2022; Root's 10-Q for the second quarter of 2024 says Root's motion to dismiss was granted and the case was dismissed with prejudice on August 22, 2023, and that the Fifth Circuit affirmed on July 24, 2024.
• Louisiana putative class action (M.D. La. 3:23-cv-00089). Filed February 9, 2023 over the settlement of a total-loss claim; Root's 10-Q for the second quarter of 2023 says it was settled for an immaterial amount and dismissed with prejudice on July 20, 2023.
• Securities class action (S.D. Ohio 2:21-cv-01197). Shareholders alleged misleading statements around the 2020 IPO; the court granted Root's motion to dismiss with prejudice on March 31, 2023 and the Sixth Circuit affirmed on April 29, 2024, according to Root's filings. A related derivative suit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on June 7, 2024.
• Employment (S.D. Ohio 2:25-cv-01078). A former customer service representative's wage-and-hour collective action filed against Root and a subsidiary was resolved for an immaterial amount and dismissed with prejudice on May 7, 2026, according to Root's 10-Q for the second quarter of 2026.

Root's fiscal 2025 10-K says it does not believe any current or pending legal action could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition. A CourtListener search of federal dockets run on October 7, 2026 for case names containing 'Root Insurance' returned 85 dockets, including individual policyholder cases and cases filed by Root Insurance Company; these were not reviewed one by one and are not listed here.

Is Root Insurance Legitimate?

Root's SEC filings describe Root Insurance Company as an Ohio-domiciled insurer licensed in many states and the District of Columbia, supervised primarily by the Ohio Department of Insurance, and the regulators named in the section above have examined it and issued the orders described. The BBB profile shows Root as BBB Accredited with an A+ rating as displayed on October 7, 2026, and Trustpilot shows 3.8 out of 5 from 3,121 reviews. This site assigns no rating or verdict of its own: the regulator orders (Pennsylvania 2025, New York 2025, Oregon 2020 and 2021, Connecticut 2022), the dismissed and settled lawsuits and the company's own claim and cancellation routes are set out above so readers can weigh them. You can check an insurer's license status with your state insurance department.

Court & Public Records

Company Relationships

• Owned by: Root, Inc.
• Owned by: Caret Holdings, Inc.
• Affiliated with: Root Property & Casualty Insurance Company
• Affiliated with: Root Florida Insurance Company
• Affiliated with: Root Reinsurance Company, Ltd.

Frequently Asked Questions