Largest P&C InsureTech and B2B roadside services providers partner to deliver convenient, touchless emergency road support to policyholders
MEDFORD, Mass. and COLUMBUS, Ohio – May 27, 2020 – Root Insurance has partnered with Agero, powered by Swoop, to provide an entirely digital roadside assistance experience for Root’s customers. Delivering on Root’s commitment to accessibility and convenience, the program, which is part of every policy at no additional cost, includes the ability to request service directly from the Root mobile app, customer vehicle location mapping, live service truck tracking, and more.
“Insurance is a promise we’ll provide financial support or relief in the event our members find themselves in a precarious situation, such as when they have a roadside event or an accident,” said Sarah Woods, Director of Product, Root. “Extending the roadside program to every policyholder is part of our promise that we’re going to be there when members need us most. These events happen more frequently than claims and are a significant, critical touchpoint – one of the few we have with customers directly.”
The Agero, powered by Swoop, Roadside product provides an end to end digital framework for these assistance moments that is in line with Root’s overall technology-born business and is easy to integrate with for rapid deployment. The Swoop platform leverages cloud architecture and robust, well-written APIs to transform a historically analog, highly manual and time-intensive process into one that is seamless, simple to use, cost-effective and able to improve functionally with Root’s growing customer needs. The result is an impressive digital customer experience that took just weeks – rather than months – to standup.
With the click of a button, policyholders can request service from within the Root smartphone app and get full real-time visibility into the service event for peace of mind. Members are able to review key details of their request, confirm their disablement location, track the provider’s real-time ETA and receive notifications. Today, approximately 80 percent of service requests initiate in the mobile app, with Net Promoter Scores (NPS) exceeding 80. Root members also boast high engagement, with a 23 percent response rate on post-event survey loops (compared to industry average external response rates of 10-15%, according to SurveyGizmo). This feedback, combined with a sophisticated reporting dashboard featuring live event tracking, hot spot maps, incident report functionality, and more, provide Root with invaluable insight into the program and customers’ needs.
Added Woods: “From very early on, we’ve had a very aggressive growth strategy and mission to scale a fully digital experience for our growing number of policyholders. Every partner we work with needs to support this goal and deliver on our brand standard of fairness, ease of use, personalization and affordability. We simply could not risk the roadside service experience on an unproven product. Agero’s expertise, market knowledge and powerful technology enables us to continue to deliver an insurance product that keeps the world’s best drivers safe.”
Founded in 2015 and recently valued at over $3.65 billion, Root’s mission is to disrupt the insurance industry by reimagining the services people need and serving them better and more fairly with a digital-first, data driven approach. At the center of this experience is a mobile app which monitors driver performance, rather than just demographics, for personalized rates and makes other key features such as filing a claim or changing a policy simple and easy for users. The model is working; in less than five years, Root has grown to provide coverage across 30 states.
“Root is a fast-growing insuretech leading change in the insurance industry. They need a tool that will ride alongside them – not slow them down – as they grow. Root’s customers have come to expect a digitally-enabled, consistent and reliable claims experience, and can now expect it from their roadside support,” said Dave Ferrick, CEO and Insurance Lead, Agero. “Our intuitive platform combines a seamless digital experience with machine learning to identify any events that require a hands-on approach. A digital first platform plus experience is what Root is looking for. We are thrilled to be working together and look forward to continued success.”
As a leading motor club in North America supporting more than 115 million consumers, Agero, powered by Swoop, provides critical and potentially life-saving assistance for approximately 12 million breakdown and accident events annually. With a curated network of over 8,000 individual tow and roadside companies, and access to tens of thousands more, Agero serves 100 percent of zip codes in the U.S.
Additional information on the Root and Agero, powered by Swoop, partnership is available on the Agero blog and 511 podcast. To learn more about Agero Roadside Assistance, visit: agero.com/roadside-assistance, or contact an Agero representative.
To explore what Root Insurance has to offer, or request a quote, please visit: https://www.joinroot.com/. The Root mobile app can be downloaded to your smartphone on Google Play or Apple App Store.
About Agero
Agero’s mission is to rethink the roadside experience through a powerful combination of passionate people and data-driven technology, strengthening its clients’ relationships with their customers. As a leading B2B provider of next-gen driver assistance services, Agero is pushing the industry in a new direction, taking manual processes and redefining them as digital, transparent and connected. This includes: a transformative roadside event management platform powered by Swoop, a San Francisco based software company acquired in 2018; comprehensive accident management services; knowledgeable consumer affairs and connected vehicle capabilities; and intuitive tow dispatch software.
The company protects 115 million vehicles in partnership with leading automobile manufacturers, insurance carriers and other diversified clients. Managing one of the largest national networks of service providers, Agero responds to approximately 12 million service events annually. Agero, a member company of The Cross Country Group, is headquartered in Medford, Mass., with operations throughout North America and Europe. To learn more, visit www.agero.com.
About Root
Root Insurance is the nation’s first licensed insurance carrier powered entirely by mobile. We were founded on the belief that the services you need for everyday life should serve you better. That’s why we base insurance coverages on you, not your demographic. It’s the way insurance should be. And it’s all conveniently in an app. Root is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with renters insurance available in Missouri, Ohio and Utah, and auto insurance currently available to drivers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia and will be coming to more states soon. For more information, visit joinroot.com and get a free quote. Sign up online or download the app.
Media Contacts:
Kate Patty
PR Manager, Agero
Phone: 781.306.3771
Email: KPatty@agero.com
Tom Kuhn
Director of Communications, Root
press@joinroot.com
Kate leads service provider engagement efforts, communicating directly with Agero's extensive provider network (via email, video, tow shows, promotions and more) to share knowledge, capture feedback and continuously develop relationships. Agero's service provider ecosystem is critical to the delivery of high quality services to consumers that increase client brand reputations. Working in support of service provider affinity, it is Kate's responsibility to help providers grow their business with Agero while supporting internal stakeholders in ongoing improvement of software and processes to make Agero the easiest motor club to work with. When not at work, Kate enjoys reading and spending time with her husband, daughter and chocolate lab Penny.