Farmers vs Root: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Farmers comes out ahead in 1, Root in 0, with 5 too close to call. There is no overall score to compare, though: Root does not publish enough of the underlying data to earn one, and we would rather leave it blank than build a number out of the two or three figures that happen to exist. Farmers is the better-documented of the two, which is not the same as being the better insurer for you. Judge these two on the categories where both have real figures — and on what they actually quote you.
Farmers vs Root, side by side
Sources: average premiums from NerdWallet's August 2026 rate analysis (Quadrant Information Services), for a 35-year-old driver with a clean record and good credit in a 2023 Toyota Camry LE at 12,000 miles a year, 100/300/50 limits with $1,000 deductibles — national average $2,356. Claims satisfaction from the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study (segment average 700). Complaint record from NerdWallet's analysis of NAIC complaint data, 2022–2024. Financial strength from AM Best. Discounts and app data from each carrier's published pages and the Apple App Store / Google Play, retrieved August 2026. Updated August 2026.
Category by category
Price
Too close to callRoot does not release public rate data, so there is no like-for-like premium to set against Farmers's $4,048/yr. That is a real gap in the comparison, not a rounding error — treat Root's price as unknown until you have a quote in hand.
$4,048 a year for full coverage, 72% above the national average and the most expensive carrier in this review by a wide margin.
Root is excluded from the rate study we use for every other carrier, because its pricing model does not fit a standard benchmark — your quote depends on a driving test, not a profile.
Claims satisfaction
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on claims satisfaction: Farmers posts 690/1,000 and Root Not rated, a difference too small to choose on.
690 out of 1,000, ten points below the segment average.
Not in the J.D. Power claims study, which samples only the largest insurers.
Complaint record
Farmers aheadFarmers takes complaint record on About the expected number against Root's Far more than expected.
Close to the number of complaints expected for its size.
Far more complaints than expected for its size.
Financial strength
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on financial strength: Farmers posts A and Root Not published, a difference too small to choose on.
AM Best A (Excellent).
No AM Best rating, and Demotech lists it as not rated. No independent assessment of its ability to pay claims is available — the single most important thing to know about Root.
Discounts
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on discounts: Farmers posts 10 published* and Root Not published, a difference too small to choose on.
Roughly ten discounts, though Farmers blocks automated access to its own discounts page, so we could not verify the list or its telematics program name directly.
No discount list we could read on Root's own site.
Digital experience
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on digital experience: Farmers posts 4.84 iOS / 4.7 Android and Root Not published, a difference too small to choose on.
4.84 on the App Store and 4.7 on Google Play — the best-rated app pairing in this review, across a relatively small rating base.
No app-store figures we could verify from a primary source.
So which one?
Pick Farmers if…
- You are among drivers who want an agent and have specific coverage needs farmers can meet.
- You want the lower complaint record — Farmers sits at About the expected number.
- Availability fits: 40 states, through agents — the Farmers brand left Florida in 2023 and does not write in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont or West Virginia.
Pick Root if…
- You are among confident drivers willing to be monitored before being quoted.
- Availability fits: 37 states.
Farmers vs Root, answered
The questions people ask before switching between these two.
Other comparisons
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Averages are a starting point. Your rate is the only number that decides it.