Root vs Travelers: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Root comes out ahead in 0, Travelers in 1, 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. Travelers 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.
Root vs Travelers, 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 Travelers's $1,634/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.
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.
$1,634 a year for full coverage, 31% below the national average and the lowest of any carrier open to the general public.
Claims satisfaction
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on claims satisfaction: Root posts Not rated and Travelers 691/1,000, a difference too small to choose on.
Not in the J.D. Power claims study, which samples only the largest insurers.
691 out of 1,000, nine points below the segment average. The weakest part of an otherwise strong picture.
Complaint record
Travelers aheadTravelers takes complaint record on Fewer than expected against Root's Far more than expected.
Far more complaints than expected for its size.
Fewer complaints than expected for its size.
Financial strength
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on financial strength: Root posts Not published and Travelers A++, a difference too small to choose on.
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.
AM Best A++ — one of only four carriers here with the top rating, and remarkable for a company this size.
Discounts
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on discounts: Root posts Not published and Travelers 11 published, a difference too small to choose on.
No discount list we could read on Root's own site.
Eleven published discounts, though nine of the most valuable are explicitly unavailable in California.
Digital experience
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on digital experience: Root posts Not published and Travelers 4.69 iOS / 4.2 Android, a difference too small to choose on.
No app-store figures we could verify from a primary source.
4.69 on the App Store and 4.2 on Google Play. Competent rather than class-leading, with a notably small Play Store rating base.
So which one?
Pick Root if…
- You are among confident drivers willing to be monitored before being quoted.
- Availability fits: 37 states.
Pick Travelers if…
- You are among price-focused drivers who want a financially bulletproof insurer.
- You want the lower complaint record — Travelers sits at Fewer than expected.
- Availability fits: 42 states and D.C., mostly through independent agents — not available in Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia or Wyoming.
Root vs Travelers, 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.