Root Insurance founder and CEO Alex Timm says AI agents may let drivers compare auto policies using personal details, a shift he argues would make insurers compete more on individualized risk pricing.
In an Oct. 28 op-ed for Digital Insurance, Timm said an agent could weigh a driver’s location, vehicle and driving record when comparing coverage and prices. He argues that easier comparisons could help drivers shop, while insurers with stronger risk-pricing methods could gain an edge. “AI agents drive pure price shopping,” Timm wrote. These are potential effects he describes, not reported results.
JD Power said in a June 2026 release, citing its January AI and Insurance Special Report, that 32% of auto insurance shoppers had used AI tools during their search. It said 33% found the information unhelpful, and AI users were more than 1.3 times as likely as nonusers to switch insurers. The figures cover AI tools broadly; they do not measure autonomous agents gathering quotes across carriers.
A separate JD Power digital-experience study found one-third of insurance shoppers had encountered tools comparing prices across brands. Another 27% encountered tools for comparing policy options within one brand, while 28% found no such tools. The study drew on 11,553 evaluations conducted from January through March 2026.
Root’s 2025 annual report cited the internet’s rise as a sales channel in the late 1990s as an earlier technology-driven shift in personal auto insurance.
In its second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, Root, Inc. said competition in direct sales remained challenging as insurers increased marketing spending while lowering prices. The company said it was positioned across direct sales, comparison marketplaces, embedded partnerships, independent agents and AI-enabled customer experiences. Root said it expected to launch a new predictive pricing model in the fourth quarter of 2026.
