Root Insurance said it will start giving its customers who prove they’re not using cellphones while driving additional savings on their insurance policies. GuideOne Insurance debuted an online quoting portal designed to speed up agent business in multiple small business categories.

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Root Insurance said it will now give customers who are not distracted drivers added savings on their insurance policies.

With its revised pricing model, drivers who avoid mobile device use while driving can save up to an additional 10 percent on their insurance quote.

Root, a startup founded in 2015, uses telematics and smartphone-related technology to reward drivers with cheaper insurance rates. Customers get a personalized quote after a test drive with the technology of two to three weeks.

Root said it began testing ways to track texting-while-driving in 2017, by using the gyroscope and accelerometer within the mobile phone to identify any unusual vibration patterns that were indicative of significant cellphone use while driving. As part of its expansion program, the company began incorporating the insights into its underwriting algorithm. As a result, the latest iteration of the Root app can recognize unusual phone patterns such as when and how frequently someone is using their smartphone while driving.

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GuideOne Insurance debuted an online quoting portal designed to speed up agent business in multiple small business categories.

GO BOP, GuideOne’s Business Owners Policy portal, is intended to deliver instant quotes and binds business in eight small business categories in as little as 10 minutes.

GuideOne now writes business owners policies for churches, contractors, distributors, offices, real estate, restaurants, retail and service businesses. Optional coverage for cyber is available and includes cyber exposures like identity recovery, data breach, computer attacks and extortion in one form.

Agents will know a client’s eligibility within fewer than 15 questions on two screens thanks to GO BOP’s third-party integrations that pre-fill data and support underwriting decision-making.

GO BOP launches in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and West Virginia today, expanding nationally in 2019 to diversify GuideOne’s portfolio and increase market share.

Sources: Root, GuideOne