Making Insurance Engagement Exciting Through Gamification.
Root Insurance is a disruptor in the insurance industry, using technology and innovation to provide fairer, more personalized auto coverage. To build stronger engagement with customers, Root wanted an app that combined gamification with its unique insurance model.
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The Challenge
Insurance is often viewed as boring and transactional, making it difficult to foster ongoing customer engagement. Root Insurance wanted to reimagine this by building an app that encouraged safe driving and rewarded customers in ways that felt interactive and enjoyable.
The challenge was to design a product that merged serious insurance workflows with playful gamification. It had to remain credible in the eyes of regulators and customers, while also engaging enough to keep users coming back.
Our Approach
We worked with Root to design and develop an app that made car insurance feel fresh. Our team began with a Product Strategy Sprint to validate the concept and define engagement mechanics that would align with driving behavior.
We then designed flows for gamified challenges, progress tracking, and rewards, ensuring they felt motivating without overshadowing Root’s core value of fair insurance. Through Mobile App Development, we built the infrastructure to handle secure customer data while delivering a polished, interactive UI.
Armed with a feature set, our next step was to focus on creating the best possible user experience. In the early stages of our ideation process, we realized the need for a more robust leaderboard system for challenges since driver scores were based on a 100-point scale. Taking inspiration from chess, we implemented an Elo ranking system that compares users based on the relative skill levels of how safe they drive, and lets them identify the safest driver on the road while participating in competitive challenges. The Elo system also has the added benefit of not penalizing worse drivers too severely when matched up against a safer driver in a rival face-off challenge.
- Conducted research into customer engagement mechanics
- Designed gamified features linked to safe driving behavior
- Built secure infrastructure for insurance workflows
- Developed a polished UI/UX that balanced fun and credibility
The Impact
The gamified app launched as a new way for Root to connect with customers, proving that even insurance could be interactive. Customers reported greater satisfaction and higher engagement, and Root differentiated itself in a highly commoditized industry.
The platform also helped reinforce positive behaviors, encouraging safer driving through rewards and challenges. Root positioned itself not just as an insurer, but as a partner in customers’ journeys.
Working with Root Insurance was an exciting opportunity for us to explore new ways of making safe driving more engaging and enjoyable. Our research, discovery, and collaboration with Root resulted in a polished UI/UX Design that we are incredibly proud of. Our focus on creating a user-friendly experience that prioritizes engagement and safety was well-received by Root Insurance, and we were thrilled to have been part of their journey to revolutionize the car insurance industry.
- Increased customer engagement and app usage rates
- Improved satisfaction scores through gamification features
- Encouraged safer driving with positive reinforcement
- Positioned Root as an innovator in insurance technology
Project Review
Najum Wani
Director of Marketing Technology Root
“Goji Labs is very forward-thinking and knowledgeable in their space. They created something no one expects from insurance: fun. The app keeps customers engaged while reinforcing our core mission.”
