Charlie Rodgers's questions to Root Inc (ROOT) leadership • Q2 2025
Question
Charlie Rodgers, on behalf of Andrew Anderson at Jefferies LLC, asked about the differences in new business penalty, frequency, and severity between the direct and partnership channels. He also inquired if the demand pull-forward from Q1 reversed in Q2 and asked for an update on the company's state expansion pipeline following the approval in Washington.
Answer
Co-Founder and CEO Alex Timm explained that the new business penalty is slightly higher in the direct channel but the difference is not massive. He noted the partnership channel's mix is more preferred, leading to slightly elevated severity, but not enough to materially impact the blended loss ratio. Timm confirmed the Q1 demand pull-forward created some headwinds in Q2. He clarified that while the product filing in Washington was approved, the state has not yet launched, and other state filings are pending in the public domain.