Roadside assistance: Designing for urgency, clarity, and calm
Type of project
A real-world mobile product feature designed and shipped as part of The Floow’s white-label insurance apps, configured across global client deployments.
Company & product overview
The Floow provides mobile telematics apps for insurers, helping users improve driving behaviour and access policy-linked services like crash detection, claims, and roadside assistance. The app experience supports customers in high-stress, real-world scenarios.
Skills & area of focus
UX design, emergency-state UX, visual hierarchy, accessibility, mapping and location integration, service integration, motion design, behavioural psychology, microcopy.
Project problem or purpose
Users who needed roadside help were overwhelmed, unsure what coverage applied, or didn’t know what to do next. The process lacked clarity, and in moments of stress, even small friction points had a major impact. We needed to build an experience that was instantly understandable and easy to use, especially under pressure.
Roles, responsibilities, & team
I led this initiative from concept through delivery. The core team included one product designer, one PM, and our client’s roadside vendor integration team. I collaborated with our mobile engineers and insurer partners to ensure seamless brand alignment and backend coverage logic. This project was part of a multi-feature release cycle across several international apps.
Timeline, scope, constraints
The project had a tight 8-week timeline and had to integrate with third-party APIs and dynamic policy entitlements. Variations in coverage and provider rules by region added complexity. We also had to design for users with low digital confidence and minimal pre-awareness of the feature.
Process & what I did
We mapped real user journeys during roadside breakdowns, speaking with drivers and insurers to understand what they needed most. I led the design of a lightweight, high-contrast UI that surfaced what was covered, how long help would take, and what the user needed to do (or not do). Clear visual hierarchy, simplified copy, and progress feedback were key. I also defined UI states for poor connectivity and failure fallbacks. We introduced a call-or-request model, so users could choose support based on comfort and context.
Outcomes, results, & lessons
The new feature saw a 3x increase in roadside requests via app (vs. call centre) and earned consistently high satisfaction ratings in post-event surveys. Most importantly, users described it as “reassuring” and “stress-free”, which validated our design principles. One lesson: success in high-stakes UX isn’t about cleverness, it’s about clarity and confidence when people need it most.
