Palo Alto, California-based home insurance company Hippo has been on the fast track to expansion since its inception in 2015.
Founded by Assaf Wand and Eyal Navon, Hippo works with top-rated insurance companies to allow homeowners to receive quotes and purchase home insurance online in 60 seconds or less, saving customers up to 25 percent. Its policies are available to over 65 percent of homeowners in the U.S.
The company also provides complimentary smart home devices designed to protect homeowners against water leaks, fire damage, and break-ins, which account for nearly 40 percent of all claims filed by its customers. In addition, Hippo has built an extensive partner distribution network that includes homebuilders like Lennar, lenders like Better.com, homeowner insurers like First American Property & Casualty Insurance Company, and key brands within the Connected Home like Xfinity. Earlier this year, Hippo announced it was teaming up with SimpliSafe to expand the suite of services available within Hippo’s extensive smart home program.
So far, Hippo has raised $209 million in funding, with its most recent round in July 2019. Investors include Bond, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Fifth Wall, Hillhouse Capital, Horizons Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, and Michael Ovitz, just to name a few.
Those funds have been used to boost expansion, including the company’s recently announced acquisition of Spinnaker Insurance Company, a national property and casualty insurer licensed in all 50 states. Spinnaker has been Hippo’s largest carrier platform since 2017, with products currently available to consumers in 18 states.
Once the deal is completed in the third quarter of this year, Spinnaker will operate independently under the Hippo umbrella, as well as continue to service its portfolio of program administrators.
“Bringing Spinnaker into the Hippo family is a natural next step in growing our proactive home insurance offering,” said Rick McCathron, Chief Insurance Officer at Hippo. “Spinnaker knows the complexities of our industry, mirrors our same standards for technology innovation and customer experience and has continued to meet, oftentimes exceeding, our expectations over the years. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made as partners and look forward to closing the acquisition.”
