Hippo is an American property insurance company based in Palo Alto, California. Hippo offers homeowner's insurance that covers the homes and possessions of the insurance holder as well as liability from accidents happening in the insured property. They use AI and big data to aggregate and analyze property information. The company sells insurance policies directly to customers and through independent insurance brokers.
History
Hippo was founded by Assaf Wand, a former Intel Capital investor and McKinsey consultant, and Eyal Navon, an entrepreneur with an extensive background in software engineering and R&D. A serial entrepreneur who had previously founded several companies, Wand's interest in insurance was inspired by his father's lengthy career in the "antiquated" insurance industry. In 2015, shortly after Wand's third start-up, Sabi, was acquired, Wand and Navon founded Hippo. In December 2016, to fund product development, Hippo raised $14m in a Series A round of venture capital financing, and in April 2017 Hippo launched in California. At launch, the company's marketing was centered on the delivery of a 60-second quote for homeowners insurance policies; a transparent, online purchase process; and smart home sensors that could proactively identify and prevent potential damage to policyholder's homes. In November of 2018, Hippo raised $25 million in Series B financing, led by Comcast Ventures and Fifth Wall Ventures. The funding was used, in part, to open a customer service and insurance operations center in Austin, Texas. A $70m funding round was announced in November 2018, and in March 2019, with Hippo insurance available to more than 50% of the homeowners in the United States, the company reported a 25 percent month-over-month sales growth and total insured property value of more than $50 billion. In July, $100 million was raised in new venture capital, led by Mary Meeker's Bond Capital, bringing Hippo's valuation to $1 billion. Hippo acquired Sheltr, a San Francisco-based tech-enabled services startup designed to provide home wellness checkups, in November 2019. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
