InsurTech Hippo Closes On $150M On $1.5B Valuation

Hippo, the tech startup that provides home insurance digitally, has raised $150 million in a funding round that brings its valuation to $1.5 billion, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company announced Tuesday (July 21).

Since the company launched in 2015, it has raised a total of $359 million. Last summer, Hippo reached unicorn status, the term used by the venture capital sector to describe a startup company valued at more than $1 billion.

This latest financing pool included new investors FinTLV, Ribbit Capital, Dragoneer and Innovius Capital. In addition, existing backers included Bond, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Fifth Wall, Horizons Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Innovius Capital, Lennar Corp., Pipeline Capital, Propel Venture Partners, RPM Ventures, Standard Industries and Zeev Ventures.

Hippo said the cash will be used to fuel the company’s expansion, including an initiative to reach 95 percent of U.S. homeowners over the next year, add staff, invest in technology and support the company’s proposed acquisition of Spinnaker Insurance Co.

“We set out to change the relationship between homeowners and home insurance by offering more value and services in each interaction with our customers,” said Hippo Co-Founder and CEO Assaf Wand in a statement. “We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last three years since launch, by leveraging technology wisely and reimagining the customer experience.

In June, Hippo entered into an agreement to buy Spinnaker Insurance Co., a national property and casualty insurer.

The privately-held company said in the last year, sale of premiums totaled $270 million, a 140 percent year-over-year increase.

The market for home insurance could rise as homeowners flee cities for suburban life.

Realtor.com revealed real estate searches in suburban ZIP codes increased by as much as 13 percent in May. Bloomberg reported page views for Zillow’s suburban listings rose by nearly 11 percent during the pandemic’s height in April.

“I think the next 18 to 24 months are going to show a lot of exodus out of central business districts, as you can expect,” Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of real estate firm Marcus & Millichap, told CNBC.

A Harris Poll of 2,050 U.S. adults conducted April 25-27 found 39 percent of city residents said the COVID-19 crisis has prompted them to consider living in less crowded places.