Technology-oriented home insurance startup Hippo, has raised $150 million in new funding, raising the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion, it announced Tuesday.
The new funding is part of a Series E round. The cash came from a group of venture capital firms that include FinTLV, Ribbit Capital, Dragoneer, Innovius Capita and others. Hippo now plans to use the infusion of money to expand its geographic footprint, with the goal of reaching 95 percent of U.S. homeowners over the next year.
The company will also pursue an “aggressive hiring plan,” according to a statement provided to Inman, that will include adding 100 staffers. Additionally, Hippo will invest in beefing up its technology and on acquiring another insurance carrier, the statement added.
Assaf Wand
In the statement Tuesday, Hippo co-founder Assaf Wand said his company “set out to change the relationship between homeowners and home insurance.”
“We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last three years since launch, by leveraging technology wisely and reimagining the customer experience,” Wand added.
Hippo — which is based in Palo Alto, California — was founded in 2015 and first began selling homeowner’s insurance in 2017. The company initially focused on the California market, but according to its statement it has since expanded to 28 additional states and is currently available to 70 percent of U.S. homeowners.
The company has also maintained a successful fundraising track record that included raising $70 million in 2018 and $100 million last year. Hippo’s statement to Inman Tuesday noted that it is now valued at “$1.5 billion post-financing.” The statement adds that “in the past twelve months, the company has grown its total written premiums to $270 million, growing at 140 percent” year-over-year.
Hippo markets itself as a modern solution to homeowner’s insurance. Among other things, the company touts a streamlined digital purchase process, a focus on data and in some cases an included smart home device kit.
Those features have apparently been enough to generate excitement and money from investors, with FinTLV founder Gil Arazi saying Tuesday in a statement that Hippo provides a “delightfully refreshing customer experience, a rarity in the industry.”
Arazi added that Hippo is “the most compelling technology insurance company of its time.”
