The startup insurer officially launched in California with a new way of looking at coverage.
Hippo Insurance had its official launch in California this week and has taken a different perspective for homeowners policies. The concept is to offer smart homeowners insurance for modern homes.
This insurance company is based in Mountain View, California and hopes to freshen the market.
The insurer claims that the homeowners insurance market has barely seen any change at all in fifty years. Hippo Insurance hopes that with the changes it’s making, consumers will be able to trust in online home coverage. If the insurance company is correct, that will occur as a result of considerably more transparent coverage on the internet.
The startup was first founded in 2015. It was started by Assaf Wand and Eyal Navon, who have launched a number of other companies as well. Hippo also has the backing of a number of leading Venture Capital firms such as GGV Capital and Horizon ventures among others. It also has the support of several high profile investors such as LendingHome co-founder and CEO, Matt Humphrey, and Trulia co-founder and CEO, Pete Flint.
Hippo Insurance CEO Assaf Wand believes the company’s policyholders will be less likely to be under-insured.
“It’s a rewarding moment,” said Wand. “When you look at home insurance, you see that 60% of U.S. homeowners are under-insured, many believe they have coverage that isn’t actually in their policies and the majority spend too much time and money purchasing the product, due to outdated commissioned agents and various hidden fees.”
Wand pointed out that to correct these problems, the homeowners insurance company dedicated thousands of hours to the analysis and evaluation of the market and then recreated its perspective from the ground up. They began with their standard home insurance policy. To that, they added 10 essential features that are not typically found in standard coverage from other insurers.
Moreover, they have used cutting edge insurance technology to form what it has called the fastest purchase process a consumer can find on the internet. Moreover, they have weeded out unnecessary costs and say they have eliminated hidden fees and expenses.
Hippo Insurance also came up with a strategy to assist policyholders in avoiding experiencing a loss in the first place. This involves the use of smart sensors in the home. The insurance company is filing in a number of different states beyond California. Its goal is to provide coverage to half of all American homeowners by the close of 2017.
