So much money has been poured into insurance startups that it’s spawned its own category, “insurtech.” Investors see an opportunity to reduce inefficiencies and make customer-friendly products, and they believe that more young people will buy insurance if the process is more convenient.
From life to autos to rentals to theft, just about every insurance category is seeing “disruption.” One of the emerging leaders in the home insurance market is Hippo, which is raising a $25 million Series B round. This brings the company’s total funding to $39 million since it was founded three years ago. Comcast Ventures and Fifth Wall are leading the round,.
“There’s a need to start bringing the focus on the customer,” said Assaf Wand, Hippo’s co-founder and CEO. He touts a fast-and-easy service that can get you signed up for insurance in just 60 seconds.
He says that Hippo, currently licensed for California, Arizona and Texas, can also cover a lot of home emergencies that standard insurance doesn’t cover, including problems stemming from service lines or broken appliances. “We cover you for the stuff that we think you should be covered for,” said Wand.
Hippo’s policies are underwritten by many of the existing insurance giants, and the company takes a commission on granted insurance plans.
Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner at Fifth Wall, said that he invested because “Hippo’s platform is significantly cheaper and streamlined compared to its traditional competitors.” He believes that “Hippo has everything in place to capitalize on the consumer shift to digital home insurance: superior technology, a highly qualified team, and distribution partnerships out of reach for competitors.”
Sam Landman, managing director of Comcast Ventures, says he’s optimistic about insurance startups like Hippo. “Like we’ve seen in parallel fintech categories over the years, consumers will prefer to do business with companies who place a premium on speed, transparency, value and customer service.”
Prior investors include Horizons Ventures and GGV Capital.