How Hippo Insurance Works
Officially launched in spring 2017, Hippo Insurance was founded to disrupt the home insurance market. The ideas, though ambitious, were pretty simple:
Reduce costs to the customer
Make the quote and buying process faster than ever before
Get customers fully covered for everything they need
How Hippo accomplishes (or attempts to accomplish) this herculean task is multi-pronged.
For starters, Hippo is a tech company. As such, the developers there aim to stay on the cutting edge, whether this means gathering aerial photography or property history from a myriad of sources or using feedback to improve customer experience. Customer service lines are open 24 hours Monday through Friday, and they’re available by email and Facebook Messenger.
Another key to the Hippo puzzle is its partnerships with insurance providers. Policies with Hippo are underwritten by Spinnaker Insurance Company and TOPA insurance. Additionally, the world’s largest reinsurer Swiss Re provides further support.
What is a reinsurer? A reinsurer acts as a financial safety net for homeowners insurance companies that carry more risks than it can handle. To be able to reasonably live up to the policies it’s already written while taking on new business, an insurance company transfers some of its risk to a reinsurer.
In addition to the network of partnerships, Hippo offers some bells and whistles not usually seen. The perk that stands out the most is complimentary home monitoring by the “Smart Home Sensor Kit” provided by the company. Customers who sign up to receive one also get a discount on their insurance policy.
Hippo Smart Home
One very cool benefit you can get by working with Hippo is access to their Smart Home Monitoring System. Through this program, you will be equipped with smart home devices
To access Hippo Smart Home, you must sign up for a policy that includes it. There are two packages. The first is a self-monitoring system. Alerts are monitored via an app on your phone. The device can detect smoke, carbon monoxide, motion, and water leaks. You get a 10 percent discount on your policy for enrolling.
The second package offers professional monitoring with a 13 percent discount on your policy. You’ll get multiple devices including a camera, smoke detector, and sensors that detect water and entry. Burglars beware!
How much can you save with a smart home discount? According to hippo.com, the average user saves $64 a year with the self-monitoring system and $91 a year with the pro-monitoring kit. Not to mention, a whole lot of extra peace of mind.
Hippo Claims Process
Hippo offers a dedicated “Claims Concierge” team. Team members there walk you through the claims process so that you feel empowered about how things work. They also connect you with adjusters and service providers. They will even help you coordinate remediation.
Hippo states that their goal is to treat your claim like their own. And from several customer reviews, we can see that this philosophy holds true in practice is many cases.
The Cost of a Hippo Policy
Based on 25,766 quotes generate on Insurify, we found that the average monthly cost for a Hippo insurance policy was $214 a month. However, in some states, home insurance costs are much higher than the national average. Excluding the two highest states —Alabama and Missippi—the average monthly cost for Hippo home insurance is $180.
See the chart below for the average in your state.