US-based online home insurance provider Hippo Enterprises raised a $150m series E round, which featured corporate backers including mass media group Comcast, home maintenance services provider Standard Industries and home builder Lennar, all previous investors. Comcast invested via its corporate venturing arm, Comcast Ventures.
The round valued the business at a $1.5bn post-money and included Propel Venture Partners, the venture capital firm backed by Spain-based financial services firm BBVA, also a previous investor. Other investors include a host of venture firms, unnamed hedge funds and family offices.
Founded in 2015, Hippo runs an online platform that allows homeowners to assess insurance quotes in less than a minute and buy policies in four, with savings of up to 25%. The company also offers free smart home devices to improve home security and prevent accidents. It has also installed smart sensors into new builds to lower maintenance costs.
Hippo plans to use the series E funds to increase headcount and improve its technology as it looks to extend its reach to 95% of US households.
Hippo is part of the broader insurtech space, which has received much attention by corporate investors in recent years. The number of corporate-backed deals in this space has more than doubled from 33 in 2016 to 79 reported last year. This year we have reported 33 rounds by mid-July.
