Hippo Insurance Review | Bankrate

Hippo is a startup insurance carrier that uses artificial intelligence to safeguard its home and condo insurance policyholders across the U.S. The Palo Alto, California-based publicly traded insurtech company uses a modern approach to offer innovative coverage options and a host of available discounts. The property carrier even offers a free smart home kit to eligible customers, with a discount built in as soon as it is activated.

Perks
Drawbacks

Rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best for ongoing financial strength
Availability limited to 39 states and Washington, D.C.

Receive a smart home monitoring kit for being a Hippo customer and earn a discount by keeping it activated
Personalized service found with larger insurance companies may not be available

Bankrate’s Hippo Insurance review revealed that it could be a great choice for tech-savvy consumers who own smart home devices and work from home. Its policies are underwritten by Canopius U.S. Insurance, Spinnaker Insurance Company and Topa Insurance Company. All three companies have earned an A- (Excellent) financial strength rating with AM Best. Additionally, Hippo is financially backed by major reinsurers with more than $200 billion in assets.

Hippo is currently expanding throughout the country, but is only available in 39 states and Washington, D.C. At the moment, Hippo is not offering coverage in Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota or Wyoming.

Hippo home insurance | Bankrate Score 4.5

Hippo understands how reliant modern customers are on technology. With this in mind, the company wanted to create the best homeowners insurance tailored around tech-savvy coverage options. This includes higher coverage limits for computers and home office equipment, making it ideal for someone who works from home. Homeowners can also receive coverage for electronics and appliances and essential staff, like a house cleaner or babysitter who visits your home. Water backup coverage and service line coverage are also available.

Hippo home insurance received a Bankrate Score of 4.5 out of 5. To determine this score, our insurance editorial team researched Hippo’s policy offerings and discount opportunities, as well as its rating by third party agencies. While Hippo did not rank in J.D. Power’s 2021 Home Insurance Survey, it did receive an A- (Excellent) by AM Best, indicating strong ongoing financial strength.

Hippo home insurance cost

The average cost of home insurance throughout the country is $1,312 per year for $250,000 in dwelling coverage. Although Hippo home insurance rates are not available, knowing the national average could serve as a point of comparison when shopping for home insurance policies.

Based on your location and size of your home, this dwelling coverage amount may not be suitable, so below are more average home insurance rates for a variety of dwelling coverage limits:

Dwelling coverage limit
National average annual premium

$150,000
$898

$250,000
$1,312

$350,000
$1,723

$450,000
$2,148

Hippo home insurance discounts

Hippo offers numerous ways for you to save on homeowners insurance. And to help you achieve the best rate possible, Hippo calculates the discounts you qualify for during the online quote process. Discounts include:

  • No mortgage discount: If you are mortgage-free, you may qualify for this discount on your home insurance.
  • Smart home discount: Hippo provides smart home discounts for homes with smart devices such as smart alarm systems and smoke detectors. As part of a partnership with Xfinity, Hippo homeowners who own Xfinity Home Security systems can earn up to 25% off their policy.
  • New home discount: If your home is newly built or you have purchased your home within the last 12 months, you might save on your premium.

Hippo home services

Customers with a Hippo home insurance policy can also take advantage of Hippo Home Care. This free service provides advice on how to maintain your home and appliances like dishwashers, sinks, toilets and more. It even allows you to call or email a Home Care Expert at any time to help work through the issue immediately.

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Other Hippo perks worth considering

In May 2021, Hippo and Metromile announced a partnership to provide consumers with a bundling discount. Hippo exclusively sells home and condo insurance, while Metromile sells pay-per-mile auto insurance. By purchasing your home or condo coverage from Hippo and your auto coverage from Metromile, you may qualify for a multi-policy discount.

Hippo social responsibility

Hippo does not disclose if they have any ongoing social responsibility efforts.

Not sure if Hippo is right for you? Consider these alternatives

  • Lemonade: As another company focused on bridging technology with insurance, Lemonade may be ideal for customers wanting to get a quote from a similar company.
  • Allstate: With its mobile app and expanding list of proprietary online tools, Allstate could be worth a look for customers who want to better understand their insurance.
  • Progressive: Progressive’s Name Your Price tool and online policy management systems could be a draw for tech-savvy consumers.

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze 2021 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quoted rates are based on 40-year-old male and female homeowners with a clean claim history, good credit and the following coverage limits:

  • Coverage A, Dwelling: $150,000, $250,000, $350,000, $450,000
  • Coverage B, Other Structures: $15,000, $25,000, $35,000, $45,000
  • Coverage C, Personal Property: $75,000, $125,000, $175,000, $225,000
  • Coverage D, Loss of Use: $30,000, $50,000, $70,000, $90,000
  • Coverage E, Liability: $300,000
  • Coverage F, Medical Payments: $1,000

The homeowners also have a $1,000 deductible and a separate wind and hail deductible (if required).

These are sample rates and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your quotes will differ.

Bankrate Scores

Bankrate Scores primarily reflect a weighted rank of industry-standard ratings for financial strength and customer experience in addition to analysis of quoted annual premiums from Quadrant Information Services, spanning all 50 states and Washington, D.C. We know it is important for homeowners to be confident their financial protection covers the likeliest risks, is priced competitively and is provided by a financially-sound company with a history of positive customer support.

To determine how well the best home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best, S&P, NAIC, and Moody’s had the most impact on the companies’ Bankrate Scores. As price is a common consideration for homeowners, we analyzed quoted premiums based on 40-year-old male and female homeowners with a home policy with $250,000 in dwelling coverage. This profile, assessed across more than 35,000 ZIP codes in the U.S., provided a basis on which homeowners may compare each provider.

While coverage options, insurer availability, affordability and customer experience are often the top priorities, Bankrate also analyzed each insurer’s online and mobile resources for policy management and claims handling. Insurance is rapidly evolving to keep pace with our digital world, so these aspects also carried weight in determining Bankrate Scores.