Hippo homeowners insurance review

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The details

The good

Get quotes in 60 seconds. With Hippo, gone are the days of pages and pages of answering detailed questions about your home that you don't know the answer to. All you do is type in your address, and Hippo provides you a quote in a minute.

Multiple robust, modernized policy options. Hippo offers three high-quality policy tiers you can choose from based on how much coverage you need for your home.

Valuable coverage endorsements included in the base policy. Hippo includes a number of sought-after coverage add-ons, like equipment breakdown coverage, computer coverage, water backup coverage, service line coverage, and others in the base policy. Very few companies offer as much coverage as Hippo.

The bad

No online claims filing. You can't file insurance claims through Hippo’s website. Instead, you need to call in your claims. Although Hippo provides a "concierge line" to take your claims, the lack of an online way to start the claims process feels out of whack with the rest of Hippo’s online offerings.

Lack of industry reputation. Founded in 2015, Hippo is a young company that lacks recognition from some financial rating firms and customer sentiment sites. For some customers, this can understandably be worrisome. If you’re insuring expensive assets or live in a high-risk area, we encourage you to do more research before considering a policy with Hippo.

Higher premiums than average. Compared to the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s average national premium ($1,249), Hippo charges about 20% more for its annual premium ($1,499).

With Hippo, you can expect to pay around $1,499 annually for coverage, according to an analysis of quotes submitted with Policygenius. That makes Hippo home insurance rates about 20% higher than the national average quoted policy ($1,249, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners).

Average annual rates are based on a single-family home with around $300,000 in coverage. But the cost of your own policy with Hippo will depend on your location, any risks associated with your home, and the amount of coverage in your policy.

Discounts

Hippo provides discounts for making your home safer, not filing claims, and new homebuyers. Hippo also offers discounts for belonging to a homeowners association (HOA) and for getting your policy more than a week before it goes active.

• Protective devices discount. Receive a discount if your home has security and safety features like burglar alarms, fire alarms, fire sprinklers, and storm shutters.

• Loss-free discount. You can qualify for savings if you go an extended period of time without filing a claim.

• Early bird discount. Purchase your policy at least a week in advance of it becoming active and you’ll receive savings.

• Smart home discount. Hippo offers free smart home devices (both self- and professionally-monitored), and you can get up to a 13% discount if you install them in your home.

• HOA discount. If you belong to a homeowners association then you can save on premiums.

• Affinity discount. If you purchase your policy through different groups like a university or a membership program, you can get a discount.

• Hail-resistant roof discount. A safer roof means making less claims, so you could get a discount if your home has a “qualifying impact-resistant roof.”

• New home purchase. You’ll get a discount if you bought your home within a year of the policy going active.

• No mortgage discount. Save money with Hippo if you've already paid off your mortgage in its entirety.

Hippo hasn't been around long, so there are no ratings with credit ratings agencies S&P and Moody's. But Hippo is backed by three distinguished and financially lucrative insurance companies in Spinnaker, TOPA, and Swiss Re. With Hippo, you can insure your home with confidence.

• Standard & Poor's rating: AA- (Swiss Re rating)

• Moody's rating: Aa3 (Swiss Re rating)

• A.M. Best rating: A-

A.M. Best is the most reliable credit-rating tool policyholders can use to gauge the financial health of an insurance company. A good score with A.M. Best means a company is more likely to fulfill their financial obligations when it’s time to file a claim. With a score of A-, Hippo has an “excellent” rating.

Both Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P) measure companies' creditworthiness and the long-term financial stability of insurance carriers. A “AAA” rating is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by S&P. Neither firm has rated Hippo, but they do have scores for Swiss Re, one of the companies that financially backs Hippo policies. Swiss Re has an AA- rating with S&P, one of the highest a company can receive. Swiss Re also has a Aa3 rating with Moody's, the fourth highest rating a company can receive.

Hippo has excellent ratings with consumer sentiment site Consumer Advocate.. However, since Hippo is such a new company, it doesn't yet have ratings with Consumer Affairs or Trustpilot.

• Consumer Affairs: n/a

• Consumers Advocate: 4.8 / 5

• Trustpilot: n/a

• NAIC complaint index: 0

Consumer Affairs lets customers directly rate carriers. Hippo does not currently have a score with Consumer Affairs. 

Consumers Advocate rates companies based on stability, reputation, and policy coverage. Hippo received a very high score of 4.8 out of 5.

Trustpilot is another site that allows consumers to rate different companies. Hippo does not currently have a score with Trustpilot.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tracks the number of complaints people submit to state insurance departments. A score of 1 is the baseline average, and a score of zero means there weren't enough complaints to count. The score of zero, based on financial backer Swiss Re, means they received less complaints than the average company.

Hippo has three homeowners insurance coverage packages that provide all of the primary coverages, including dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss-of-use, personal liability, and medical payments coverage.

The base policy includes extended replacement cost for the home and a number of additional coverages that most insurers don't offer. The other two policies are higher tiers of homeowners insurance that come with higher extended replacement cost limits and higher limits for certain coverage add-ons.

Here's some of the highlights of each of the three coverage tiers with Hippo.

Hippo Essentials

• Dwelling coverage. This covers the cost to rebuild or repair your home in the case of a covered incident.

• Other structures coverage. If you have a shed in your backyard, or a detached garage, this coverage ensures its repair and replacement after a covered incident.

• Personal property coverage. Extensive coverage of personal property and belongings for protection against fire, theft, and other losses.

• Additional living expenses. If you have to stay elsewhere while your home is being repaired, this covers the cost of things like lodging, food, and travel.

• Personal liability coverage. If someone gets hurt, or if a visitor’s property is damaged, while on your property, this will pay for medical and legal expenses.

• Medical expenses. If a guest is injured at your home and requires medical attention, this covers their medical bills.

• Extended replacement cost coverage. This increases your dwelling coverage by 25%.

• Domestic worker coverage. This coverage protects you from liability if any nannies, maids, or other household employees are injured on your property.

• Service line coverage. If your electric lines or other lines of service are damaged, this coverage takes care of the cost to repair them for up to $10,000. 

• Computer coverage. If your personal computers are damaged or stolen, you have up to $8,000 to repair or replace them.

• Home office coverage. Working from home comes with a lot of valuable assets to your business, or the business you work for, and with this coverage you have $8,000 towards the repair or replacement of those materials in the case of a covered incident.

• Water backup coverage. If your sewage system or pipes burst or overflow, this coverage helps with the cost to repair the damage caused.

• Jewelry and watches coverage. Whether it’s newly purchased, or your favorite family heirloom, this coverage helps protect your items in the case of a covered incident.

Hippo Best Value

• Everything in the Essentials plan

• Replacement cost contents coverage. If your property is destroyed due to a covered incident, Hippo will pay for you to replace it with an item of equal quality. 

• $10,000 water backup coverage

• $300,000 in liability coverage

Hippo Expanded Protection

• Everything in the Best Value plan

• 50% extended replacement cost coverage

• $10,000 home office coverage

• $20,000 water backup coverage

• $500,000 liability coverage

Note: The information above represents potential policy options and may not be available for every applicant. Speak to a licensed expert for a personalized look at your coverage options.

Hippo has an impressive website with an outstanding quote tool, educational articles, and an online chat feature, but Hippo lacks a digital claims process.

State availability

Homeowners insurance with Hippo is available in 37 states and continues to grow. They’re currently available in: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia.

Digital tools

• Online application

• Instant quote

• Online bill pay and policy management

• Live chat function on website

Ease of claims

One of the few things you can't do online with Hippo is file a claim for losses. To file a claim with Hippo, you need to pick up the phone and dial their claims department or email them. From there, you're assigned a claims advocate who manages your claim from beginning to end.

Though it’s disappointing there’s no way to file a claim online, you can still track your claim on Hippo’s website once it’s been submitted. However, you will be provided with the direct phone number of your personal claims manager whom you can call at any time.

Additional claims service

• 24/7 claims service

• Dedicated claims representative

• Repairs company network

Payment methods

• Online via credit card

• Option to pay annually, twice a year, four times a year, or monthly (for an additional premium)

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