Reviews Report
- Reviews.com scored Hippo home insurance company a 4.3 out of 5, based on coverage, customer experience, and financial stability.
- Hippo home insurance offers four times more coverage on standard endorsements, including home office, electronics, and smart appliances.
- Some homeowners are eligible for a free smart home monitoring kit plus homeowners insurance discount for installation and monitoring.
Founded in 2015, fintech startup Hippo started selling home insurance policies in 2017. Hippo Insurance Services offers homeowners, condo owners, and landlords insurance products designed to prevent losses and awards customers for doing so with discounts and free smart home monitoring systems.
Hippo home insurance includes many coverages and options that other companies don’t offer. Modern homeowners insurance coverage from Hippo includes home office equipment, equipment breakdown, and water backup come standard, replacing older standard coverages like furs and inherited china sets. Hippo Home Care is a free service for customers to speak with experts about maintenance and repairs. The company focuses on helping contemporary homeowners — who may be reliant on smart home technology or work from a home office — find coverage that fits their needs.
Hippo Home Insurance Overview
During the 2019 California wildfires, Hippo co-founder and CEO Assaf Wand gave out his personal phone number and email address to customers, offering a personal touch rare in the insurance industry. Furthermore, prior to major weather events, Hippo contacts customers to help them protect their homes and belongings from losses. In 2018, Hippo created the Amazon Alexa skill “away mode” for users to deter burglaries when they aren’t home. Additionally, Hippo offers free Home Care Experts for customers to get help with maintenance and repair.
Partnered with Kangaroo, Notion, and SimpliSafe, Hippo offers eligible homeowners free smart home monitoring systems to use, which can mean up to 13% savings on their home insurance, depending on the type of system a homeowner has.
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Hippo Home Insurance Highlights
Hippo Home Insurance vs. The Competition
| Provider | Reviews.com Score | J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction* | AM Best | Available Discounts |
| Hippo | 4.3 | N/A | A- | Companion policy discount Hail resistant roof discount Home buyer discount Smart home discount Theft protection devices discount |
| Lemonade | 2.25 | N/A | N/A | Multi-policy discount Protective devices Pay in full |
| Mercury Insurance | 2.75 | N/A | A | Gated community New home Fire-resistant construction Protective devices Multi-policy |
| Chubb | 3.5 | 778 | A++ | Burglar/fire alarm Renovated home Residential sprinkler system Suburban rating Masonry construction |
Information accurate as of July 2021
*J.D. Power 2020 Home Insurance Satisfaction Study. Based on a 1,000-point scale.
Hippo vs. Lemonade
Both homeowners insurers review applications using AI technology, offering fast quotes and policy processing. Claims cannot be filed online with Hippo, but Lemonade offers a fully online buying, servicing, and claims processes. Lemonade has a reputation for paying claims exceptionally fast, whereas Hippo could take up to 15 days or longer to pay. Hippo offers more discounts than Lemonade on its home insurance policies. However, Hippo home insurance reviews are generally more positive than Lemonade’s reviews.
Hippo vs. Mercury Insurance
On top of offering the standard home insurance coverages, Mercury also has optional coverages for home appliances, service line protection, identity theft, and cyber protection. While Hippo offers optional earthquake coverage, Mercury does not. Mercury has dedicated agents but with Hippo, business is conducted online or by phone. Compared to Hippo, Mercury offers fewer discounts on its home insurance policies.
Hippo vs. Chubb
Insuring your home with Chubb provides free access to identity management services, property management for second homes, and risk assessment services to detect problems and minimize losses. Chubb guarantees first claims contact within 24 hours of filing and payments 48 hours after settlement. Hippo home insurance claims may take longer to settle. With Chubb, you can’t get quotes online — you have to speak to an agent for homeowners insurance. Chubb also offers more discounts than Hippo for homeowners insurance.
Hippo Home Insurance FAQ
Methodology
We evaluated Hippo home insurance based on availability, customer satisfaction, financial stability, and coverage to determine Reviews.com score and create our best home insurance reviews. To compare home insurance companies with other providers across the board, we calculate each Reviews.com score based on the following:
- Coverage: The more options a home insurance company has for insurance add-ons and coverages, the higher it scores in our methodology.
- Customer Experience: We reviewed the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ National Complaint Index and compared each homeowners insurance company’s complaint rating.
- Customer Satisfaction: With J.D. Power’s 2020 Home Insurance Satisfaction Study, we assigned a score to each company based on the rating it received.
- Financial Stability: Reviews.com utilized AM Best ratings to assign a score based on each home insurance company’s financial stability.
- Discounts: We reviewed and compared the number of discounts advertised on each home insurance company’s website. The more available discounts, the higher the score in this metric.
About the Authors
Cate Deventer is a writer and licensed insurance agent. She has a Bachelor’s degree in theatre and is currently pursuing a degree in English with a concentration in professional and technical writing from Indiana University East. Her work has been featured on Reviews.com and Bankrate.com, and she’s passionate about helping people take charge of their finances. In her free time, she likes to read thrillers and sci-fi novels, garden, and toss tennis balls for her dog.
