Here's How Hippo Is Innovating Through Smart Partnerships
(Source: Arturo.ai)
The rise of digital industry has breathed new life into many previously stagnant sectors. Those areas of business that would once have been dominated by a few big brands are now wide open for disruption from innovative startups.
One such disruptor is Hippo, which uses data-driven pricing and real-time underwriting to develop a more accurate profile of a customer's property, resulting in qualified customers receiving a comprehensive, tailored and accurate quote in under 60 seconds, and reduced premium costs of up to 25%. Hippo also provides its customers with complimentary smart home devices designed to help protect homeowners against water leaks, fire damage, and break-ins.
The company has recently acquired a further $100 million in series D funding, bringing it to a total of over $1 billion and achieving much sought after unicorn status. And Hippo is putting the money to good use with a pair of innovative partnerships.
Hippo and Arturo
To help it improve its quotation, underwriting, and renewal processes, Hippo has partnered with Arturo and incorporated its AI-powered deep learning property analysis platform into its policy management system.
Arturo's innovative technology uses artificial intelligence to help brands such as Hippo gain a deeper understanding of the environment around a customer's physical home. This is achieved through the combined analysis of satellite, aerial, drone, and ground-level imagery which can then be used by Hippo to develop ever more detailed and bespoke home insurance quotes with a high level of pricing accuracy. This information can be used to complete various aspects of the home insurance application process automatically, saving customers time and effort, and delivering an exceptional experience regardless of whether they are an existing client or engaging with the brand for the first time.
"Hippo's partnership with Arturo has allowed us to pre-fill very valuable property data and information directly into the customer's application including roof material, pool presence, and more," comments Senior Director of Underwriting for Hippo, Michael Gulla. "These insights streamline the client's onboarding process, while helping us define a highly accurate initial rating and top-quality underwriting requirements."
When filling out insurance applications, it can pose a serious headache for customers to track down information about factors such as those described above, and the Arturo solution provides an elegant and innovative salve for those woes.
"Because Arturo was built from the ground-up inside American Family Insurance, a Top 10 US P&C Insurer, we deeply appreciate and understand the specific and important challenges our partners are trying to solve," said CEO of Arturo, John-Isaac Clark. "We are incredibly excited about announcing our relationship with Hippo Insurance and tirelessly work to integrate our collective products in a way that furthers the customer experience in home insurance."
Hippo and Sheltr
The second of these partnerships has seen Hippo acquire Sheltr, a San Francisco based startup which deploys tech-enabled services to provide home wellness checks.
Sheltr describes itself as a home maintenance software company. The innovative company operates on a membership model and allows customers to schedule twice-annual home check-ups performed by trusted professional engineers. Based on preventative maintenance, the check-ups see engineers perform tasks such as replacing furnace filters and changing the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to minimize the chances of a claimable incident occurring.
The service also includes tech-driven home assessments that catalog appliances, monitor the exterior condition of the home, and provide homeowners with advice on proactive home services which may be of benefit to them. This all comes as part of a comprehensive wellness report which is sent digitally to each customer after their two-hour engineer appointment. Whenever maintenance or repairs are required, Sheltr has a vetted database of trusted, qualified, and experienced professionals ready to take the job — providing a quid pro quo service that sees customers happy and good contractors promoted.
"It became pretty clear to Hippo that this was an acquisition that would work," said Vice President of Growth Initiatives for Hippo, Daniel Blanaru. "It was not just the technology and the operational muscle they have managed to build so quickly, it was even more so the close alignment on this notion of being proactive on a very customer-centric mentality and a relentless pursuit of quality of service."
Final Thoughts
No company operates in isolation, and it's through spotting the benefits other brands can bring to your own that you can facilitate real growth — both in terms of revenue and the service and experiences you can provide your customers.
You can hear Hippo's Chief Insurance Officer, Rick McCathron, speak at Digital Insurance 2020, taking place in July at the Renaissance Chicago, IL.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.
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