Hippo Home Insurance Review

Hippo Ratings at a Glance

AM Best Ratings: 

• Spinnaker Insurance Company: A-
• Topa Insurance Company: A-

Is Hippo Home Insurance Good?

Benzinga believes so. Their AM Best Ratings are A-, this tells consumers that they scored high marks on financial strength, issuer credit rating and more. That means Hippo is a secure company in a good financial position. They also have excellent coverage options with many additional policies that are optional but enhance your insurance portfolio.

It’s important to remember that insurance policies are not effective for everyone, and the policy your neighbor uses may not work well for you given the price and level of coverage. For example, someone who never entertains may not require nearly as much liability coverage as someone who consistently hosts parties and family get togethers. Moreover, you may require more coverage if your home is surrounded by trees, in an area that experiences high winds or a location where flooding is common.

Hippo offers a range of coverage options, which helps you obtain cheap home insurance. The cost of homeowners insurance depends on the coverage you choose, where you live and your home’s age and condition. Hippo includes the following coverage in each policy:

• Dwelling coverage: This helps to cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding the structure of your home, including its walls, roof and floors. It covers attached structures like garages and patios, as well as unattached structures (but those may have a lower coverage limit). The policy covers damage due to fire, theft and storms but it typically won’t cover damage due to flooding or earthquakes. You’ll need to buy a separate policy or add an endorsement for those events. 
• Personal property coverage: This covers the items in your home. It also covers your personal property when you’re not at home, but those items may have a lower coverage limit. Hippo offers 4 times more coverage for computers and home office equipment than traditional policies. 
• Liability coverage: This coverage protects your assets if someone sues you over damage to their property or due to an injury that occurred on your property. It will help pay for your legal defense as well as any awards or settlements. It also helps to cover the medical costs for someone injured on your property. 

Hippo also offers a range of endorsements, which are additional types of coverage you can add to your policy.

• Hurricane insurance: Flooding typically isn’t covered by home insurance policies. Policies may not completely cover wind damage depending on where you live. This provides additional coverage for wind damage and flooding. 
• Flood insurance: This policy also covers flooding, including flooding that’s not due to a hurricane. Remember, you do not have coverage for flooding unless you purchase this specific policy.
• Earthquake insurance: This helps to cover repairing your home and additional living expenses you may have due to an earthquake. 
• Windstorm insurance: This covers your property from wind damage. 
• Fire insurance: While standard homeowners insurance policies cover fires, this endorsement provides additional coverage in the event of a fire. 
• Catastrophe insurance: This endorsement covers a wide range of disasters, including natural and human-initiated attacks, like terrorism. 
• Water backup coverage: This protects your home and belongings if there’s a backup in your plumbing or sump pump or if there’s sewer overflow. 
• Equipment breakdown coverage: This home appliance insurance covers mechanical failures for your HVAC and other home equipment. 
• Jewelry insurance: This helps cover the cost of repairing or replacing expensive jewelry. You may also purchase policies or riders that can cover collectibles, valuables, expensive musical instruments, etc.
• Extended replacement costs: If there’s a disaster in your area, your home rebuilding or replacement costs could be high due to a limited supply of materials. This coverage helps with those extra costs. 

Remember that each of these policy options must be added so that you have protection. For example, you may not need earthquake coverage, but you might need flood insurance because it’s not part of your homeowner’s plan.

Hippo already saves home owners as much as 25% on their coverage compared to other insurers. It also offers several home insurance discounts to bring your costs down even more. These include:

• Early signing discount: This discount is for signing up for a Hippo policy 8 days or more before your new policy starts. 
• New home discount: If your home is newly constructed, you’re eligible for a discount.
• Smart home discount: Smart home safety devices can detect fires, theft and water leaks. Hippo offers a discount for using smart home devices, including the complimentary device it offers. 
• No claims discount: If you go a certain number of years without filing a claim, Hippo offers a discount. 
• No mortgage discount: If you don’t owe anything on your home, Hippo offers you a discount on your insurance. 
• Affinity group discount: Groups like alumni organizations and employers may partner with Hippo to offer discounts. Ask Hippo about any discounts you could be eligible for. 
• HOA discount: If you belong to a homeowners association (HOA), you may be eligible for a discount on your policy. 
• Fire extinguisher discount: Owning a fire extinguisher is a good idea for any home owner, and it also could get you a discount from Hippo. 
• Gated community discount: Gated communities offer an extra layer of security, which can help reduce theft. Hippo may offer a discount if you live in a gated community. 

You can start the claims process by phone at 855-999-9746 or by email at claims@hippo.com. You can’t file or track your claim online, but you do have a claims concierge. Your claims concierge walks you through the process from start to finish. They answer your questions, assist with service providers and can even help you book temporary housing. 

This level of customer care is important because you want to know that you can get all the services you require as soon as a loss occurs. At times, larger insurers force agents to handle the claims process and push it through, while Hippo offers boutique-style service.

Hippo recently launched its mobile app for policyholders, allowing you to review your policy, payments, claims and much more. All the information on the app is displayed in a clean style that’s easy to read on small devices, and you can be sure that you are seeing everything and that that information is easy to navigate. The app is available in the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Hippo is among the best home insurance providers because of its unique policy offerings. It includes a complimentary smart home system when you sign up (depending on your state). While it doesn’t have a mobile app and it’s not available in all states, Hippo does offer around-the-clock claims and customer service. Hippo Home Care is also a unique service that can help you maintain your home. You may also save as much as 25% compared to other insurers, so it’s worth your time to get a quote. 

Frequently Asked Questions