Investment · Insurance
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance invests $350 million in home insurance startup Hippo
- Investor
- MS&AD Insurance Group (via Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance) (Tokyo)
- In
- Hippo, Palo Alto, California
- Value
- $350M
- Status
- Completed. Hippo went public in 2021.
- Date
- 2020-11-24
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance put $350 million into Hippo, an online home insurer, and agreed to take on part of Hippo's risk through reinsurance. Hippo said the money would fund its rollout to more states, aiming to cover 95% of US homeowners the following year. It came four months after a $150 million round that valued Hippo at $1.5 billion, and took its total funding to $709 million.
Why it matters
It was one of the largest investments by a Japanese insurer in a US insurtech, giving MS&AD a window into data-driven home insurance.
About Hippo
Hippo was founded in 2015 by Assaf Wand and Eyal Navon and is based in Palo Alto, California. It sells home insurance online, often in five minutes or less, and gives eligible customers smart home devices meant to catch problems before they become claims. In June 2020 it bought Spinnaker Insurance, a carrier licensed in all 50 states.
How the deal worked
Mitsui Sumitomo bought a convertible note that turns into shares at Hippo's next funding round. Its venture arm, MS&AD Ventures, had already joined Hippo's July 2020 round, and its managing partner Takashi Sato became a board observer. Hippo said the deal was set up like its earlier ones with Comcast and Lennar.
Going public
Hippo listed on the New York Stock Exchange on August 3, 2021, after merging with Reinvent Technology Partners Z, a blank-check company. The deal was expected to bring in more than $550 million of cash after fees.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
