Hippo, the California-based insurtech company that is transforming home insurance, has announced a partnership with GIA Map, the leading provider of geospatial underwriting solutions for admitted and surplus lines insurance companies.
The partnership enables Hippo to integrate its efficient and comprehensive policy management system, application process, and annual reassessment with GIA Map’s live and historical geospatial data. The result paints a true picture of near real-time catastrophic risk exposure by location, which typically goes unchecked for years at a time.
Analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association comprised of combined data from government agencies like FEMA, the USDA and private insurance claims, shows that the number of billion-dollar disasters is soaring. In 2018 there were 14 billion-dollar climate disaster events across the United States, with a total cost of $91 billion. The total cost over the last five years (2014-2018) is approximately $500 billion.
Increased billion-dollar disasters and catastrophic losses mean a lack of certainty for homeowners today, who struggle to find the appropriate level of coverage for their needs. Hippo’s partnership with GIA Map will bring more accurate coverage options, which is evaluated at the property-level, for all homeowners. This partnership ensures more customer capacity, therefore, providing homeowners certainty and a highly customized and painless underwriting experience. This refined underwriting process leads to better risk management for the insurer and more tailored insurance for homeowners.
In California alone, the 2018 Mendocino Complex, Carr, Woolsey, and campfires caused $11.4 billion in damage, destroyed more than 13,000 homes and businesses and led to 46,000claims. Yet homeowners across the country today face significant challenges obtaining the right home insurance for their properties, including limited options and one-size-fits-all policies. Hippo has re-imagined the entire process of how home insurance works, with modern policies. Today more than 60% of U.S. homes are underinsured and that leaves consumers at risk. Hippo partners with companies like GIA Map to evaluate each home as accurately and individually as possible.
With real-time hazard and individual policy level data integration Hippo and GIA Map developed an unparalleled level of response time if, or even before a disaster strikes. This partnership benefits all aspects of the insurance cycle, from the customer buying experience to servicing and claims processing.
“The insurance industry typically employs an antiquated approach to underwriting by using a virtual chainsaw to determine which homes or consumers are eligible for their products; however they should be using a scalpel for a more detailed and accurate analysis,” said David Jowell, CEO at GIA Map. “Hippo is a breath of fresh air in the home insurance industry. They push for proactive, consistent communication with customers and our products help enable a much more modern and effective underwriting approach.”
Hippo analyzes very large data sets in order to underwrite each customer’s home as if it were a new policy every single year, and so is uniquely qualified to leverage GIA Map data. The Hippo system does most of the underwriting, as it aggregates data from multiple trusted sources such as Zillow, municipal building records, aerial imagery, smart home and IoT devices, and more. The result is a fast and accurate evaluation of a homeowner’s entire property including recent remodels, brush containment, a swimming pool and more, while also taking into account unique considerations such as local market labor and materials costs.
Traditional insurance companies have coasted on these details for decades, as they layer a basic percentage increase on top of regions that do not take into account how an area or property has changed. This is a leading cause for under-insured homeowners.
“At Hippo, we are doing everything possible to proactively monitor and support our customers who might be affected by wildfires in California, and other natural disasters around the country,” said Mike Gulla, Senior Director of Underwriting, Hippo. “We are able to do this because Hippo seeks out partners on the cutting edge of underwriting, like GIA Maps. This partnership enables us to accurately underwrite risk and price better while also allowing us to proactively monitor and support our customers. This is what the future of home insurance looks like.”
