A hippo is on Times Square — Hippo Insurance, that is.
The Palo Alto-based insurtech company, which has an office in Austin, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Tuesday morning signifying the completion of Hippo becoming a publicly traded company.
Hippo agreed to go public through a SPAC merger back in March with blank check company Reinvent Technology Partners Z. This merger valued Hippo at $5 billion — a significant jump from the company’s $1.5 billion valuation in November.
This deal follows in the footsteps of several other private companies that have opted to go public through a SPAC merger.
The combined company will operate as Hippo with CEO and co-founder Assaf Wand and the Hippo management team leading the company, according to a news release. Hippo’s stock is now listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbols “HIPO” and “HIPO.WS.”
“Today’s important milestone showcases the tremendous progress we’ve made in our pursuit to revolutionize home insurance through the lens of the homeowner,” Wand said in a statement. “We are excited to embark on this next phase of Hippo’s journey as we modernize the home insurance industry and bring joy back into homeownership.”
Through the merger, Hippo is expected to receive more than $550 million in cash proceeds, according to the release. Proceeds will be used to expand into new markets and develop new product offerings creating the “first-of-its-kind vertically integrated, end-to-end home protection and insurance platform.”
Leading up to the public offering, Hippo was busy expanding into commercial insurance, creating a homeowners-association policy and building a home-maintenance platform.
“Our target is to really deliver a better underwriting experience, which should result in superior risk selection,” JoAnne Artesani, director of commercial lines at Hippo, told Bloomberg. “Which, of course, is directly related to our ability to provide favorable pricing for those customers.”
The insurtech company was founded in 2015 and began selling policies in 2017. Today, the company operates in 37 states. Hippo’s platform allows customers to purchase insurance in five minutes or less by using data acquired from public records, thermal readings, satellite images and more, the company previously said.
Hippo is hiring for dozens of roles at its Austin office. Open positions include underwriting automation manager and senior IT support manager, among others. Hippo also has offices in Dallas and Palo Alto, California.
