Israeli-founded insurtech company Hippo Insurance (Hippo) has laid off 10% of its workforce (70 employees), effective immediately.
According to Calcalist's report, Hippo laid off some of its employees to “further drive efficiency and increase focus on strategic priorities” – with most of the affected employees already notified of the decision on August 31, and most job eliminations effective on September 1.
Additionally, the company made an executive team overhaul, with Ran Harpaz stepping down from his role as the chief operating officer (COO) and chief technology officer, effective November 15.
Last month, Hippo announced that its total revenue for the second quarter of 2022 (Q2 2022) was $28.7 million, a $7.8 million year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, its gross loss ratio for the same quarter was 78%, a significant improvement from 161% last year.
However, on Wednesday, the insurtech company's shares dropped by nearly 6%, resulting in a market cap of $555 million.
In a previous statement at Calcalist and Discount Bank's Unicorn Forum, Hippo founder and executive chairman Assaf Wand said he and the company “had better years.”
“Let's just say I experienced better years than this last year. We were worth $5 billion to $6 billion, and now we are worth half a billion dollars. There is a major correction. It also happened to Pinterest, DoorDash, and Peloton. It will affect everyone. I have been studying the crisis of 2001 for the last few months. [In] the end, it is a correction that comes after very low interest rates, and things get cleaned out. At the moment, it has gone too far to the other side,” Wand said.
“The feeling is not so pleasant, but it distils the essence of the company. We learned very quickly that we need to address what is happening and tighten the cash flow. By the way, I am convinced our company is in much better condition than it was when we were worth $6 billion. I think the move to become a public company was good for us.”
