Hippo Insurance may not “have to have” Spinnaker Insurance but the insurance company remains one of the “jewels within the Hippo crown”, Hippo CEO Rick McCathron (pictured) told Insurance Business as he declined to comment on sale speculation that has geared up around the business.
“Our view is we’re not going to comment on a rumor because … rumors are always flying and we’ve had rumors about Spinnaker for a couple of years,” McCathron told Insurance Business.
“We’re thrilled with Spinnaker as an asset, we’re thrilled with the contribution it makes to our earnings, we’re thrilled with the partnerships and the growth of that company, and we do want to have control over our own balance sheet.
“Do we have to have Spinnaker to partner with customers and our homeowners’ insurance program? No, we don’t, but it de-risks our business a lot when we do have our own carrier, we do have our own capacity, and we can file our own rates and our own guidelines.
“And so we’re pleased with Spinnaker as an asset, it’s one of the jewels within the Hippo crown.”
Hippo, which debuted as a home insurance managing general agent (MGA), struck up its Spinnaker deal in 2020, with the pair having been partners since Hippo’s 2017 launch.
At the time, McCathron, then Hippo chief insurance officer, hailed the acquisition as the “natural next step” for Hippo as it looked to build on its home insurance offering.
McCathron spoke to Insurance Business this November, as the insurtech released its Q3 results for 2023.
The business has sought to rollout a gradual reopening of its homeowners’ insurance offering after pushing pause in August, and McCathron shared that it has begun the process of getting business back online with its builder channel active again.
Hippo reported a net loss of $53 million for the quarter and debuted its best set of results so far as a public company, according to McCathron. The insurtech underwent a SPAC process in 2021, listing on the NYSE in August of that year.
