(Image credit: Brian Babb/Unsplash.)
InsurTech homeowners insurer Hippo (Palo Alto, Calif.) has announced that Grace Hanson will join the company as Hippo’s first Chief Claims Officer, effective January 2022. Hanson will oversee the growth and sophistication of Hippo’s claims organization as the company expands to reach more than 90 percent of U.S. homeowners this year, according to a Hippo statement.
Grace Hanson, Chief Claims Officer, Hippo.
“Hippo is at the forefront of the customer-first approach in the home insurance space, leveraging cutting-edge technology to anticipate and solve homeowner problems before they emerge, and guiding them when they experience a loss,” comments Hanson. “Protecting the home is a passion of mine and I’m excited to build on Hippo’s innovative successes to push the bar for customer experience in claims and take care of our customers when they need us most.”
Hippo describes its mission as transforming the home insurance industry by protecting the joy of homeownership through proactive and consumer-focused products and services. The company notes that a key component of Hippo’s approach is its personalized approach to claims—which Hanson will oversee—that works directly with customers to provide a reliable and painless claims experience. Hanson will extend the company’s use of technology and data to increase claims efficiency and ensure that customers are able to complete claims with limited effort and an empathic shoulder to lean on throughout the process, Hippo says.
“Hippo has done an exceptional job of modernizing the customer flow, risk mitigation through the use of IoT devices, and enhancing automation of the underwriting process—all of which create a delightful customer experience,” comments Rick McCathron, President, Hippo. “As Hippo takes the next step in becoming a holistic home protection partner for our customers, we are investing the same level of technology and innovation into the claims handling process to maintain a high bar and commitment to customer satisfaction.”
Rick McCathron, President, Hippo.
Hanson was previous Chief Claims Officer for Hiscox (New York/Bermusda) where she brought significant change to the claims function, according to the Hippo statement. In her career, Hanson built deep experience with InsurTech companies as SVP Chief Claims Officer of Homesite Insurance (Boston), the first insurer to offer a fully digital homeowner product. In that role, Hanson built a claims organization that not only handled 400 percent growth in eight years but was also at the forefront of using emerging technology, the Hippo statement relates.
Preventive, Proactive Services
“To Hippo, the best claims experience is not just managing a claim quickly and efficiently, but helping homeowners avoid the claim entirely,” adds Hippo’s McCathron. “When you have someone with such a deep institutional background as Grace, who also understands the rate of change in the industry, she can absolutely help guide us in the areas of preventative, proactive services that help avoid that claim from happening. Her contributions to the company will transcend the claims function and it’s our belief that she will add value in almost every aspect of our company.”
Hanson has a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Tulane University, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a CPCU designation. She is also a board member of Build Change, leveraging technology and strategic differentiation to improve the structural stability of housing in emerging countries vulnerable to seismic and cyclonic risk.