Hippo Sells Majority Stake in First Connect Insurance to Centana Growth Partners

Insurtech Hippo said it has sold a majority stake in First Connect Insurance Services, a digital platform for independent agents.

The buyer is private equity fund Centana Growth Partners, who with Hippo shares Palo Alto, California as home. Centana said it has led an initial investment of more than $60 million into First Connect with participation from Pruven Capital, Cota Capital, and Cross Creek. Hippo said the majority stake in First Connect was sold to Centana for about $48 million, with the opportunity for First Connect to earn additional proceeds of up to $12 million if it hits certain performance targets.

Aviad Pinkovezky will continue in his role as president of First Connect and has been named CEO post closing, Centana said.

“First Connect’s commitment to addressing the unique needs of independent agents caught our attention,” said Sarah Kim, partner at Centana Growth Partners, in a statement. “The company’s strong unit economics, impressive growth trajectory, and ambitious, talented team impressed us.”

Pinkovezky told Insurance Journal First Connect is going to use the investment to “double down” on its recent success and hire more marketing, support, sales, and account management team members as well as technology engineers, product managers and designers. He said First Connect has launched an appetite finder to allow agents to match clients to the right carrier, and it has enabled a new AI feature to onboard agents easier so they can “hit the ground running.”

“The reaction has been phenomenal. The investment was made because we have been so successful in what we are doing. We can unlock the full potential of First Connect, given the market reaction, with this new investment,” Pinkovezky said.

Rick McCathron, who served as president and CEO at First Connect Insurance from 2012 to 2017 before being appointed to the same roles at Hippo in 2022, said Hippo acquired First Connect in 2020 and it has become “the premier platform for connecting independent agents with third-party carriers.” The platform gives independent agents access to carriers and managing general agents in home, auto, cyber, small business, life, and specialty lines.

“As Hippo focuses more and more on its core business, we felt this was the ideal time for First Connect to chart its own path,” McCathron added in a statement. He said the home insurance provider will remain a minority stakeholder and customer of First Connect. Hippo retains a 19.2% stake in First Connect.

Hippo said the proceeds from the transaction “strengthened our cash position,” and it used $15.6 million of the proceeds to repurchase and retire 957,242, or 3.8%, of our total shares outstanding.

In September, First Connect and Root Insurance said they are partnering to offer API-powered quote and bind capabilities to independent agents.

Third Quarter Results

The transaction—made after the close of the third quarter (October 29)—was announced as Hippo released financial results for the period. The insurtech posted a $8.5 million net income loss attributable to Hippo in Q3 2024 compared to a loss of $53.1 million in Q3 2023 and a $41 million loss in Q2 2024.

In Q3, Hippo reported it lowered its gross loss ratio to 50 from 59 a year ago. The net loss ratio was 73 in Q3 compared versus 111 in Q3 2023.

Hippo said the removal of First Connect from its financials at the start of November will lower the company’s expected Q4 total generated premium by about $50 million to $60 million and expected revenue by about $1.5 million to $1.8 million, the removal will have a negligible impact on expected net loss.