ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. Our business, prospects, financial condition, or operating results could be harmed by any of these risks, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and, as a result, you may lose all or part of your investment. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a history of net losses and we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future.
We incurred net losses on an annual basis since our incorporation in 2015 and had an accumulated deficit of $115.1 million, $256.6 million, and $567.3 million as of December 31, 2019, December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021, respectively. We incurred net losses of $83.1 million and $141.5 million in the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, respectively. We also incurred net losses of $310.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. We expect to make significant investments to further develop and expand our business. In particular, we expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on marketing and advertising as part of our strategy to increase our customer base. The marketing and advertising expenses that we incur are typically expensed immediately, while most revenues that the expenses generate are recognized ratably over the 12-month term of each insurance policy that we write. This timing difference can, therefore, result in expenses that exceed the related revenue generated in any given year and create a net loss. In addition, we expect to continue to increase our headcount significantly in the coming years. As a public company, we are also incurring significant legal, accounting, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We expect that our net loss will increase in the near term as we continue to make such investments to grow our business. Despite these investments, we may not succeed in increasing our revenue on the timeline that we expect or in an amount sufficient to lower our net loss and ultimately become profitable. Moreover, if our revenue declines, we may not be able to reduce costs in a timely manner because many of our costs are fixed, at least in the short term. In addition, if we reduce variable costs to respond to losses, this may limit our ability to sign up new customers and grow our revenues. Accordingly, we may not achieve or maintain profitability and we may continue to incur significant losses in the future.
Our success and ability to grow our business depend on retaining and expanding our customer base. If we fail to add new customers or retain current customers, our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed.
We believe that growth of our business and revenue depends upon our ability to continue to grow our business in the geographic markets that we currently serve by retaining our existing customers and adding new customers in our current—as well as new—geographic markets and adding new insurance and non-insurance home-related products. Expanding into new geographic markets and introducing new products takes time, requires us to navigate and comply with extensive regulations, and may occur more slowly than we expect or than it has occurred in the past. If we lose customers, our value will diminish. In particular, while loss performance has improved over time as more customers renew their policies and remain customers for longer, a future loss of customers could lead to higher loss ratios, loss ratios that cease to decline, or declining revenue, any of which would adversely impact our profitability. If we fail to remain competitive on customer experience, pricing, or insurance coverage options, our
ability to grow and retain our business may also be adversely affected. In addition, we may fail to accurately predict or execute risk segmentation of new and renewal customers or potential customers, which could also reduce our profitability.
While a key part of our business strategy is to retain and add customers in our existing markets, we also intend to expand our operations into new markets and new products. In doing so, we may incur losses or otherwise fail to enter new markets or introduce new products successfully. Our expansion into new markets and new products may place us in unfamiliar competitive environments and involve various risks, including competition, government regulation, the need to invest significant resources, and the possibility that returns on such investments will not be achieved for several years or at all.
There are many factors that could negatively affect our ability to grow our customer base, including if:
•we fail to effectively use search engines, social media platforms, content-based online advertising, and other online sources for generating traffic to our website;
•potential customers in a particular marketplace or more generally do not meet our underwriting guidelines;
•our products are not competitive in terms of customer experience, pricing, or insurance coverage options;
•our competitors mimic our digital platform or develop other innovative services, causing current and potential customers to purchase their insurance products instead of our products;
•we lose customers to new market entrants and/or existing competitors;
•we do not obtain regulatory approvals necessary for expansion into new markets or in relation to our products (such as line, form, underwriting, and rating approvals) or such approvals contain conditions that impose restrictions on our operations (such as limitations on growth);
•our digital platform experiences disruptions;
•we suffer reputational harm to our brand resulting from negative publicity, whether accurate or inaccurate;
•we fail to expand geographically;
•we fail to offer new and competitive products, to provide effective updates to our existing products or to keep pace with technological improvements in our industry;
•we are unable to maintain traditional retail agent relationships;
•customers have difficulty installing, updating or otherwise accessing our website on mobile devices or web browsers as a result of actions by us or third parties;
•customers are unable or unwilling to adopt or embrace new technology;
•technical or other problems frustrate the customer experience, particularly if those problems prevent us from generating quotes or paying claims in a fast and reliable manner; or
•we are unable to address customer concerns regarding the content, data privacy, and security generally or for our digital platform specifically.
Our inability to overcome these challenges could impair our ability to attract new customers and retain existing customers and could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition.
The “Hippo” brand may not become as widely known as incumbents’ or other competitors’ brands or the brand may become tarnished.
Many of our competitors have brands that are well recognized. We spend considerable money and other resources to create brand awareness and build our reputation. We may not be able to build brand awareness, and our efforts at building, maintaining, and enhancing our reputation could fail. Complaints or negative publicity about our business practices, our marketing and advertising campaigns, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the integrity of the data that we provide to consumers or business partners, data privacy and security issues, and other aspects of our business, whether valid or not, could diminish confidence in our brand, which could adversely affect our reputation and business. As we expand our product offerings and enter new markets, we need to establish our reputation with new customers, and to the extent we are not successful in creating positive impressions, our business in these newer markets could be adversely affected. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance our reputation, and failure to do so could materially adversely affect our business, results of
operations, and financial condition. If we are unable to maintain or enhance consumer awareness of our brand cost-effectively, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Denial of claims or our failure to accurately and timely pay claims could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our reputation.
We must accurately and timely evaluate and pay claims that are made under our policies. Many factors affect our ability to pay claims accurately and timely, including the efficiency of our claims processing, the training and experience of our claims adjusters (including our third-party claims administrators and adjusters), and our ability to develop or select and implement appropriate procedures and systems to support our claims functions.
The speed by which our technology allows us to process and pay claims is a differentiating factor for our business and an increase in the average time to process claims could undermine our reputation and position in the insurance marketplace. Any failure to pay claims accurately or timely could also lead to regulatory and administrative actions or material litigation; lead to loss or reduction in the reinsurance recoveries; or result in damage to our reputation, any one of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If our claims adjusters or third-party claims administrators are unable to effectively process our volume of claims, our ability to grow our business while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction could be compromised, which—in turn—could adversely affect our reputation and operating margins.
Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business performance, implementation of our business model, and our future prospects.
We launched our business to sell homeowners insurance in 2015, began selling policies as an insurance producer in 2017, and began underwriting and retaining risks under insurance policies as an insurance company in 2020. Due to this limited operating history and the rapid growth that we experienced since we began operations, our operating results are hard to predict, and our historical results may not be indicative of, or comparable to, our future results. We also cannot provide any assurance that the data that we collect will provide useful measures for evaluating our business model. Our inability to adequately assess and predict our performance and growth could have a material adverse effect on our brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may not be able to manage our growth effectively.
Our revenue grew from $34.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to $51.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our total employees grew from 215 as of December 31, 2019, to 399 as of December 31, 2020, and to 613 employees as of September 30, 2021. In addition, from December 31, 2019 to September 30, 2021, Hippo expanded from offering Hippo’s current insurance policies in 20 states to 37 states. This growth has placed and may continue to place significant demands on our management and our operational and financial resources. Hippo has hired and expects to continue hiring additional personnel to support our rapid growth. Our corporate and organizational structure is becoming more complex as we continue to acquire companies, add additional insurance and non-insurance products, expand our operations, add and integrate more employees, and invest in joint venture and other strategic investments. We will need to enhance our operational, legal and compliance, financial, and management controls, as well as our reporting systems and procedures to account for our Company’s growth. We will require significant capital expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources to grow and change in these areas, without undermining our corporate culture of rapid innovation, teamwork, and attention to the insurance-buying experience for the customer. If we cannot manage our growth effectively to maintain the accuracy, quality, and efficiency of our customers’ insurance-buying experience, as well as their experience as ongoing customers, our business could be harmed as a result, and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Intense competition in the segments of the insurance industry in which we operate could negatively affect current financials and our ability to attain or increase profitability.
The homeowners’ insurance market is highly competitive with carriers competing through product coverage, reputation, financial strength, advertising, price, customer service, and distribution.
We face significant competition from traditional insurance companies for homeowners. Competitors include companies such as Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, and Travelers. These companies are larger than us and have significant competitive advantages over us, including greater name recognition, higher financial strength ratings, greater resources, additional access to capital, and more types of insurance coverage to offer—such as auto, umbrella and life—than we currently do (or expect to offer in the future). Our future growth will depend in large part on our ability to grow our homeowners’ insurance business in which traditional insurance companies retain certain advantages. In particular, unlike us, many of these competitors offer consumers the ability to purchase homeowners’ insurance and multiple other types of insurance coverage and “bundle” them together into one policy and—in certain circumstances—include an umbrella liability policy for additional coverage at competitive prices. Although we expect to continue to grow vertically and offer additional home-related products (including non-insurance products), we do not currently expect to expand into other types of insurance. New insurance and non-insurance products could take months or years to be approved by regulatory authorities or may not be approved at all.
Moreover, as we expand into new lines of business and offer additional non-insurance home-related products beyond homeowners’ insurance, we could face intense competition from companies that are already established in such markets. In non-insurance products, we face competition from large technology companies, such as Alphabet and Amazon, that have significant resources and long-standing relationships with customers across a variety of products.
Further, various large technology companies and other companies with a large consumer base that have recently started operating in adjacent categories, including insurance, may offer homeowners insurance products in the future. Technology companies may in the future begin operating and offering products with better and more competitive customer experience, pricing, and insurance coverage options than us, which could cause our results of operations and financial condition to be materially and adversely affected. In addition, traditional insurance companies may seek to adapt their businesses to sell insurance by offering modernized coverage or non-insurance products like we do, including offering home care and maintenance products. Given their size, resources, customer penetration, and other competitive advantages, they may be able to erode any market advantage that we may currently have over them.
We also face competition from existing and new “insurtech” insurance companies, such as Lemonade, and “insurtech” insurance agencies and managing general agents and underwriters whose use of digital platforms (including for sales, underwriting, and claims) are similar to ours. These competitors may be able to introduce new sales, underwriting, and claims systems that are viewed more attractively than ours by insurance consumers. These models require significantly less infrastructure and capital expenditures than traditional insurance businesses and can be operated without the need to be licensed as an insurance company (as we did prior to our acquisition of Spinnaker). Accordingly, the barriers of entry for new insurtech companies may be low and competitors may be able to begin operating and build scale quickly.
Reinsurance may be unavailable, including at current coverage, limits, or pricing, which may limit our ability to write new or renew existing business. Furthermore, reinsurance subjects our insurance company subsidiaries to counterparty credit and performance risk and may not be adequate to protect us against losses, each of which could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Reinsurance is a contract by which an insurer, which may be referred to as the ceding insurer, agrees with a second insurer, called a reinsurer, that the reinsurer will cover a portion of the losses incurred by the ceding insurer in the event a claim is made under a policy issued by the ceding insurer, in exchange for a premium. The insurance companies that underwrite our insurance products including, but not limited to, our insurance company subsidiaries, purchase reinsurance to help manage their exposure to property and casualty insurance risks, including attritional and catastrophic risks. Although our reinsurance counterparties are liable to us according to the terms of the reinsurance contracts, we remain primarily liable to our customers as the direct insurer on all risks reinsured. As a result, reinsurance does not eliminate or limit in any way the obligation of insurance companies that underwrite our insurance products, including our insurance company subsidiaries, to pay claims, and we are subject to the risk that one or more reinsurers will be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations, or that the reinsurers will not pay in a timely fashion. Reinsurers may become financially unsound by the time they are called upon to pay amounts due, which may not occur for many years, in which case we may have no legal ability to recover what is due to us under
our agreement with such reinsurers. Any disputes with reinsurers regarding coverage under reinsurance contracts could be time consuming, costly, and uncertain of success.
Our primary non-catastrophe associated reinsurance contracts generally have a fixed term and caps on liability. Each reinsurer’s share in the interest and liabilities related to the reinsurance contract varies, and the reinsurers are severally—but not jointly—liable under the applicable reinsurance contract. Further, these reinsurance agreements may not be required to cover renewals of policies that the insurance carrier is required by law to renew or write, and we may not be able to lawfully cancel or non-renew insurance policies in a manner that assures ongoing reinsurance protection under our reinsurance contracts.
We may change the structure of our reinsurance arrangements in the future, which may impact our overall risk profile and financial and capital condition. We may be unable to negotiate new reinsurance contracts to provide continuous coverage or negotiate reinsurance on the same coverage, limits, pricing, or other terms as are currently available, as such availability depends in part on factors outside of our control. The existing or new contracts may not provide sufficient reinsurance protection. Market forces and external factors (such as significant losses from hurricanes, wildfires, severe weather, or terrorist attacks) or an increase in capital requirements, impact the availability coverage, limits, and pricing of the reinsurance we purchase. If we are unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance coverage, extend our expiring reinsurance contracts, or purchase new reinsurance protection with the coverage, limits, and pricing and in the amounts that we consider sufficient, we would have to either accept an increase in our retained risk exposure, reduce our insurance writings, or develop or seek other alternatives.
The unavailability of acceptable and sufficient reinsurance protection would have an adverse impact on our business model, which depends on reinsurance companies absorbing a portion of the losses incurred by our insurance carriers. If our affiliated and unaffiliated insurance carriers are unable to obtain adequate reinsurance at reasonable rates, we would have to increase our retained risk exposure or reduce the level of our underwriting commitments, each of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business volume and profitability. Alternately, if available, we could elect to pay higher than desired rates for reinsurance coverage, which could have a material adverse effect upon our profitability until policy premium rates could be raised, in most cases subject to prior approval by state insurance regulators, to offset this additional cost.
Failure to maintain our risk-based capital at the required levels could adversely affect the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to maintain regulatory authority to conduct our business.
Our insurance company subsidiaries must maintain sufficient capital to comply with insurance regulatory requirements and maintain authority to conduct our business. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) has developed a system to test the adequacy of statutory capital of U.S.-based insurers, known as risk-based capital that all states have adopted. This system establishes the minimum amount of capital necessary for an insurance company to support its overall business operations. It identifies insurance companies, including property-casualty insurers, that may not be inadequately capitalized by looking at certain inherent risks of each insurer’s assets and liabilities and its mix of net written premiums. Insurers falling below a calculated threshold may be subject to varying degrees of regulatory action, including supervision, rehabilitation, or liquidation. Failure to maintain adequate risk-based capital at the required levels could adversely affect the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to maintain regulatory authority to conduct their business.
Failure to maintain our financial strength ratings could adversely affect the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to conduct our business as currently conducted.
Financial strength ratings are an important factor in evaluating and establishing the competitive position of insurance companies. These ratings represent the independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength, operating performance, and ability to meet policyholder obligations. Rating agencies could downgrade or change the outlook on ratings due to:
•changes in the financial profile of one of our insurance companies;
•changes in a rating agency’s determination of the amount of capital required to maintain a particular rating; or
•increases in the perceived risk of our investment portfolio, a reduced confidence in management or our business strategy, or other considerations that may or may not be under our control.
A downgrade in our insurance company subsidiaries’ financial strength ratings could have a material effect on our sales, competitiveness, customer retention, the marketability of our product offerings, liquidity, access to and cost of borrowing, results of operations, and financial condition.
If we are unable to underwrite risks accurately and charge competitive yet profitable rates to our customers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition will be adversely affected.
In general, the premiums for our insurance policies are established at the time a policy is issued and, therefore, before all of our underlying costs are known. The accuracy of our pricing is subject to our ability to adequately assess risks, estimate losses, and comply with state insurance regulations. Like other insurance companies, we rely on estimates and assumptions in setting our premium rates. We also utilize the data that we gather through our interactions with our customers, as evaluated and curated by our proprietary technology.
Establishing adequate premium rates is necessary, together with investment income, if any, to generate sufficient revenue to offset losses, loss adjustment expenses (“LAE”), acquisition expenses, and other costs. If we do not accurately assess the risks that we underwrite, we may not charge adequate premiums to cover our losses and expenses, which would adversely affect our results of operations and our profitability. Moreover, if we determine that our prices are too low, insurance regulations may preclude us from being able to non-renew insurance contracts, non-renew customers, or raise prices. Alternatively, we could set our premiums too high, which could reduce our competitiveness and lead to lower revenues, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Pricing involves the acquisition and analysis of historical loss data and the projection of future trends, loss costs and expenses, and inflation trends, among other factors, for each of our products in multiple risk tiers and many different markets. In order to accurately price our policies, we must, among other factors:
•collect and properly and accurately analyze a substantial volume of data from our customers;
•develop, test, and apply appropriate actuarial projections and rating formulas;
•review and evaluate competitive product offerings and pricing dynamics;
•closely monitor and timely recognize changes in trends; and
•project both frequency and severity of our customers’ losses with reasonable accuracy.
There are no assurances that we will have success in implementing our pricing methodology accurately in accordance with our assumptions. Our ability to accurately price our policies is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to:
•insufficient, inaccurate, or unreliable data;
•incorrect or incomplete analysis of available data;
•uncertainties generally inherent in estimates and assumptions;
•our failure to establish or implement appropriate actuarial projections and rating formulas or other pricing methodologies;
•incorrect or incomplete analysis of the competitive environment;
•regulatory constraints on rate increases or coverage limitations;
•our failure to accurately estimate investment yields and the duration of our liability for loss and loss adjustment expenses; and
•unanticipated litigation, court decisions, legislative or regulatory actions, or changes to the existing regulatory landscape.
To address the potential errors or desired or required changes in our current premium rates, we may be compelled to increase the amount allocated to cover policy claims, increased expenses, or to address other economic factors resulting in an increase in future premium rates or to additionally or alternatively adopt different underwriting standards. Any of these changes may result in a decline in new business and renewals and, as a result, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our proprietary technology, which relies on third party data, may not operate properly or as we expect it to.
We utilize the third party data gathered from the insurance application process to determine whether or not to write a particular policy and, if so, how to price that particular policy. The continuous development, maintenance, and operation of our technology is expensive and complex, and it may involve unforeseen difficulties including material performance problems, undetected defects, or errors, for example, with new capabilities incorporating artificial intelligence. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technology from operating properly. If our data analytics do not function reliably, we may incorrectly price insurance products for our customers or incorrectly pay or deny claims made by our customers. Either of these situations could result in customer dissatisfaction with us, which could cause customers to cancel their insurance policies with us, prevent prospective customers from obtaining new insurance policies, or cause us to underprice policies or overpay claims. Any of these eventualities could result in a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our technology platform may not operate properly or as we expect it to operate.
We utilize our technology platform to gather customer data in order to determine whether or not to write and how to price our insurance products. Additionally, our claims operation utilizes our technology platform to manage claims and we intend to expand our technology platform to further support the processing of some or all of our claims. Our technology platform is expensive and complex; its continuous development, maintenance, and operation may entail unforeseen difficulties, including material performance problems, undetected defects, or errors. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technology from operating properly. If our platform does not function reliably, we may incorrectly select or renew our customers, price insurance, and non-insurance products for our customers or incorrectly pay or deny claims made by our customers. These errors could result in (i) selecting an uneconomic mix of customers; (ii) customer dissatisfaction with us, which could cause customers to cancel or fail to renew their insurance policies or non-insurance products with us, or make it less likely that prospective customers obtain new insurance policies; (iii) causing us to underprice policies or overpay claims; or (iv) causing us to incorrectly deny policyholder claims and become subject to liability. Additionally, technology platform errors could result in failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations including, but not limited to, unintentional noncompliance with our rate and form filings, cancellation and non-renewal requirements, unfair trade and claims practices, and non-discrimination, which could subject us to legal or regulatory liability and harm our brand and reputation. Any of these eventualities could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
While we believe our by-peril pricing model to be more fair to consumers than multi-peril pricing models, it may yield results that customers find unfair. For instance, we may quote certain homeowners higher premiums than our competitors if our pricing model determines that the customer is higher risk even though their higher-risk classification has not resulted in a claim on an individual basis. Such perception of unfairness could negatively impact our brand and reputation.
Our future success depends on our ability to continue to develop and implement our technology and to maintain the confidentiality of this technology.
Existing regulations and changes to existing regulations, their interpretation or implementation, or new regulations could impede our use of this technology or require that we disclose our proprietary technology to our competitors, which could impair our competitive position and result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
New legislation or legal requirements may affect how we communicate with our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business model, financial condition, and results of operations.
State and federal lawmakers and insurance regulators are focusing upon the use of artificial intelligence broadly, including concerns about transparency, deception, and fairness in particular. Changes in laws or regulations, or changes in the interpretation of laws or regulations by a regulatory authority, specific to the use of artificial intelligence, may decrease our revenues and earnings and may require us to change the manner in which we conduct some aspects of our business. In addition, our business and operations are subject to various U.S. federal, state, and local consumer protection laws, including laws which place restrictions on the use of automated tools and
technologies to communicate with wireless telephone subscribers or consumers generally. Although we have taken steps to comply with these laws, no assurance can be given that we will not be exposed to civil litigation or regulatory enforcement. Further, to the extent that any changes in law or regulation further restrict the ways in which we solicit, underwrite, or communicate with prospective or current customers before or during onboarding, customer care, or claims management, these restrictions could result in a material reduction in our customer acquisition and retention, reducing the growth prospects of our business, and adversely affecting our financial condition and future cash flows.
We rely on external data and our digital platform to collect and evaluate information that we utilize in producing, pricing, and underwriting our insurance policies (in accordance with the rates, rules, and forms filed with our regulators, where required), managing claims and customer support, and improving business processes. Any legal or regulatory requirements that might restrict our ability to collect or utilize this data or our digital platform, or an outage by a data vendor, could thus materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We use external data and our digital platform to collect and evaluate data points that we utilize in marketing, producing, pricing, and underwriting certain of our insurance policies, managing claims and customer support, and improving business processes. To the extent such data points are utilized in the underwriting or rating of our insurance products, these may be subject to prior regulatory filing, review, and approval. If federal or state regulators were to determine that the type or source of data we collect, the process we use for collecting this data, or how we or others use it results in failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations including, but not limited to, unfair trade and claims practices or non-discrimination laws, or otherwise violates existing laws and regulations, these could limit, prohibit, or restrict our collection or use of this data.
In the U.S., the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and certain federal and state laws and regulations specifically aimed at insurance companies require providers of insurance products to consumers to implement certain measures, including requirements to disclose their privacy practices to consumers, allow consumers to opt-in or opt-out, depending on the state, of the sharing of certain personal information with unaffiliated third parties, and maintain certain security controls to protect their information. State legislatures and regulators have and continue to issue regulations or pass legislation imposing requirements on insurance activities regarding the use of external data sources based on concerns about the potential for unfair discrimination, data privacy, and lack of consumer transparency associated with the use of external consumer data. If such laws or regulations were enacted federally or in a large number of states in which we operate, it could impact the integrity of our pricing and underwriting processes, as well as our customer service and claims management practices. A determination by federal or state regulators that the data points we utilize or the process we use for collecting this data unfairly discriminates against or violates the data privacy of some groups of people could also subject us to fines and other sanctions, including, but not limited to, disciplinary action, revocation, and suspension of licenses, and withdrawal of product forms. Any such event could, in turn, materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and make it harder for us to be profitable over time. Although we have implemented policies and procedures into our business operations that we feel are appropriately calibrated to our automation-driven operations, these policies and procedures may prove inadequate, resulting in a greater likelihood of inadvertent legal or compliance failures.
Additionally, existing laws, future laws, and evolving attitudes about data privacy protection may impair our ability to collect, use, and maintain data points of sufficient type or quantity to continue to develop our technology in accordance with the current plans. For more information, see the below risk factor — “We are subject to laws and regulations concerning our collection, processing, storage, sharing, disclosure, and use of customer information and other sensitive data, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with data privacy and security laws and regulations could damage our reputation and brand and harm our business and operating results.”
Further, an outage, termination, or discontinuation of the data provided from one of our data vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition, especially if the outage frustrates the customer experience or prevents us from generating quotes, selling policies, or paying claims.
We depend on search engines, content based online advertising, and other online sources to attract consumers to our website, which may be affected by third party interference beyond our control. In addition, our producer and partner distribution channels are significant sources of new customers and could be impacted by third party interference or other factors. As we grow, our customer acquisition costs may increase.
Our success depends on our ability to attract potential consumers to our website and convert them into customers in a cost-effective manner. We depend, in large part, on search engines, content-based online advertising, and other online sources for traffic to our website, including, to a lesser extent, our social media platforms.
With respect to search engines, we are included in search results as a result of both paid search listings, where we purchase specific search terms that result in the inclusion of our advertisement, and free search listings, which depend on algorithms used by search engines. For paid search listings, if one or more of the search engines or other online sources on which we rely for purchased listings modifies or terminates its relationship with us, our expenses could rise, we could lose consumers, and traffic to our website could decrease, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For free search listings, if search engines on which we rely for algorithmic listings modify their algorithms, our websites may appear less prominently or not at all in search results, which could result in reduced traffic to our websites.
Our ability to maintain and increase the number of consumers directed to our products from digital platforms is not entirely within our control. Search engines, social media platforms, and other online sources often revise their algorithms and introduce new advertising products. If one or more of the search engines or other online sources on which we rely for traffic to our website were to modify its general methodology for how it displays our advertisements or keyword search results, resulting in fewer consumers clicking through to our website, our business and operating results are likely to suffer. In addition, if our online display advertisements are no longer effective or are not able to reach certain consumers due to consumers’ use of ad-blocking software, or if our competitors bid more aggressively on online advertisements, our business and operating results could suffer.
Additionally, changes in regulations could limit the ability of search engines and social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Google and Facebook, to collect data from customers and engage in targeted advertising, making them less effective in disseminating our advertisements to our target customers. For example, the proposed Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight and Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act would mandate annual disclosure to the SEC of the type and “aggregate value” of user data used by harvesting companies, such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Google and Amazon, including how revenue is generated by user data and what measures are taken to protect the data. If the costs of advertising on search engines and social media platforms increase, we may incur additional marketing expenses or be required to allocate a larger portion of our marketing spend to other channels and our business and operating results could be adversely affected. Similarly, insurance brokerage and distribution regulation may limit our ability to rely on third party digital technology platforms to provide a link to our insurance platform through an application programming interface (“API”) if the third party distribution platforms are unable to continue to link to our insurance products pursuant to insurance law and regulations.
Besides online direct-to-consumer channels, we also leverage other channels to secure customers, which benefits our growth and long-term vision of meeting customers where and when they want to buy. We utilize multiple indirect channels, including agency channels and partner channels, among others, which could be disrupted for a variety of reasons.
The insurance producers we work with also have a direct relationship with their customers and could be incentivized to move them to a competitor. While we have gained significant traction within this channel, due to our innovation, relationships, and technology, we could lose market share through our competitors’ innovation or new products. Competitors may also increase their commissions to increase their ability to attract specific risk-groups or geographic areas, which could slow our ability to grow and increase profitability.
Our partners may attempt to recreate our capabilities independently or move their business to a new insurance partner or add additional insurance partners. Competitors could also develop innovative approaches or significant incentives that could impact our ability to grow, optimize channel economics, or build new relationships.
We may require additional capital to grow our business, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all.
To the extent that our present capital (including the funds generated by the Business Combination) is insufficient to meet future operating requirements (including regulatory capital requirements) or to cover losses, we may need to raise additional funds through financings or curtail our projected growth. Many factors will affect our capital needs, as well as their amount and timing (including our growth and profitability, risk retained, and the availability of reinsurance), market disruptions, and other developments.
Historically, we funded our operations, marketing expenditures, and capital expenditures primarily through equity issuances, including through convertible note financings. Going forward, we intend to evaluate financing opportunities from time to time, and our ability to obtain financing will depend, among other things, on our development efforts, business plans, operating performance, and the condition of the capital markets at the time we seek financing. In addition, regulatory bodies may be required to approve additional equity, equity-linked securities, debt securities, or other forms of financing that we may wish to pursue, and we cannot be certain that these approvals can be obtained. We cannot be certain that additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms or at all.
If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked securities, or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of our common stock, and our existing stockholders may experience dilution. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could require that a substantial portion of our operating cash flow be devoted to the payment of interest and principal on such indebtedness, which may decrease available funds for other business activities and could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and pursue business opportunities.
If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth, maintain minimum amounts of risk-based capital, and respond to business challenges could be significantly limited, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Interruptions or delays in the services provided by our providers of third-party technology platforms or our internet service providers could impair the operability of our website and may cause our business to suffer.
We currently rely on multiple providers of cloud infrastructure services, including Google Cloud Platform (“GCP”), Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), Salesforce.com (“SFDC”), and others (collectively, “Cloud Platforms”). We rely on the internet and, accordingly, depend on the continuous, reliable, and secure operation of internet servers, related hardware and software, and network infrastructure. Our operations depend on protecting the virtual cloud infrastructure hosted in Cloud Platforms by maintaining its configuration, architecture, and interconnection specifications, as well as the information stored in these virtual data centers and which third-party internet service providers transmit. Furthermore, we have no physical access or control over the services provided by our Cloud Platforms. Although we have disaster recovery plans that utilize multiple Cloud Platforms locations, the data centers that we use are vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, intentional bad acts, earthquakes, floods, fires, severe storms, war, terrorist attacks, power losses, hardware failures, systems failures, telecommunications failures, and similar events, many of which are beyond our control, and any of which could disrupt our services, prevent customers from accessing our products, destroy customer data, or prevent us from being able to continuously back up and record data. In the event of significant physical damage to one of these data centers, it may take a significant period of time to achieve full resumption of our services, and our disaster recovery planning may not account for all eventualities. Further, a prolonged Cloud Platform service disruption affecting our website for any of the foregoing reasons could damage our reputation with current and potential customers, expose us to liability, cause us to lose customers, or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any changes to our Cloud Platforms’ service levels may adversely affect our ability to meet the requirements of our customers. As our platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success, sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our offerings. We may also incur significant costs for using alternative platforms or taking other actions in preparation for, or in reaction to, events that damage the Cloud Platform services we use. Damage or interruptions to these data centers could harm our business. Moreover, negative publicity arising from these types of disruptions could damage our reputation and may adversely impact use of our website. Insurance coverage may not be sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to the future growth of our business, that may result from interruptions in our services or products.
Our usage of Cloud Platforms enables us to order and reserve server capacity in varying amounts and sizes distributed across multiple regions. Our Cloud Platform approach provides us with computing and storage capacity pursuant to an agreement that continues until terminated by either party. Our Cloud Platform providers may terminate the agreement for multiple reasons (including, but not limited to, a requirement to comply with a government request, security risk to others, breach of payment obligations, or breach of contract). Termination of a Cloud Platform agreement may harm our ability to access data centers we need to host our website or to do so on terms as favorable as those we have today.
As we continue to expand the number of customers to whom we provide our products and services, we may not be able to scale our technology to accommodate the increased capacity requirements, which may result in interruptions or delays in service. In addition, the failure of Cloud Platforms’ data centers or third-party internet service providers to meet our capacity requirements could result in interruptions or delays in access to our website or impede our ability to scale our operations. In the event that one or more of our Cloud Platform service agreements are terminated or there is a lapse of service, interruption of internet service provider connectivity, or damage to such facilities, we could experience interruptions in access to our website as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities and services, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Security incidents or real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs in our systems or website could impair our operations, result in loss of customers’ personal information, damage our reputation and brand, and harm our business and operating results.
Our continued success is dependent on our systems, applications, and software continuing to operate and to meet the changing needs of our customers and users. We rely on our technology and engineering staff and vendors to successfully implement changes to and maintain our systems and services in an efficient and secure manner. Like all information systems and technology, our website may contain material errors, failures, vulnerabilities, or bugs, particularly when new features or capabilities are released, and it may be subject to computer viruses or malicious code, break-ins, phishing impersonation attacks, attempts to overload our servers with denial-of-service or other attacks, ransomware and similar incidents, or disruptions from unauthorized use of our computer systems, as well as unintentional incidents causing data leakage, any of which could lead to interruptions, delays, or website shutdowns, or could cause loss of critical data, or the unauthorized disclosure, access, acquisition, alteration, or use of personal or other confidential information.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store, and transmit information, including personal information, in relation to our current, past, or potential customers, business partners, agents, staff, and contractors. We could be subject to a cyber-incident or other adverse event that threatens the security, confidentiality, integrity, or availability of our information resources, including intentional attacks or unintentional events where parties gain unauthorized access to systems to disrupt operations, corrupt data, or steal confidential information about subscribers, vendors, and employees. For example, unauthorized parties could steal or access our customers’ names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and other information that we collect when providing insurance quotes. Outside parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our information or customers’ information. Further, our vendors are also susceptible to data breaches, including our payment processing vendors who handle customer credit card numbers or other payment information. While we use encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties designed to effect secure transmission of such information, we cannot guarantee the security of the transfer and storage of personal information. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently, often they are not recognized until launched against a target and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world. Accordingly, we may be unable to proactively address these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent breaches, our products and services, as well as our servers, computer systems, and those of third parties that we use in our operations are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, including cyber-attacks such as viruses and worms, phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins, third-party or employee theft or misuse, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our servers and computer systems or those of third parties that we use in our operations, which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of critical data, unauthorized access to subscriber data, and loss of consumer confidence. In addition, we may be the target of email scams that attempt to acquire personal information or company assets.
Security breaches, including by hackers or insiders, or any other types of data security or privacy-related incidents could expose confidential or personal information, which could result in potential regulatory
investigations, fines, penalties, compliance orders, liability, litigation, and remediation costs, as well as reputational harm, any of which could materially adversely affect our business and financial results. It could also trigger claims by affected third parties. Further, even if we do not ourselves experience a cyber-incident, hacking against our competitors or other companies could create the perception among our customers or potential customers that our digital platform is not safe to use.
If we experience compromises to our security that result in technology performance, integrity, or availability problems, the complete shutdown of our website or the loss or unauthorized disclosure, access, acquisition, alteration, or use of confidential information, customers may lose trust and confidence in us, and customers may decrease the use of our website or stop using our services entirely. Further, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our information or customers’ information. A significant impact on the performance, reliability, security, and availability of our systems, software, or services may harm our reputation, impair our ability to operate, impair our ability to retain existing customers or attract new customers, and expose us to legal claims and government action, each of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects.
Misconduct or fraudulent acts by employees, agents, claims vendors, or third parties may expose us to financial loss, disruption of business, regulatory assessments, and reputational harm.
We and the insurance industry are inherently susceptible to past and future misconduct or fraudulent activities by employees, representative agents, claims vendors, customers, or other third parties. These activities could include fraud against the company, its employees, and its customers through illegal or prohibited activities unauthorized acts or representations, or the unauthorized use or disclosure of personal or proprietary information.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to establish and maintain relationships with quality and trustworthy service professionals.
We must continue to attract, retain, and grow the number of skilled and reliable service professionals who can provide services across our products. In addition to skill and reliability, our customers want to work with service professionals and claims adjusters whom they trust to work in their homes and with whom they feel safe.
While we maintain screening processes to try to prevent unsuitable service professionals, these processes have limitations and, even with these safety measures, no assurances can be provided regarding the future behavior of any service provider. Inappropriate and/or unlawful behavior of service professionals generally, particularly any such behavior that compromises the trustworthiness of service providers and/or of the safety of our customers, could result in bad publicity and related damage to our reputation, detriment to our brands and brand-building efforts, and/or actions by governmental and regulatory authorities, criminal proceedings and/or litigation. The occurrence of any of these events could, in turn, adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may be unable to prevent, monitor, or detect fraudulent activity, including policy acquisitions or payments of claims that are fraudulent in nature.
If we fail to maintain adequate systems and processes to prevent, monitor, and detect fraud, including employee fraud, agent fraud, fraudulent policy acquisitions, claim vendor fraud, third party or fraudulent claims activity, or if inadvertent errors occur with such prevention, monitoring, and detection systems due to human or computer error, our business could be materially adversely impacted. In the ordinary course of business in the insurance industry, we have experienced relatively isolated incidents of fraudulent activity that have not had a material impact on our business. However, we cannot be certain that our systems and processes will always be adequate in the face of increasingly sophisticated and ever-changing fraud schemes. We use a variety of tools to protect against fraud, but these tools may not always be successful at preventing such fraud.
We are periodically subject to examinations by our primary state insurance regulators, which could result in adverse examination findings and necessitate remedial actions.
Our primary insurance regulators are responsible for our supervision and examination. Spinnaker is currently domiciled in Illinois and Spinnaker Specialty is an authorized/non-admitted insurer in Texas. RHS is a Cayman domiciled insurance captive, and is subject to regulations and supervision imposed by the Cayman Islands.
Periodically, other non-domestic insurance regulators perform examinations of insurance companies under their jurisdiction to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations, financial condition, and the conduct of regulated activities or may conduct targeted investigations. These examinations provide insurance regulators with a significant opportunity to review and scrutinize our business. If—as a result of an examination—an insurance regulator determines that our financial condition, capital resources, or other aspects of any of our operations are less than satisfactory, or that we are in violation of applicable laws or regulations, an insurance regulator could require us to take one or more remedial actions or otherwise subject us to regulatory scrutiny, impose fines and penalties, or take further actions including suspension or revocation of our licenses. We cannot predict with precision the likelihood, nature, or extent of any necessary remedial actions or financial impact (if any) resulting from such an examination or the associated costs of such remedial actions or regulatory scrutiny. Any regulatory or enforcement action or any regulatory order imposing remedial, injunctive, or other corrective action against us resulting from these examinations could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, or results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations concerning our collection, processing, storage, sharing, disclosure, and use of customer information and other sensitive data, and our actual or perceived (or alleged) failure to comply with data privacy and security laws and regulations could damage our reputation and brand and harm our business and operating results.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store, and transmit information, including personal information, in relation to our current, past, or potential customers, business partners, agents, staff, and contractors. In the U.S., there are numerous federal and state data privacy and protection laws and regulations governing the collection, use, disclosure, protection, and other processing of personal information, including federal and state data privacy laws, data breach notification laws, and consumer protection laws. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which became effective in January 2020, created new privacy rights for consumers residing in the state of California and imposes obligations on companies that process their personal information, including an obligation to provide certain new disclosures to such residents. Specifically, among other things, the CCPA creates new consumer rights and imposes corresponding obligations on covered businesses relating to the access to, deletion of, and sharing of personal information collected by covered businesses, including California residents’ right to access and delete their personal information, opt out of certain sharing and sales of their personal information, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The law exempts from certain requirements of the CCPA certain information that is collected, processed, sold, or disclosed pursuant to the California Financial Information Privacy Act, the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The definition of “personal information” in the CCPA is broad and may encompass other information that we maintain beyond that excluded under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, or the California Financial Information Privacy Act exemption. Further, the CCPA allows for the California Attorney General to impose civil penalties for violationsand provides a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information. This private right of action is expected to increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. In addition, it remains unclear how various provisions of the CCPA will be interpreted and enforced. California voters also recently passed the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which will take effect on January 1, 2023. The CPRA significantly modifies the CCPA, including by imposing additional obligations on covered companies and expanding California consumers’ rights with respect to certain sensitive personal information, potentially resulting in further uncertainty and requiring us to incur additional costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Some observers have noted that the CCPA (and the CPRA) could mark the beginning of a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States, and multiple states have enacted, or are expected to enact, similar or more stringent laws. For example, in 2020, Nevada passed SB 220 which restricts the “selling” of personal information and, in 2021, Virginia passed the Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”), which is set to take effect on January 1, 2023 and grants new privacy rights for Virginia residents. Additionally, we are subject to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which restricts the making of telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems. There is also discussion in Congress of a new comprehensive federal data protection and privacy law to which we likely would be subject if it is enacted. Such new laws and proposed legislation, if passed, could have conflicting requirements that could make compliance challenging, require us to expend significant resources to come into compliance, and restrict our ability to process certain personal information. The effects of the CCPA and other similar state laws subsequently enacted, as well as possible future state or federal laws, are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data collection and processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and potential liability in an effort to comply with such legislation.
In the event of a data breach, we are also subject to breach notification laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including U.S. state laws, and the risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement actions. In addition, a number of federal and state laws and regulations relating to privacy affect and apply to the insurance industry specifically.
We may also face particular privacy, data security, and data protection risks in connection with requirements of the European Union’s (“E.U.”) General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”), the United Kingdom (“UK”) GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018 (which retains the GDPR in UK national law) and other data protection regulations in the E.U. and UK. Among other stringent requirements, the GDPR restricts transfers of data outside of the E.U. to third countries deemed to lack adequate privacy protections (such as the U.S.), unless an appropriate safeguard specified by the GDPR is implemented. A July 16, 2020 decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated a key mechanism for lawful data transfer to the U.S. and called into question the viability of its primary alternative. As such, the ability of companies to lawfully transfer personal data from the E.U. to the U.S. is presently uncertain. Other countries have enacted or are considering enacting similar cross-border data transfer rules or data localization requirements. These developments could limit our future ability to deliver our products in the E.U. and other foreign markets. In addition, any failure or perceived failure to comply with these rules may result in regulatory fines or penalties, including orders that require us to change the way we process data.
Additionally, we are subject to the terms of our privacy policies and data privacy-related obligations to third parties. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, our data privacy-related obligations to customers or other third parties, or our other data privacy-related legal obligations, may result in governmental or regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, compliance orders, litigation, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could cause customers to lose trust in us, all of which could be costly and have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, new and changed rules and regulations regarding data privacy, data protection (in particular those that impact the use of artificial intelligence), and cross-border transfers of customer information could cause us to delay planned uses and disclosures of data to comply with applicable data privacy and data protection requirements. Moreover, if third parties that we work with violate applicable laws or our policies, such violations also may put personal information at risk, which may result in increased regulatory scrutiny and have a material adverse effect to our reputation, business, and operating results.
We employ third-party licensed data, software, technologies, and intellectual property for use in our business, and the inability to maintain or use these licenses, or errors or defects in the data, software, technologies, and intellectual property we license could result in increased costs or reduced service levels, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our business relies on certain third-party data, software, technology, and intellectual property that we obtain under licenses from other companies including insurance industry proprietary information that we license from Insurance Services Office, Inc. (“ISO”). We anticipate that we will continue to rely on such third-party data, software, technology, and intellectual property and we may license additional third-party data, software, technology, and intellectual property in the future. We cannot assure that these third-party licenses, or support for such licensed software and technologies, will continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Although we believe that there are commercially reasonable alternatives to the third-party products we currently license, other than proprietary information provided by ISO, this may not always be the case, or it may be difficult or costly to replace. In addition, integration of new third-party products may require significant work and require substantial investment of our time and resources. Also, should ISO refuse to license its proprietary information to us on the same terms that it offers to our competitors and we are unable to find a comparable replacement, we could be placed at a significant competitive disadvantage. In the event that we cannot renew and/or expand existing licenses, we may be required to discontinue or limit our use of the products that include or incorporate the licensed software, technology, or other intellectual property. Any of these results could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Any errors or defects in third-party data, software, technology, and intellectual property that we license could result in errors that could harm our brand and business. We also cannot be certain that our licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of others or that our licensors have sufficient rights to the licensed software and technology in all jurisdictions in which we may operate. If we are unable to obtain or maintain rights to any of this software or technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our licensors or against us, our ability to develop our services containing such software or technology could be severely
limited and our business could be harmed. Many of the risks associated with the use of third-party software, technology, and other intellectual property cannot be eliminated, and these risks could negatively affect our business.
Failure to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our success is dependent in part on protecting our intellectual property rights and technology, including any source code, proprietary information, data, processes and other forms of information, knowhow, and technology. We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property. We also seek to control access to our proprietary information by entering into a combination of invention assignment agreements and nondisclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, and with our third-party providers and strategic partners. While these agreements will give us contractual remedies upon any unauthorized use or disclosure of our proprietary business information or intellectual property, we cannot assure you that these agreements will be effective in controlling access to, and use and distribution of, our platform and proprietary information, and we may not always be able to effectively monitor or prevent such unauthorized use of disclosure.
We also seek to protect our proprietary information and intellectual property though contractual restrictions in our commercial agreements with third party licensees, partners, and other third parties. However, some license provisions that protect against unauthorized use, copying, transfer, and disclosure of our technology may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions and foreign countries. Certain arrangements with joint development partners may limit our ability to protect, maintain, enforce, or commercialize such intellectual property rights, including requiring agreement with or payment to our joint development partners before protecting, maintaining, licensing, or initiating enforcement of such intellectual property rights, and may allow such joint development partners to register, maintain, enforce, or license such intellectual property rights in a manner that may affect the value of the jointly-owned intellectual property or our ability to compete in the market.
We have filed, and may continue in the future to file, trademark, and patent applications to protect certain of our innovations and intellectual property. However, we cannot guarantee that patents will issue on our pending patent applications or that we will be successful in registering our trademarks. Our existing intellectual property, and any intellectual property granted to us or that we otherwise acquire in the future, may be contested, circumvented, or invalidated, and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing our rights to our intellectual property. Therefore, the exact effect of the protection of this intellectual property cannot be predicted with certainty. In addition, given the costs, effort, risks, and downside of obtaining patent protection, including the requirement to ultimately disclose the invention to the public, we may choose not to seek patent protection for certain innovations. Any failure to adequately obtain such patent protection, or other intellectual property protection, could later prove to adversely impact our business.
While software and other of our proprietary works may be protected under copyright law, we have chosen not to register any copyrights in these works, and instead, primarily rely on protecting our software as a trade secret. In order to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States, the copyright must be registered. Accordingly, the remedies and damages available to us for unauthorized use of our software may be limited.
We currently hold various domain names relating to our brand, including hippoinsurance.com, among others. Failure to protect our domain names could adversely affect our reputation and brand and make it more difficult for users to find our website. We may be unable, without significant cost or at all, to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon, or otherwise decrease the value of our trademarks and other proprietary rights.
While we take precautions designed to protect our intellectual property, there are steps that we have not yet taken to protect our intellectual property on a global basis. Additionally, the steps that we have already taken to protect our intellectual property may not be sufficient or effective. Third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe our proprietary rights and third parties may challenge proprietary rights held by us and we may not be able to prevent infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary rights without incurring substantial expense. If third parties copy our technology and use our proprietary brand, content, and information to create or enhance competing solutions and services, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our service and methods of operations, the perception of our business and service to
customers and potential customers may become confused, and our ability to attract customers may be adversely affected. We may need to engage in litigation to enforce our rights. Litigation to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could impair the functionality of our platform, delay introductions of enhancements to our platform, result in our substituting inferior or more costly technologies into our platform, or harm our reputation or brand.
Our services utilize third-party open source software components, which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software, technologies, products, and services in a manner that could negatively affect our business.
The software powering our technology systems incorporates open source software and will continue to use open source software in the future. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, indemnification, or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. To the extent that our services depend upon the successful operation of open source software, any undetected errors or defects in this open source software could prevent the deployment or impair the functionality of our platform, delay new solutions introductions, result in a failure of our platform, and injure our reputation. For example, undetected errors or defects in open source software could render it vulnerable to breaches or security attacks, and, in conjunction, make our systems more vulnerable to data breaches. In addition, the public availability of such software may make it easier for others to compromise our platform.
Furthermore, some open source licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works that we create based upon the type of open source software we use or grant other licenses to our intellectual property. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain open source licenses, be required to release or license the source code of our proprietary software to the public. In the event that portions of our proprietary software are determined to be subject to an open source license, we could be required to publicly release the affected portions of our source code or re-engineer all or a portion of our technology systems, each of which could reduce or eliminate the value of our technology systems. Such risk could be difficult or impossible to eliminate and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may be unable to prevent or address the misappropriation of our data.
From time to time, third parties may misappropriate our data through website scraping, bots, or other means and aggregate this data on their websites with data from other companies. In addition, copycat websites may have attempted to and may in the future attempt to misappropriate data and imitate our brand or the functionality of our website. If we become aware of such websites, we intend to employ technological or legal measures in an attempt to halt their operations. However, we may be unable to detect all such websites in a timely manner and, even if we could, technological and legal measures may be insufficient to halt their operations. In some cases, particularly in the case of websites operating outside of the United States, our available remedies may not be adequate to protect us against the effect of the operation of such websites. Regardless of whether we can successfully enforce our rights against the operators of these websites, any measures that we may take could require us to expend significant financial or other resources, which could harm our business, results of operations, or financial condition. In addition, to the extent that such activity creates confusion among consumers or advertisers, our brand and business could be harmed.
We rely on the experience and expertise of our founder, senior management team, highly-specialized insurance experts, key technical employees, and other highly skilled personnel.
Our success depends upon the continued service of Assaf Wand, our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors; our senior management team; our highly-specialized insurance experts and key technical employees; and our ability to continue to attract and retain additional highly qualified personnel. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate, retain, and integrate highly skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. If we are unable to attract the requisite personnel, our business and prospects may be adversely affected. Each of our co-founder, executive officers, specialized insurance experts,
key technical personnel, and other employees could terminate his or her relationship with us at any time. The loss of our CEO or any other member of our senior management team, specialized insurance experts, or key personnel might significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our strategic business objectives and could harm our business. We rely on a small number of highly-specialized insurance experts, the loss of any one of whom could have a disproportionate impact on our business. Competition in our industry for qualified employees is intense. Our compensation arrangements, such as our equity award programs, may not always be successful in attracting new employees and retaining and motivating our existing employees. Moreover, if and when the stock options or other equity awards are substantially vested, employees under such equity arrangements may be more likely to leave, particularly when the underlying shares have seen a value appreciation.
Furthermore, several members of our management team were hired recently. If we are not able to integrate these new team members or if they do not perform adequately, our business may be harmed.
We face significant competition for personnel, particularly in California, where our headquarters is located and in Texas, where many of our technical employees are located. To attract top talent, we have to offer, and believe we will need to continue to offer, competitive compensation and benefits packages. We may also need to increase our employee compensation levels in response to competitor actions. If we are unable to hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs or otherwise fail to effectively manage our hiring needs or successfully integrate new hires, including our recently hired management team members, our efficiency, ability to meet forecasts, and our employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If our customers were to claim that the policies they purchased failed to provide adequate or appropriate coverage, we could face claims that could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Although we aim to provide adequate and appropriate coverage under each of our policies, customers could purchase policies that prove to be inadequate or inappropriate. If such customers were to bring a claim or claims alleging that we failed in our responsibilities to provide them with the type or amount of coverage that they sought to purchase, we could be found liable, resulting in an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. While we maintain errors and omissions insurance coverage to protect us against such liability, such coverage may be insufficient or inadequate.
We may become subject to claims under Israeli law for remuneration or royalties for assigned invention rights by our Israel-based contractors or employees, which could result in litigation and adversely affect our business.
We enter into assignment of invention agreements with employees and contractors, pursuant to which such employees and contractors assign to us all rights to any inventions created during and as a result of their employment or engagement with us. Under the Israeli Patents Law, 5727-1967 (the “Israeli Patents Law”), inventions conceived by an employee during and as a result of such employee’s employment are regarded as “Service Inventions,” which belong to the employer absent an agreement between the employee and employer providing otherwise.
The Israeli Patents Law also provides that if there is no agreement between an employer and an employee determining whether the employee is entitled to receive consideration for service inventions and on what terms, this will be determined by the Israeli Compensation and Royalties Committee (the “Committee”), a body constituted under the Israel Patents Law. Current case law clarifies that the right to receive consideration for Service Inventions can be waived by the employee and that in certain circumstances, such waiver does not necessarily have to be explicit. The Committee will examine, on a case-by-case basis, the general contractual framework between the parties, using interpretation rules of general Israeli contract laws. Further, the Committee has not yet determined one specific formula for calculating this remuneration, but rather uses the criteria specified in the Israeli Patents Law.
In addition, with respect to contractors, there is no clear arrangement under the Israeli Patents Law with respect to contractors’ ownership in inventions developed by them. Therefore, it is considered best practice to include, in the contractor’s engagement agreement, a provision whereby the parties agree that the company engaging such contractor shall own all intellectual property rights conceived or developed by the contractor during and as a result of such contractor’s engagement with the company, including a clear and explicit assignment provision with respect thereto and a waiver to receive additional consideration.
Although we generally enter into agreements with our contractors and employees pursuant to which they (i) assign to us all rights in and to inventions developed by them during and as a result of their employment or engagement with us; and (ii) waive any right to receive royalties, compensation or additional consideration in connection therewith (including, with respect to employees, waiver under Section 134 of the Israeli Patents Law), we may face claims demanding remuneration in consideration for assigned inventions. As a consequence of such claims, we could be required to pay additional remuneration or royalties to our current or former contractors or employees, or be forced to litigate such monetary claims, which could negatively affect our business.
Our company culture has contributed to our success and if we cannot maintain this culture as we grow, our business could be harmed.
We believe that our company culture has been critical to our success. We not only seek to engender a trusting relationship between our brand and our customers, but also among our employees. Our ability to continue to cultivate and maintain this culture is essential to our growth and continued success. We face a number of challenges that may affect our ability to sustain our corporate culture, including:
•failure to identify, attract, reward and retain people in leadership positions in our organization who share and further our culture, values, and mission;
•the increasing size and geographic diversity of our workforce and our ability to promote a uniform and consistent culture across all our offices and employees;
•competitive pressures to move in directions that may divert us from our mission, vision, and values;
•the continued challenges of a rapidly evolving industry; and
•the increasing need to develop expertise in new areas of business that affect us.
Our unique culture is one of our core characteristics that helps us to attract and retain key personnel. If we are not able to maintain our culture, we would have to incur additional costs and find alternative methods to recruit key employees, which in turn could cause our business, results of operations, and financial condition to be adversely affected.
Our exposure to loss activity and regulation may be greater in states where we currently have more of our customers or where we are domiciled.
A large portion of our business originates from customers in California and Texas. As a result of this concentration, if a significant catastrophe event or series of catastrophe events occur, such as a natural disaster, severe weather (such as the Texas hail storms in 2019 or the recent Texas winter storm), or the recent outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and cause material losses in California and Texas, our business, financial condition, and results of operation could be materially adversely affected. Further, as compared to our competitors who operate on a wider geographic scale, any adverse changes in the regulatory or legal environment affecting property and casualty insurance in California and Texas may expose us to more significant risks. In addition, as we are domiciled in Illinois, any adverse changes in the regulatory environment affecting property and casualty insurance in Illinois may also expose us to more significant risks.
Our product development cycles are complex and subject to regulatory approval, and we may incur significant expenses before we generate revenues, if any, from new or expansion of or changes to existing products.
Because our insurance products require regulatory approvals, development cycles can take time. Moreover, development projects can be technically challenging and expensive, and may be delayed or defeated by the inability to obtain licensing or other regulatory approvals. The nature of these development cycles may cause us to experience delays between the time we incur expenses associated with research and development and the time we generate revenues, if any, from such expenses. If we expend a significant amount of resources on research and development and our efforts do not lead to the successful introduction or improvement of products that are competitive in the marketplace, this could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, anticipated customer demand for a product we are developing could decrease after the development cycle has commenced. Such decreased customer demand may cause us to fall short of our sales targets, and we may nonetheless be unable to avoid substantial costs associated with the product’s development. If we are unable to
complete product development cycles successfully and in a timely fashion and generate revenues from such future products, the growth of our business may be harmed.
Our success depends upon the continued growth in the use of the internet for purchasing of insurance products.
We provide homeowners’ insurance products through our website that competes with traditional offline counterparts. While we also offer insurance through traditional, offline producers, the continued growth and acceptance of our products and services will depend, to a large extent, on the continued growth in commercial use of the internet and our ability to innovate and distinguish our products and services from traditional markets.
Purchasers of insurance may develop the perception that purchasing insurance products online is not as effective as purchasing such products through a producer or other traditional offline methods, and the homeowners’ insurance markets may not migrate online as quickly as (or at the levels that) we expect. Moreover, if, for any reason, an unfavorable perception develops that data automation is less efficacious than traditional offline methods of purchasing insurance, underwriting, claims processing, and other functions that use data automation, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
New lines of business or new products and services may subject us to additional risks.
From time to time, we may implement or acquire new lines of business, including those outside of the insurance industry, or offer new products and services within existing lines of business. There are risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed or are evolving. In developing and marketing new lines of business and new products and services, we may invest significant time and resources. In addition, new business ventures may require different strategic management competencies and risk considerations compared to those of a traditional insurance company or compared to those of our existing management team. External factors, such as regulatory compliance obligations, competitive alternatives, and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new product or service. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new products or services could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Litigation and legal proceedings filed by or against us and our subsidiaries, key vendors, joint ventures, or investments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Litigation and other proceedings may include, but are not limited to, complaints from or litigation by vendors, employees, customers, our insurance companies, or reinsurers, related to alleged breaches of contract or otherwise. As our market share increases, competitors may pursue litigation to require us to change our business practices or offerings and limit our ability to compete effectively. As is typical in the insurance industry, we continually face risks associated with litigation of various types arising in the normal course of our business operations, including disputes relating to insurance claims under our policies, as well as other general commercial and corporate litigation. Although we are not currently involved in any material litigation with our customers, members of the insurance industry are the target of class action lawsuits and other types of litigation, some of which involve claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts, and the outcomes of which are unpredictable. This litigation is based on a variety of issues, including the sale of insurance and unfair trade or claim settlement practices. In addition, because we utilize our own and third party data, it is possible that customers or consumer groups could bring individual or class action claims, and regulators could bring actions alleging that our methods of collecting data and pricing risk are impermissibly discriminatory. We cannot predict with any certainty whether we will be involved in such litigation in the future or what impact such litigation would have on our business. If we were to be involved in litigation and it was determined adversely, it could require us to pay significant damages amounts or to change aspects of our operations, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Even claims without merit can be time-consuming and costly to defend and may divert management’s attention and resources away from our business and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Additionally, lawsuits over claims that are not individually material could in the future become material if aggregated with a substantial number of similar lawsuits. In addition to increasing costs, a significant volume of customer complaints or litigation could adversely affect our brand and reputation, regardless of whether such allegations are valid or whether we are liable. We cannot predict with certainty the costs of defense, the costs of
prosecution, applicability or adequacy of insurance coverage, or the ultimate outcome of litigation or other proceedings filed by or against us, including remedies or damage awards, and adverse results in such litigation and other proceedings may harm our business and financial condition. See “Business — Legal Proceedings.”
Claims by others that we infringed their proprietary technology or other intellectual property rights could result in litigation which is expensive to support, and if resolved adversely, could harm our business.
Companies in the internet and technology industries are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights. As we gain an increasingly high public profile, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims against us grows and, from time to time, third parties may assert claims of infringement of intellectual property rights against us. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending against these allegations or reaching a business resolution that is satisfactory to us. In addition, future litigation may involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners who have no relevant product or service revenue and against whom our own patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. Many potential litigants, including some of our competitors and patent-holding companies, may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than us and have the ability to dedicate substantial resources to assert their intellectual property rights. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, could distract our management from our business, and could require us to cease use of such intellectual property. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, we risk compromising our confidential information during this type of litigation. We may be required to settle such litigation on terms that are unfavorable to us. Similarly, we may be subject to an unfavorable judgment which may not be reversible or is not reversed upon appeal. The terms of such settlement or judgment may require us to pay substantial damages, royalties, or other fees, or subject us to an injunction or other restrictions that prevent us from using or distributing our intellectual property, or from operating under our brand, each of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Even if third party allegations of infringement do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant expenses, the time and resources necessary to resolve them could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition, and reputation.
With respect to any intellectual property rights claim, we may have to seek out a license to continue operations found to violate such rights, which may not be available on favorable or commercially reasonable terms and may significantly increase our operating expenses. Some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. If a third party does not offer us a license to its intellectual property on reasonable terms, or at all, we may be required to develop alternative, non-infringing technology, which could require significant time (during which we would be unable to continue to offer our affected offerings), effort, and expense and may ultimately not be successful. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If we are unable to make acquisitions and investments, or if we are unable to successfully integrate them into our business, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
As part of our business strategy, we will continue to consider a wide array of potential strategic transactions, including acquisitions of, investments in, and organizations of new businesses, new technologies, services, and other assets and strategic investments that complement our business. We may evaluate target companies and make acquisitions in the future. There is no assurance that such businesses will be successfully integrated into our existing business or generate substantial revenue.
Acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations, including:
•intense competition for suitable acquisition targets, which could increase prices and adversely affect our ability to consummate deals on favorable or acceptable terms;
•failure or material delay in closing a transaction, including as a result of regulatory review and approvals;
•inadequacy of reserves for losses and loss expenses;
•quality of their data and underwriting processes;
•conditions imposed by regulatory agencies that make the realization of cost-savings through integration of operations more difficult;
•difficulties in obtaining regulatory approvals on our ability to be an acquirer;
•a need for additional capital that was not anticipated at the time of the acquisition;
•transaction-related lawsuits or claims;
•difficulties in integrating the technologies, operations, existing contracts, and personnel of an acquired company;
•difficulties in retaining key employees or business partners of an acquired company;
•diversion of financial and management resources from existing operations or alternative acquisition opportunities;
•failure to realize the anticipated benefits or synergies of a transaction;
•failure to identify the problems, liabilities, or other shortcomings or challenges of an acquired company or technology, including issues related to intellectual property, regulatory compliance practices, litigation, accounting practices, or employee or user issues;
•risks that regulatory bodies may enact new laws or promulgate new regulations that are adverse to an acquired company or business;
•theft of our trade secrets or confidential information that we share with potential acquisition candidates;
•risk that an acquired company or investment in new offerings cannibalizes a portion of our existing business;
•adverse market reaction to an acquisition;
•significant attention from management and disruption to our business; and
•potential dilution in value to our stockholders.
If we fail to address the foregoing risks or other problems encountered in connection with past or future acquisitions of businesses, new technologies, services, and other assets and strategic investments, or if we fail to successfully integrate such acquisitions or investments, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may not be able to utilize a portion of our net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) to offset future taxable income, which could adversely affect our net income and cash flows.
We are subject to federal and state income and non-income taxes in the United States. Tax laws, regulations, and administrative practices in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change, with or without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions, and significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating these taxes. Our effective tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, such as entry into new businesses and geographies, changes to our existing business and operations, acquisitions and investments and how they are financed, changes in our stock price, changes in our deferred tax assets and liabilities and their valuation, and changes in the relevant tax, accounting, and other laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles and interpretations. We are required to take positions regarding the interpretation of complex statutory and regulatory tax rules and on valuation matters that are subject to uncertainty, and the IRS or other tax authorities may challenge the positions that we take.
As of December 31, 2020, we had U.S. federal and state NOL carryforwards of approximately $154.5 million and $41.5 million, respectively, available to offset our future taxable income, if any, prior to consideration of annual limitations that may be imposed under Section 382 of the Code, or otherwise. Of our U.S. federal NOL carryforwards, $24.1 million of losses will begin to expire in 2035 and $132.7 million of losses can be carried forward indefinitely. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, U.S. federal NOL carryforwards generated in taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such NOL carryforwards in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income.
We may be unable to fully use our NOL carryforwards, if at all. Under Section 382 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change, by value, in the corporation’s equity ownership by certain shareholders or groups of shareholders over a rolling three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-ownership change NOLs to offset its post-ownership change income may be limited. We have experienced two historical ownership changes (in 2016 and 2018) and we may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership, including as a
result of the transaction with RTPZ, some of which may be outside of our control. If we undergo a future ownership change, we may be prevented from fully utilizing our NOL carryforwards existing at the time of the ownership change prior to their expiration. Future regulatory changes could also limit our ability to utilize our NOL carryforwards. To the extent we are not able to offset future taxable income with our NOL carryforwards, our net income and cash flows may be adversely affected.
Our expansion strategy will subject us to additional costs and risks and our plans may not be successful.
Our success depends in significant part on our ability to expand into additional markets. Currently, Spinnaker is licensed to write limited lines of business in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Hippo Analytics Inc. is licensed as an insurance agency in 50 states and the District of Columbia. We have targeted writing homeowners business across all 50 states, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide nationwide coverage in the near term or at all. As of September 30, 2021, our insurance program was approved to be sold in 37 states. Moreover, one or more states could revoke our license to operate or implement additional regulatory hurdles that could inhibit or limit our ability to obtain or maintain our license or grow our business in such states.
As we seek to expand, we may incur significant operating expenses, although our expansion may not be successful for a variety of reasons, including because of, among other things:
•barriers to obtaining the required government approvals, licenses, or other authorizations, including seasoning or other limitations imposed by a state;
•failures in identifying and entering into joint ventures with strategic partners or entering into joint ventures that do not produce the desired results;
•challenges in, and the cost of, complying with various laws and regulatory standards, including with respect to the insurance business and insurance distribution, capital and outsourcing requirements, data privacy, tax and regulatory restrictions;
•competition from incumbents that already own market share, better understand the market, may market and operate more effectively, and may enjoy greater affinity or awareness; and
•differing demand dynamics, which may make our product offerings less successful.
Expansion into new markets will require additional investments by us in both securing regulatory approvals and marketing. These incremental costs may include hiring additional personnel, as well as engaging third-party service providers and other research and development costs. If we grow our geographic footprint or product offering at a slower rate than expected, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
We are subject to payment processing risk.
We currently rely on a limited number of payment processing services, including the processing of payments from credit cards and debit cards, and our business would be disrupted if any of these vendors becomes unwilling or unable to provide these services to us and we are unable to find a suitable replacement on a timely basis. If we or our processing vendors fail to maintain adequate systems for the authorization and processing of credit card transactions, it could cause one or more of the major credit card companies to disallow our continued use of their payment products. In addition, if these systems fail to work properly and, as a result, we do not charge our customers’ credit cards on a timely basis or at all, our business, revenue, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.
The payment methods that we offer also subject us to potential fraud and theft by criminals, who are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, seeking to obtain unauthorized access to or exploit weaknesses that may exist in the payment systems. If we fail to comply with applicable rules or requirements for the payment methods we accept, or if payment-related data are compromised due to a breach of data, we may be liable for significant costs incurred by payment card issuing banks and other third parties or subject to fines and higher transaction fees, or our ability to accept or facilitate certain types of payments may be impaired. In addition, our customers could lose confidence in certain payment types, which may result in a shift to other payment types or potential changes to our payment systems that may result in higher costs. If we fail to adequately control fraudulent credit card transactions, we may face civil liability, diminished public perception of our security measures, and significantly higher credit card-related costs, each of which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We are exposed to risk through our captive reinsurer, RH Solutions Insurance Ltd., which takes a share of the risk underwritten of affiliated and non-affiliated insurance carriers for business written through MGA.
In January 2020, the Company began assuming insurance risk of policies underwritten by Hippo through a wholly-owned Cayman domiciled insurance captive, RH Solutions Insurance Ltd. (“RHS”). We retain approximately 11% of the proportional risk through Spinnaker or RHS.
Because RHS is a Cayman domiciled insurance captive, it is subject to regulations and supervision imposed by the Cayman Islands. Noncompliance with applicable Cayman regulations may subject us to regulatory action or private litigation. Further, applicable laws, regulations, and administrative practices in the Cayman Islands may be subject to significant change, with or without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The insurance business, including the market for homeowners’ insurance, is historically cyclical in nature, and we may experience periods with excess underwriting capacity and unfavorable premium rates, which could adversely affect our business.
Historically, insurance carriers writing homeowners insurance have experienced significant fluctuations in operating results due to competition, frequency and severity of catastrophic events, levels of capacity, adverse litigation trends, regulatory constraints, general economic conditions, and other factors. The supply of insurance is related to prevailing prices, the level of insured losses, and the level of capital available to the industry that, in turn, may fluctuate in response to changes in rates of return on investments being earned in the insurance industry. As a result, the homeowners insurance business historically has been a cyclical industry characterized by periods of intense price competition due to excessive underwriting capacity, as well as periods when shortages of capacity increased premium levels. Demand for insurance depends on numerous factors, including the frequency and severity of catastrophic events, levels of capacity, the introduction of new capital providers, and general economic conditions. All of these factors fluctuate and may contribute to price declines generally in the insurance industry.
We cannot predict with certainty whether market conditions affecting the homeowners’ insurance market and the insurance market in general will improve, remain constant, or deteriorate. Negative market conditions may impair our ability to underwrite insurance at rates we consider appropriate and commensurate relative to the risk assumed. Additionally, negative market conditions could result in a decline in policies sold, an increase in the frequency or severity of claims and premium defaults, and an uptick in the frequency of fraud, including the falsification of claims. If we cannot underwrite insurance at appropriate rates, our ability to transact business will be materially and adversely affected. Any of these factors could lead to an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our actual incurred losses may be greater than our loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our financial condition and results of operations depend on our ability to accurately assess potential Loss and Loss Adjustment Expenses under the terms of the policies we underwrite for homeowners. Reserves do not represent an exact calculation of liability. Rather, reserves represent an estimate of what the expected ultimate settlement and administration of claims will cost, and the ultimate liability may be greater or less than the current estimate. In our industry, there is always the risk that reserves may prove inadequate, as it is possible for us to underestimate the cost of claims and claims administration.
We base our estimates on our assessment of known facts and circumstances, as well as estimates of future trends in claim severity, claim frequency, judicial theories of liability, and other factors. These variables are affected by both internal and external events that could increase our exposure to losses, including changes in the mix of customers and jurisdictions, changes in actuarial projections, claims handling procedures, inflation, severe weather, climate change, economic and judicial trends, and legislative changes. Increases in claims severity can be impacted by increased costs including construction costs, availability of supplies, and other economic factors; and by litigation trends and precedent. We regularly monitor reserves using new information on reported claims and a variety of statistical techniques to update our current estimate. Our estimates could prove to be inadequate, and this underestimation could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Recorded claim reserves, including case reserves and incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) claims reserves, are based on our estimates of losses after considering known facts and interpretations of the circumstances, including settlement agreements. Additionally, models that rely on the assumption that past loss development patterns will persist into the future are used. Internal factors are considered, including our experience with similar cases, actual claims paid, historical trends involving claim payment patterns, pending levels of unpaid claims, loss management programs, product mix, contractual terms and changes in claim reporting, and settlement practices. External factors are also considered, such as court decisions, changes in law, and litigation imposing unintended coverage. We also consider benefits, such as disallowing the use of benefit payment schedules, requiring coverage designed to cover losses that occur in a single policy period to losses that develop continuously over multiple policy periods, or requiring the availability of multiple limits. Regulatory requirements and economic conditions are also considered.
Since reserves are estimates of the unpaid portion of losses that have occurred, including IBNR losses, the establishment of appropriate reserves, including reserves for catastrophes, is an inherently uncertain and complex process that is regularly refined to reflect current estimation processes and practices. The ultimate cost of losses may vary materially from recorded reserves, and such variance may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition as the reserves and reinsurance recoverables are reestimated.
If any of our insurance reserves should prove to be inadequate for the reasons discussed above, or for any other reason, we will be required to increase reserves, resulting in a reduction in our net income and stockholders’ equity in the period in which the deficiency is identified. Future loss experience substantially in excess of established reserves could also have a material adverse effect on future earnings and liquidity and financial strength rating, which would affect our ability to attract new business or to retain existing customers.
We are subject to extensive insurance industry regulations.
Currently, Spinnaker is licensed to write limited lines of business in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Hippo Analytics Inc. is licensed as an insurance agency in 50 states and the District of Columbia. We have targeted writing homeowners business across all 50 states, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide nationwide coverage in the near term or at all. As of September 30, 2021, our insurance program is approved to be sold in 37 states.
Each U.S. state regulator retains the authority to license insurance producers and insurance companies in their states, and a producer or company generally may not operate in a state in which it is not licensed. Accordingly, we are not permitted to sell or underwrite insurance to residents of the remaining states and territories of the United States for lines or products for which we are not authorized, which is likely to put us at a disadvantage among many of our competitors that have been in business much longer than us and are licensed to sell their insurance products in most, if not all, U.S. jurisdictions.
Additionally, RHS is domiciled in Cayman, and as such noncompliance with applicable Cayman regulations may subject us to regulatory action or private litigation. Further, applicable laws, regulations, and administrative practices in the Cayman Islands may be subject to significant change, with or without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions.
We are subject to extensive regulation and supervision in the states in which we transact business by the individual state insurance departments. This regulation is generally designed to protect the interests of consumers, and not necessarily the interests of insurers or producers, their shareholders, or other investors. Numerous aspects of our insurance business are subject to regulation, including, but not limited to, premium rates, mandatory covered risks, limitations on the ability to non-renew or to cancel or elect not to renew business, prohibited exclusions, licensing and appointment of agents, restrictions on the size of risks that may be insured under a single policy, reserves and provisions for unearned premiums, losses and other obligations, deposits of securities for the benefit of customers, investments and capital, policy forms and coverages, advertising and other conduct, including restrictions on the use of credit information and other factors in underwriting, as well as other production, underwriting and claims practices. To the extent we decide to expand our current product offerings to include other insurance products, this would subject us to additional regulatory requirements and scrutiny in each state in which we elect to offer such products. States have also adopted legislation defining and prohibiting unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts and practices in the business of insurance. Prohibited practices include, but are not limited to, misrepresentations, false advertising, coercion, disparaging other insurers, unfair claims settlement procedures,
discrimination in the business of insurance, and offering illegal inducements in connection with insurance sales. Noncompliance with any of such state statute may subject us to regulatory action by the relevant state insurance regulator, and, in certain states, private litigation. States also regulate various aspects of the contractual relationships between insurers and licensed agents and brokers.
Such laws, rules, and regulations are usually overseen and enforced by the various state insurance departments, as well as through private rights of action and by state attorneys general. Such regulations or enforcement actions are often responsive to current consumer and political sensitivities, such as homeowners’ insurance rates and coverage forms, which may arise after a major event. Such rules and regulations may result in rate suppression, limit our ability to manage our exposure to unprofitable or volatile risks, or lead to fines, premium refunds, or other adverse consequences. The federal government also may regulate aspects of our businesses, such as the protection of consumer confidential information or the use of consumer insurance (credit) scores to underwrite and assess the risk of customers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Among other things, the FCRA requires insurance companies to have a permissible purpose before obtaining and using a consumer report for underwriting purposes, as well as comply with related notice and recordkeeping requirements. Failure to comply with federal requirements under the FCRA or any other applicable federal laws would subject us to regulatory fines and other sanctions. In addition, given our short operating history to-date and rapid speed of growth, we are particularly vulnerable to regulators identifying errors in the policy forms we use, the rates we charge, and our customer communications. As a result of any such noncompliance, regulators could impose fines, rebates, or other penalties, including cease-and-desist orders for an individual state, or all states, until the identified noncompliance is rectified.
Our ability to retain state licenses depends on our ability to meet licensing requirements enacted or promulgated in each state (sometimes based on model laws and regulations developed by the NAIC), subject to significant variations across states. If we are unable to satisfy the applicable licensing requirements of any particular state, we could lose our license to do business in such state, which would result in the temporary or permanent cessation of our operations in that state. Alternatively, if we are unable to satisfy applicable state licensing requirements, we may be subject to additional regulatory oversight, have our license suspended, face monetary penalties, or be subject to seizure of assets. Any such events could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
In addition, as a condition to writing business in certain states, insurance companies are often required to participate in various pools or risk sharing mechanisms or to accept certain classes of risk, regardless of whether such risks meet their underwriting requirements for voluntary business. Some states also limit or impose restrictions on the ability of an insurer to withdraw from certain classes of business. Certain states impose significant restrictions on a company’s ability to materially reduce its exposures, non-renew, or to withdraw from certain lines of business. State insurance departments can impose significant charges on an insurer in connection with a market withdrawal or refuse to approve withdrawal plans including on the grounds that they could lead to market disruption. Laws and regulations that limit cancellation and non-renewal of policies or that subject withdrawal plans to prior approval requirements may significantly restrict our ability terminate unprofitable risks or to exit unprofitable markets. Such actions and related regulatory restrictions may limit our ability to reduce our potential exposure including, but not limited to, catastrophe events such as hurricane-related losses.
A regulatory environment that requires rate increases and product forms to be approved and that can dictate underwriting practices and mandate participation in loss sharing arrangements may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
From time to time, political events and positions affect the insurance market, including efforts to reduce rates to a level that may prevent us from being profitable or may not allow us to reach targeted levels of profitability. For example, if our loss ratio compares favorably to that of the industry, state or provincial regulatory authorities may impose rate rollbacks, require us to pay premium refunds to policyholders, or challenge or otherwise delay our efforts to raise rates even if the property and casualty industry generally is not experiencing regulatory challenges to rate increases. Such challenges affect our ability to obtain approval for rate changes that may be required to achieve targeted levels of profitability and returns on equity. In particular and by way of example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, state regulators and legislators are under increased political pressure to provide financial relief to policyholders through premium rebates or requiring insurers to pay claims arising from COVID-19 related losses, regardless of the applicable policy’s exclusions.
In addition, certain states have enacted laws that require an insurer conducting business in that state to participate in assigned risk plans, reinsurance facilities and joint underwriting associations. Certain states also require insurers to offer coverage to all consumers, often restricting an insurer’s ability to charge the price it might otherwise charge. In these markets, we may be compelled to underwrite significant amounts of business at lower-than-desired rates, possibly leading to an unacceptable return on equity. Laws and regulations of many states also limit an insurer’s ability to withdraw from one or more lines of insurance there, except pursuant to a plan that is approved by the state insurance department. Additionally, as addressed above, certain states require insurers to participate in guaranty funds for impaired or insolvent insurance companies. These funds periodically assess losses against all insurance companies doing business in the state. Our business, results of operations or financial condition could be adversely affected by any of these factors.
State insurance regulators impose additional reporting requirements regarding enterprise risk on insurance holding company systems, with which we must comply as an insurance holding company.
In the past decade, various state insurance regulators have increased their focus on risks within an insurer’s holding company system that may pose enterprise risk to the insurer. During the last approximately ten years, the NAIC adopted significant changes to the insurance holding company act and regulations (the “NAIC Amendments”). The NAIC Amendments are designed to respond to perceived gaps in the regulation of insurance holding company systems in the United States. One of the major changes is a requirement that an insurance holding company system’s ultimate controlling person submit annually to its lead state insurance regulator an “enterprise risk report” that identifies activities, circumstances or events involving one or more affiliates of an insurer that, if not remedied properly, are likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity of the insurer or its insurance holding company system as a whole. Other changes include requiring a controlling person to submit prior notice to its domiciliary insurance regulator of a divestiture of control, having detailed minimum requirements for cost sharing and management agreements between an insurer and its affiliates and expanding of the agreements between an insurer and its affiliates to be filed with its domiciliary insurance regulator.
The increasing adoption by states of cybersecurity regulations could impose additional compliance burdens on us and expose us to additional liability.
In response to the growing threat of cyber-attacks in the insurance industry, certain jurisdictions have adopted and others are considering new cybersecurity measures, including the adoption of cybersecurity regulations. On October 24, 2017, the NAIC adopted its Insurance Data Security Model Law, intended to serve as model legislation for states to enact in order to govern cybersecurity and data protection practices of insurers, insurance agents, and other licensed entities registered under state insurance laws. As of the summer of 2020, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia have adopted versions of the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law, each with a different effective date, and other states may adopt versions of the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law in the future. Although we take steps to comply with financial industry cybersecurity regulations and believe we are materially compliant with their requirements, our failure to comply with new or existing cybersecurity regulations could result in regulatory actions and other penalties. In addition, efforts to comply with new or existing cybersecurity regulations could impose significant costs on our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to our operations and may negatively impact our business, key metrics, or results of operations in numerous ways that remain unpredictable.
In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China and in March 2020 was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Public and private sector policies and initiatives to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as the imposition of travel restrictions and the adoption of remote working, could impact our operations if our employees are unable to work effectively, including because of illness, quarantines, government actions, facility closures or other restrictions. We continue to assess and update our business continuity plans in the context of this pandemic, including taking steps to help keep our employees healthy and safe. The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations in certain cases and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences and to increase our use of web-based solutions for business processes like meetings and working remote solutions).
Beginning in early March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures imposed to contain this pandemic have severely impacted businesses worldwide, including many in the insurance sector. Insurers of travel, events or business interruption may be directly and adversely affected by claims with respect to COVID-19 or the lock-down it engendered. Other insurers, in lines of business that are not directly impacted by COVID-19, may nevertheless be dependent on office-based brokers, in-person inspections, or teams that are poorly equipped to work from home — all of which can translate into value erosion. Finally, the broader financial crisis may hurt insurers in other ways, too. With interest rates at all-time lows, we, along with many insurers, have seen a decline on the return on capital.
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to impact our loss ratios as homes are being used more intensively due to the remote working environment. Home infrastructure and equipment breakdown are occurring more frequently due to increased use. COVID 19 has delayed our recoverability of premiums where moratoriums have been imposed and has delayed the launch of some of our Hippo Home Care products. Due to the speed with which the COVID-19 situation is developing, the global breadth of its spread and the range of governmental and community reactions thereto, uncertainty around its duration and ultimate impact persists, and the related financial impact on our business could change and cannot be accurately predicted at this time.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and may further impact the broader economies of affected countries, including negatively impacting economic growth, the proper functioning of financial and capital markets, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. It is possible that the pandemic will cause an economic slowdown of potentially extended duration, and it is possible that it could cause a global recession. This could result in an increase in fraudulent claims or a decrease in home sales, an increase in costs associated with claims under our policies, as well as an increase in the number of customers experiencing difficulty paying premiums, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Given that the COVID-19 situation is continuing to develop (particularly as new strains of the virus emerge and create potential challenges to vaccination efforts), the global breadth of its spread and the range of governmental and community reactions thereto (including the availability and acceptance of vaccines), there is uncertainty around its duration and ultimate impact it will continue to have on our business. For a further discussion of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — COVID-19 Impact.”
Severe weather events and other catastrophes, including the effects of climate change, global pandemics, and terrorism, are inherently unpredictable and may have a material adverse effect on our financial results and financial condition.
Our homeowners’ insurance business is exposed to the risk of severe weather conditions and other catastrophes. Severe weather events include, but are not limited to, winter storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, rain, hail, and high winds. The incidence and severity of weather conditions are largely unpredictable. Catastrophes can be caused by various events, such as wildfires, tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes, windstorms, hailstorms, severe thunderstorms, fires, and other non-natural events such as explosions, civil unrest, terrorism or war. Additionally, seasonal weather patterns impact the level and amount of claims we receive. These patterns include hurricanes, wildfires and coastal storms in the fall, cold weather patterns and changing home heating needs in the winter, and tornados and hailstorms in the spring and summer. The mix of geographic exposure and products within our customer base impacts our exposure to these weather patterns and as we diversify our base of premium such that our exposure more closely resembles the industry exposure, we should see the impact of these events on our business more closely resemble the impact on the broader industry.
The incidence and severity of severe weather conditions and catastrophes are inherently unpredictable and the occurrence of one catastrophe does not render the possibility of another catastrophe greater or lower. The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event. In particular, severe weather and other catastrophes could significantly increase our costs due to a surge in claims following such events and/or legal and regulatory changes in response to catastrophes that may impair our ability to limit our liability under our policies. Severe weather conditions and catastrophes can cause greater losses for us, which can cause our liquidity and financial condition to deteriorate. Resulting reductions in our capital could materially adversely affect our ability to underwrite new or renew existing insurance policies. In addition, we may not be able to obtain reinsurance coverage at reasonable rates and in amounts or with coverages adequate to mitigate the risks associated with severe weather conditions and other catastrophes.
While we only work with reinsurers whom we believe have acceptable credit, if our reinsurers are unable to pay for the claims for which they are responsible, we could be exposed to additional liability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Catastrophic losses, such as the recent storms in Texas, may result in our insurance companies incurring losses greater than those experienced in prior years, the expected level of losses including modeled losses, and current reinsurance limits.
Climate change may affect the occurrence of certain natural events, such as an increase in the frequency or severity of snow, wind and thunderstorm events, and tornado or hailstorm events due to increased convection in the atmosphere; more frequent wildfires in certain geographies; higher incidence of deluge flooding and the potential for an increase in severity of the hurricane events due to higher sea surface temperatures. Additionally, climate change may cause an impact on the demand, price and availability of homeowners insurance and reinsurance coverages, as well as the value of our investment portfolio. Due to significant variability associated with future changing climate conditions, we are unable to predict the impact climate change will have on our business.
We expect our results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis. In addition, our operating results and operating metrics are subject to seasonality and volatility, which could result in fluctuations in our quarterly revenues and operating results or in perceptions of our business prospects.
Our revenue and results of operations could vary significantly from period to period and may fail to match expectations as a result of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Our results may vary as a result of fluctuations in the number of customers purchasing our insurance products and fluctuations in the timing and amount of our expenses. In addition, the insurance industry, and particularly homeowners’ insurance, are subject to their own cyclical trends and uncertainties, including extreme weather which is often seasonal and may result in volatility in claims reporting and payment patterns. Fluctuations and variability across the industry may affect our revenue. As a result of the potential variations in our revenue and results of operations, period-to-period comparisons may not be meaningful and the results of any one period should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. In addition, our results of operations may not meet the expectations of investors or public market analysts who follow us, which may adversely affect our stock price.
We have experienced in the past, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations in our revenues and resulting fluctuations in our rate of growth as a result of insurance spending patterns. Specifically, our revenues may be proportionately higher in our third fiscal quarter due to the seasonality of when homeowners purchase and move into new homes, which historically occurs at higher rates in the months of July, August, and September. Accordingly, the amount of growth we experience may also be greater in the third quarter. As our business expands and matures, other seasonality trends may develop and the existing seasonality and customer behavior that we experience may change. Volatility in our key operating metrics or their rates of growth could have a negative impact on our financial results and investor perceptions of our business prospects and a failure to achieve our quarterly forecasts or to meet or exceed the expectations of research analysts or investors will cause our stock price to decline.
An overall decline in economic activity could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition and results of operations of our business.
The demand for property and casualty insurance generally rises as the overall level of household income increases and generally falls as household income decreases, affecting premiums, commissions and fees generated by our business. Some new accounts are sourced by referral sources tied to home closing transactions, and major slowdowns in the various housing markets we serve could impact our ability to generate new business. The economic activity that impacts property and casualty insurance is most closely correlated with employment levels, corporate revenue, and asset values.
Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected due to limitations in the analytical models used to assess and predict our exposure to catastrophe losses.
Along with others in the insurance industry, models developed internally and by third party vendors are used along with our own historical data in assessing property insurance exposure to catastrophe losses. These models assume various conditions and probability scenarios; however, they do not necessarily accurately predict future losses or measure losses currently incurred. Further, the accuracy of such models may be negatively impacted by changing climate conditions, including increased weather severity patterns. Catastrophe models use historical
information and scientific research about natural events, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, as well as detailed information about our in-force business. This information is used in connection with pricing and risk management activities. However, since actual catastrophic events vary considerably, there are limitations with respect to its usefulness in predicting losses in any reporting period. Other limitations are evident in significant variations in estimates between models, material increases and decreases in results due to model changes and refinements of the underlying data elements and actual conditions that are not yet well understood or may not be properly incorporated into the models.
Our insurance company subsidiaries are subject to minimum capital and surplus requirements, and failure to meet these requirements could subject us to regulatory action.
Our insurance company subsidiaries are subject to risk-based capital standards and other minimum capital and surplus requirements. The risk-based capital standards, based upon the Risk-based Capital Model Act developed by the NAIC and adopted in all states, including our insurance subsidiaries’ states of domicile, require our insurance company subsidiaries to report results of risk-based capital calculations to their domestic regulator. These risk-based capital standards provide for different levels of regulatory attention depending upon the ratio of an insurance company’s total adjusted capital, as calculated in accordance with the NAIC’s RBC formula, to its authorized control level risk-based capital. Authorized control level risk-based capital is determined using the NAIC’s risk-based capital formula, which measures the minimum amount of capital that an insurance company needs to support its overall business operations.
An insurance company with total adjusted capital that is less than 200% of its authorized control level risk-based capital is at a company action level, which would require the insurance company to file a risk-based capital plan that, among other things, contains proposals of corrective actions the company intends to take that are reasonably expected to result in the elimination of the company action level event. Additional action level events occur when the insurer’s total adjusted capital falls below 150%, 100%, and 70% of its authorized control level risk-based capital. The lower the percentage, the more severe the regulatory response, including, in the event of a mandatory control level event (total adjusted capital falls below 70% of the insurer’s authorized control level risk-based capital), placing the insurance company into receivership. As of September 30, 2021, Spinnaker Insurance Company’s risk-based capital ratio was well in excess of minimum statutory requirements.
In addition, our insurance company subsidiaries are required to maintain certain minimum capital and surplus and generally must keep their net written premiums within specified multiples of its surplus that regulators customarily view as prudent. The insurance company subsidiaries could exceed these ratios if their volume increases faster than anticipated or if their surplus declines due to catastrophe or non-catastrophe losses or excessive underwriting and operational expenses.
Any failure by our insurance company subsidiaries to meet the applicable risk-based capital or minimum statutory capital requirements or the writings ratio limitations regulators customarily use where we currently or may in the future conduct business could subject us to further examination or corrective action imposed by state regulators, including limitations on our writing of additional business, state supervision or liquidation.
Any changes in existing risk-based capital requirements, minimum statutory capital requirements, or customary writings ratios may require us to increase our statutory capital levels, which we may be unable to do.
Our insurance company subsidiaries are subject to assessments and other surcharges from state guaranty funds and mandatory state insurance facilities, which may reduce our profitability.
The insurance laws of many states subject property and casualty insurers doing business in those states to statutory property and casualty guaranty fund assessments. The purpose of a guaranty fund is to protect customers by requiring that solvent property and casualty insurers pay the insurance claims of insolvent insurers. These guaranty associations generally pay these claims by assessing solvent insurers proportionately based on each insurer’s share of voluntary premiums written in the state. While most guaranty associations provide for recovery of assessments through subsequent rate increases, surcharges or premium tax credits, there is no assurance that insurers will ultimately recover these assessments, which could be material, particularly following a large catastrophe or in markets which become disrupted.
Maximum contributions required by law in any one year vary by state. We cannot predict with certainty the amount of future assessments because they depend on factors outside our control, such as insolvencies of other insurance companies. Significant assessments could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Performance of our investment portfolio is subject to a variety of investment risks that may adversely affect our financial results.
Our results of operations depend, in part, on the performance of our investment portfolio. We seek to hold a diversified portfolio of investments in accordance with our investment policy and routinely reviewed by our investment committee. However, our investments are subject to general economic and market risks as well as risks inherent to particular securities.
Our primary market risk exposures are to changes in interest rates and overall debt markets given that a majority of our portfolio is invested in debt securities, treasury bills, municipal bonds and mortgage- and asset-backed securities. We have limited exposure to equities but may in the future increase our portfolio’s allocation to equities. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.” In recent years, interest rates have been at or near historic lows. A protracted low interest rate environment would continue to place pressure on our net investment income, particularly as it relates to fixed income securities and short-term investments, which, in turn, may adversely affect our operating results. Future increases in interest rates could cause the values of our fixed income securities portfolios to decline, with the magnitude of the decline depending on the duration of securities included in our portfolio and the amount by which interest rates increase. Some fixed income securities have call or prepayment options, which create possible reinvestment risk in declining rate environments. Other fixed income securities, such as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, carry prepayment risk or, in a rising interest rate environment, may not prepay as quickly as expected.
The value of our investment portfolio is subject to the risk that certain investments may default or become impaired due to deterioration in the financial condition of one or more issuers of the securities we hold, or due to deterioration in the financial condition of an insurer that guarantees an issuer’s payments on such investments. Downgrades in the credit ratings of fixed maturities also have a significant negative effect on the market valuation of such securities.
Such factors could reduce our net investment income and result in realized investment losses. Our investment portfolio is subject to increased valuation uncertainties when investment markets are illiquid. The valuation of investments is more subjective when markets are illiquid, thereby increasing the risk that the estimated fair value (i.e., the carrying amount) of the securities we hold in our portfolio does not reflect prices at which actual transactions would occur.
We may also invest in marketable equity securities. These securities are carried on the balance sheet at fair market value and are subject to potential losses and declines in market value.
Risks for all types of securities are managed through the application of our investment policy, which establishes investment parameters that include, but are not limited to, maximum percentages of investment in certain types of securities and minimum levels of credit quality, which we believe are within applicable guidelines established by the NAIC.
Although we seek to preserve our capital, we cannot be certain that our investment objectives will be achieved, and results may vary substantially over time. In addition, although we seek to employ investment strategies that are not correlated with our insurance and reinsurance exposures, losses in our investment portfolio may occur at the same time as underwriting losses and, therefore, exacerbate the adverse effect of the losses on us.
Unexpected changes in the interpretation of our coverage or provisions, including loss limitations and exclusions in our policies, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
There can be no assurances that specifically negotiated loss limitations or exclusions in our policies will be enforceable in the manner we intend. As industry practices and legal, judicial, social, and other conditions change,
unexpected and unintended issues related to claims and coverage may emerge. While these limitations and exclusions help us assess and mitigate our loss exposure, it is possible that a court or regulatory authority could nullify or void a limitation or exclusion, or legislation could be enacted modifying or barring the use of such limitations or exclusions. These types of governmental actions could result in higher than anticipated Loss and Loss Adjustment Expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, court decisions, such as the 1995 Montrose decision in which the California Supreme Court eliminated long standing coverage limitations by a narrow reading of policy exclusions. In these cases, insurers are required to create and write new exclusions to establish the intended coverage. These types of cases and the issues they raise may adversely affect our business by either broadening coverage beyond our underwriting intent or by increasing the frequency or severity of claims. In some instances, these changes may not become apparent until sometime after we have issued insurance contracts that are affected by the changes. As a result, the full extent of liability under our insurance contracts may not be known for many years after a contract is issued.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
There may not be an active trading market for our common stock, which may make it difficult to sell shares of our common stock, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of such exchange.
We have listed Hippo Holdings Inc.’s common stock and Hippo Holdings Inc.’s warrants on the NYSE under the symbols “HIPO” and “HIPO.WS,” respectively. However, it is possible that an active trading market will not develop or, if developed, that any market will not be sustained. This would make it difficult for you to sell shares of our common stock at an attractive price or at all.
The market price of our common stock and warrants may be highly volatile, which could cause the value of your investment to decline.
Even if an active trading market develops, the trading price of our common stock could be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The following factors, in addition to other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section, may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:
•the occurrence of severe weather conditions and other catastrophes;
•our operating and financial performance, quarterly or annual earnings relative to similar companies;
•publication of research reports or news stories about us, our competitors or our industry, or positive or negative recommendations, or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;
•the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
•announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions, business plans or commercial relationships;
•any major change in our board of directors or senior management, including the departure of our CEO;
•sales of our common stock by us, our directors, executive officers, principal shareholders, our CEO and/or the PIPE Investors, or expectations of such sales given the release of shares from applicable lock-ups over time;
•adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we may incur or securities we may issue in the future;
•short sales, hedging and other derivative transactions in our common stock;
•exposure to capital market risks related to changes in interest rates, realized investment losses, credit spreads, equity prices, foreign exchange rates and performance of insurance-linked investments;
•our creditworthiness, financial condition, performance, and prospects;
•changes in the fair values of our financial instruments (including certain warrants assumed in connection with the Business Combination);
•our dividend policy and whether dividends on our common stock have been, and are likely to be, declared and paid from time to time;
•perceptions of the investment opportunity associated with our common stock relative to other investment alternatives;
•regulatory or legal developments;
•changes in general market, economic, and political conditions;
•conditions or trends in our industry, geographies, or customers;
•changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
•the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our management, employees, partners, customers, operating results, and the general market and economy; and
•threatened or actual litigation or government investigations.
In addition, broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance, and factors beyond our control may cause our stock price to decline rapidly and unexpectedly. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our markets, or if they adversely change their recommendations or publish negative reports regarding our business or our stock, our stock price and trading volume could materially decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our markets, or our competitors. We cannot provide any assurance that analysts will cover us or provide favorable coverage. If any of the analysts who may cover us adversely change their recommendation regarding our stock, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price could materially decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to materially decline.
Some provisions of our Organizational Documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and they may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our Organizational Documents, as well as provisions of the DGCL, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions include:
•our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms, and directors are only able to be removed from office for cause;
•nothing in our Certificate of Incorporation precludes future issuances without stockholder approval of the authorized but unissued shares of our common stock;
•advance notice procedures apply for stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring matters before an annual meeting of stockholders;
•our stockholders are only be able to take action at a meeting of stockholders and not by written consent;
•only our chairman of the board of directors, our chief executive officer, our president, or a majority of the board of directors are authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders;
•no provision in our Organizational Documents provides for cumulative voting, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
•certain amendments to our Certificate of Incorporation requires the approval of two-thirds of the then outstanding voting power of our capital stock;
•our Bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the then-outstanding voting power of our capital stock, voting as a single class, is required for stockholders to amend or adopt any provision of our Bylaws;
•our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued, without the approval of the holders of our capital stock; and
•certain litigation against us can only be brought in Delaware.
Our Certificate of Incorporation states that we shall not engage in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:
•the business combination or transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder was approved by the board of directors prior to the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder;
•upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding shares owned by directors who are also officers of the corporation and shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or
•at or subsequent to the time the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the business combination was approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay, or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us to take corporate actions other than those you desire. For more information, see “Description of Our Securities.”
Applicable insurance laws may make it difficult to effect a change of control.
Under applicable state insurance laws and regulations, no person may acquire control of a domestic insurance company until written approval is obtained from the state insurance commissioner on the proposed acquisition. Such approval would be contingent upon the state insurance commissioner’s consideration of a number of factors including, among others, the financial strength of the proposed acquiror, the acquiror’s plans for the future operations of the domestic insurer and any anti-competitive results that may arise from the consummation of the acquisition of control. For example, pursuant to both the Illinois Holding Company Act and the Texas Holding Company Act, a person must either (a) seek regulatory approval from the Director or Commissioner of each state’s insurance regulatory authority prior to acquiring direct or indirect “control” of a domestic insurer by filing a “Form A” application, or (b) obtain an exemption from such requirement from the relevant Director or Commissioner if the transaction does not result in the actual change of “control” as defined in the state’s Holding Company Act. We cannot predict with certainty whether a state will approve applications for exemptions or the timing of such decisions by the states, or whether regulators may impose conditions on or in connection with these applications that might be considered burdensome in nature. If a state insurance regulatory authority were to deny an application for an exemption, we would be required to seek the prior approval of the regulatory authority of the transaction pursuant to a Form A filing. These requirements may discourage potential acquisition proposals and may delay, deter, or prevent a change of control of our insurance company subsidiary, including through transactions that some or all of the stockholders might consider to be desirable.
Our Certificate of Incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising under the DGCL, (iv) any action, suit or proceeding as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (v) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Similarly, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
These provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with any applicable action brought against us, a
court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in the Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in such action.
Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:
•any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders;
•any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
•unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or
•any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
Such limitation of liability does not apply to liabilities arising under federal securities laws and does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission.
Our Bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law and may indemnify our other employees and agents. Our Bylaws also provide that, on satisfaction of certain conditions, we will advance expenses incurred by a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in connection with any action, proceeding or investigation. We believe that these certificate of incorporation and bylaws provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers.
While we maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, such insurance may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur, which may reduce our available funds to satisfy third-party claims and may adversely impact our cash position.
Taking advantage of the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” may make our common stock less attractive to investors.
The JOBS Act provides that, so long as a company qualifies as an “emerging growth company,” it will, among other things:
•be required to have only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related selected financial data and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations disclosure;
•be exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that its independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting;
•be exempt from the “say on pay” and “say on golden parachute” advisory vote requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”); and
•be exempt from certain disclosure requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to compensation of its executive officers and be permitted to omit the detailed compensation discussion and analysis from proxy statements and reports filed under the Exchange Act;
We currently intend to take advantage of each of the exemptions described above. Further, pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. As a result, our operating results and financial statements may not be comparable to the operating results and financial statements of other companies who have adopted the new or revised accounting
standards. It is possible that some investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result, which may result in a less active trading market for our common stock and higher volatility in our stock price. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years after this transaction. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we elect to rely on these exemptions, or if taking advantage of these exemptions would result in less active trading or more volatility in the price of our common stock.
Failure to establish and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.
We are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting. Although we are required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, we are not required to make our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC. As an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the later of (i) the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC or (ii) the date we are no longer an emerging growth company. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed, or operating.
As a private company, we did not have any internal audit function. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we have undertaken various actions, and will need to take additional actions, such as implementing numerous internal controls and procedures and hiring additional accounting or internal audit staff or consultants. Testing and maintaining internal control can divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to the operation of our business. Additionally, when evaluating our internal control over financial reporting, we may identify material weaknesses that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the applicable deadline imposed upon us for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. If we identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting once we are no longer an emerging growth company, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected. We could also become subject to investigations by the SEC, the stock exchange on which our securities are listed or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources. In addition, if we fail to remedy any material weakness, our financial statements could be inaccurate, and we could face restricted access to capital markets.
We depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to transfer funds to us to meet our obligations, and our insurance company subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends to us is restricted by law.
We are a holding company that transacts a majority of our business through operating subsidiaries. Our ability to meet our operating and financing cash needs depends on the surplus and earnings of our subsidiaries, and upon the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends to us.
Payments of dividends by our insurance company subsidiaries are restricted by state insurance laws, including laws establishing minimum solvency and liquidity thresholds. The limitations are based on income and surplus determined in accordance with statutory accounting principles, not GAAP. The jurisdictions in which our current insurance company subsidiaries are domiciled impose certain restrictions on the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to pay dividends to its parent. These restrictions are based, in part, on the prior year’s statutory income and surplus. In general, dividends up to specified levels are considered ordinary and may be paid by giving prior notice to regulators. Dividends in larger amounts, or extraordinary dividends, are subject to a thirty-day prior notice period unless the insurance commissioner of the relevant state of domicile approves the dividend during that prior notice period. Under the insurance laws of Illinois and Texas, an extraordinary dividend or distribution is defined as a dividend or distribution that, together with other dividends and distributions made within the preceding 12 months, exceeds the greater of (1) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the preceding December 31 and (2) net income for the 12-month period ending the preceding December 31. In addition, dividends may be paid only from earned surplus of the insurance company.
In addition, our insurance company subsidiaries could be subject to contractual restrictions in the future, including those imposed by indebtedness we may incur in the future. Our insurance company subsidiaries may also face competitive pressures in the future to maintain insurance financial stability or strength ratings. These restrictions and other regulatory requirements would affect the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to make dividend payments, and we may not receive dividends in the amounts necessary to meet our obligations.
We do not currently expect to pay any cash dividends.
We do not currently expect to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Instead, we intend to retain future earnings, if any, for the future operation and expansion of our business. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations (including our ability to generate cash flow in excess of expenses and our expected or actual net income), liquidity, cash requirements, financial condition, retained earnings and collateral and capital requirements, general business conditions, contractual restrictions, legal, tax and regulatory limitations, the effect of a dividend or dividends upon our financial strength ratings, and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. For more information, see “Dividend Policy.”
Because we are a holding company and all of our business is conducted through our subsidiaries, dividends, distributions and other payments from, and cash generated by, our subsidiaries will be our principal sources of cash to fund operations and pay dividends. Accordingly, our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders is dependent on the earnings and distributions of funds from our subsidiaries. Our ability to pay dividends may also be restricted by the terms of any future credit agreement or any of our future debt or preferred equity securities or our subsidiaries. Accordingly, if you purchase shares of our common stock in this transaction, realization of a gain on your investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of shares of our common stock, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.
The requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, and the listing standards of NYSE, may strain our resources, increase our costs, and divert management’s attention, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner. In addition, key members of our management team have limited experience managing a public company.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and the listing standards of the NYSE. These requirements will place a strain on our management, systems and resources and we will incur significant legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses that we have not incurred as a private company. The Exchange Act will require us to file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition within specified time periods and to prepare a proxy statement with respect to our annual meeting of stockholders. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act will require that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures, and internal controls over financial reporting. The NYSE will require that we comply with various corporate governance requirements. To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, and comply with the Exchange Act and NYSE requirements, significant resources and management oversight is required. This may divert management’s attention from other business concerns and lead to significant costs associated with compliance, which could have a material adverse effect on us and the price of our common stock.
We expect these reporting and corporate governance rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with certainty. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or its committees or as our executive officers. Advocacy efforts by stockholders and third parties may also prompt even more changes in governance and reporting requirements. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of these costs. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action, and potentially civil litigation.
Many members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors, and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock by our existing stockholders in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise adequate capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
Pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements and the Sponsor Agreement, after the consummation of the Business Combination and subject to certain exceptions, the Sponsor, Company Directors and Officers, and the Major Company Equityholders are contractually restricted from selling or transferring any of their shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock (other than shares purchased in the public market or in the PIPE Investment) and the shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock issuable to the Company Directors and Officers upon settlement or exercise of Hippo Holdings Inc. options or other equity awards outstanding as of immediately following the Closing (the “Lock-up Shares”). Hippo Holdings Inc. may permit the Sponsor, the Company Directors and Officers, and/or the Major Company Equityholders to sell shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up agreements at any time in its sole discretion. Sales of these shares, or perceptions that they will be sold, could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline. After the lock-up agreements expire, the Lock-up Shares will be eligible for sale in the public market. If these additional shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock could decline.
Warrants are exercisable for Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock, which increases the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.
Outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock are exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement governing those securities. Under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, these warrants will become exercisable 12 months from the closing of RTPZ’s initial public offering, or November 23, 2021. The exercise price of these warrants will be $11.50 per share. To the extent such warrants are exercised, additional shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock. However, there is no guarantee that the public warrants will ever be in the money prior to their expiration, and as such, the public warrants may expire worthless.
We may redeem the unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants for cash at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force the warrant holder to: (i) exercise warrants and pay the exercise price at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so; (ii) sell warrants at the then-current market price when the holder might otherwise wish to hold the warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called
for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of the warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in such a case (subject to limited exceptions) so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, but the Sponsor has agreed, in addition to the existing exercise provisions in the Warrant Agreement, to exercise the private placement warrants if (a) Hippo Holdings Inc. elects to redeem the public warrants, (b) the Reference Value exceeds $25.00 per share, and (c) there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available at the time of such exercise.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants (including the private placement warrants if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share) for shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of RTPZ Class A ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 shares of Hippo Holdings Inc. common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (‘SPACs’)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 4,600,000 public warrants and 4,400,000 private placement warrants and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2021 are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors that are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.
