Hippo, a California-based insurtech focused on US home insurance, has made several new executive appointments to its insurance team.
Each appointment brings years of experience from property and casualty (P&C) insurers to support the growth and expansion of Hippo’s protective home insurance products.
The newly appointed team will be responsible for overseeing the continued growth and innovation of Hippo’s insurance products and the management of its business.
Tim Bienek, Hippo’s Chief Insurance Strategy Officer, will lead the development and execution of major insurance growth and profitability initiatives.
Prior to Hippo, Bienek was CEO of Tower Hill Insurance Group, the third largest homeowner’s insurance company in the state of Florida. He has also held executive positions such as COO of Praetorian Financial Group, CFO of Affirmative Insurance Group, President of Hallmark Financial Group, and COO of Benfield Blanch.
Rich Primerano, Hippo’s new Chief Risk Officer will be responsible for overseeing the company’s capital, reinsurance, and select portfolio management practices to enhance overall operational efficiency.
Primerano joins from Weston Insurance where he was Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.
Throughout his career, he has held financial leadership and operating roles at re/insurance companies, including RenRe North America, Trenwick Re, and Centauri Specialty Insurance.
Mike Stienstra, Hippo’s Chief Actuary, will lead continuous risk evaluation and pricing, leveraging Hippo’s technology solutions to continuously optimise coverage for its customers.
He joins from Chubb as Senior Vice President where he led the Personal Risk Services actuarial team.
Prior to Chubb, Stienstra was VP Actuarial at Ace Insurance and AVP, Actuarial at QBE North America.
Chris Donahue, Hippo’s Chief Underwriting Officer, will lead technical underwriting, insurance product and portfolio management, and underwriting analytics.
He joins from AIG, where he was Global Chief Underwriting Officer for Personal Lines and Head of Portfolio Management, managing underwriting authorities, general underwriting practice and appetite as well as global catastrophe management.
The new appointments will all report to Rick McCathron, President of Hippo.
McCathron commented: “Hippo has built an organization where insurance and technology converge to drive better outcomes for our customers and our business. “As we grow and expand, we are focused on underwriting profit, which contributes to an enhanced customer experience and long-term success.
“Our capital-light model retains risk in a way that aligns our interests with the reinsurance market while allowing us to maintain desired economics. We are pleased to welcome each of these incredible leaders in their own right, whose individual insights and experience will help Hippo focus on accelerating our growth and maximizing our long-term value.”
