Hipages acquires majority stake in Viz Insurance to embed cover for Australian tradies
What's the deal? Hipages, an Australian platform that supports more than 35,000 trade businesses across Australia and New Zealand, has acquired a majority stake in Viz Insurance — a digital-first insurance platform built specifically for tradies. The deal lets hipages embed insurance directly into its marketplace, turning an essential but cumbersome purchase into part of the workflow.
Viz, founded in 2016, offers specialised insurance across more than 85 trade occupations. Customers can get a quote in about two minutes and buy a policy in under six.
Why now? Platforms that already own customer relationships are increasingly layering in embedded financial products — insurance included — to deepen engagement and unlock new revenue. For hipages, insurance was a natural next step: it is operationally essential for every tradie on the platform.
Viz had already validated the approach. Embedded and partner-led distribution channels now represent more than half of its income, according to executive director Simon O'Dell. Insurtech Gateway Australia backed Viz in May 2023 and helped position it as a distribution-ready platform designed for exactly this kind of integration.
"We designed Viz specifically for small trade businesses, with a focus on speed, simplicity, and products that genuinely fit how tradies operate," O'Dell said. "The strength of the model is that Viz can integrate directly into trusted distribution channels like hipages, where insurance becomes part of the broader workflow rather than a separate, fragmented purchase."
What could go wrong? Insurance is a heavily regulated product, and embedding it inside a marketplace adds compliance complexity. Integration hiccups — or a poor claims experience — could damage trust with the tradies hipages depends on. Scaling across 85-plus occupations also means underwriting a wide range of risk profiles, which is harder to get right than a single vertical.
The signal: Hipages sits at the "breakout" stage on Dealroom, meaning it is past early growth and hunting for margin expansion — exactly the phase at which vertical platforms tend to layer in embedded financial products. The acquisition of Viz Insurance follows a well-worn playbook: once a marketplace owns the customer relationship, bundling insurance, payments, or lending in-house is the cheapest way to grow revenue per user without acquiring new ones.
Read more: insurance-edge.net
