Next Insurance is a Palo Alto, CA–based, technology-first insurer focused on small businesses. It offers easy-to-buy policies with 24/7 access to live certificates of insurance and additional insured endorsements, using AI and machine learning to streamline purchasing and reduce costs. Its products are used by over 500,000 business owners. The company raised $265M in funding to accelerate its path to profitability and expand distribution nationwide. As part of the transaction, Next entered partnerships with The Allstate Corporation and Allianz X and will provide its products to Allstate customers. NEXT and Allstate will co-develop innovative and commercial auto products targeting a market of 33 million small businesses, and the deal with Allianz Re includes a multi-year commitment that bolsters Next’s reinsurance relationship. The company is led by CEO Guy Goldstein. Next Insurance sells small-business coverage across categories such as workers’ comp, commercial auto and general liability for many classes of workers (for example, fitness businesses and construction). The company’s product and pricing approach aims to scale gross written premium (GWP) quickly by attracting many small businesses and upselling them to additional products over time. Next has made acquisitions recently, including Juniper Labs in December and AP Intego more recently, the latter having about $185 million in active premium at announcement. Next reported its GWP run rate was $100 million in February 2020 and $200 million in February 2021, and the company says its GWP doubled in the half-year after its last round; it is now north of that $200 million run rate. The firm’s valuation doubled to $4 billion with the new raise. CEO Guy Goldstein said the company is “always evaluating our options” regarding public-market paths but that the main focus remains on growing the business. Next Insurance is a three-year-old U.S.-based firm that sells insurance products to small and micro businesses. It offers a range of products including general liability, professional liability and commercial auto. The company serves more than 70,000 customers across over 1,000 unique types of businesses in the U.S., which is its only market. Next aims to be a one-stop insurance shop for micro and small business needs and targets sectors often overlooked by general insurers. Management says it will use the fresh capital to build new products and expand customer initiatives. Prior to the new round the company had raised $381 million; the latest financing valued Next at more than $1 billion. Founded in 2016, Next Insurance designs and sells digital general and professional liability insurance tailored to overlooked small-business verticals such as contractors, fitness, cleaning, beauty, therapy, entertainment, and education. The company now operates as a full-service, licensed insurance carrier in the U.S., enabling it to write policies independently and exercise greater control over underwriting, pricing, and policy configuration. Next sells instant, competitively priced policies online and plans to add further lines of insurance, on-demand coverage, and faster claims handling with a goal of paying claims within 48 hours. It intends to develop more sophisticated uses of AI and machine learning to improve the customer experience and streamline purchasing. The company will use the new funding to continue U.S. expansion and to increase headcount in both its Israel and U.S. offices. The Series B signals product-market fit and continued growth after rapid fundraising over the prior two years. Next Insurance builds customized insurance plans and distribution technology aimed at small-business verticals such as personal trainers, photographers, and contractors. It operates as a managing general agent, partnering with insurance carriers who underwrite policies while Next develops and sells its own products and earns commissions on each sale. The company emphasizes simple, transparent online purchasing: customers get quotes after a questionnaire and can buy coverage within minutes, including via a Facebook Messenger chatbot, versus traditional offline agent sales that can take weeks. Next aims to use data, technology and AI to gain deep knowledge of professions and tailor products without hidden fees or exemptions. The startup plans to expand into additional verticals and build its own insurance products using proceeds from its latest fundraise. Its founder notes that the largest incumbents own less than 10 percent of the small-business market, highlighting significant growth potential.

Total raised

$890M

Funding rounds

6

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2023