NEXT Insurance, a tech-first small business insurer, announced a “record 18 months” of product innovations and customized tools focused on improving the insurance agent experience.
These advancements are said to include the launch of ACH payments, offering flexible payment options and improved management features, including real-time account verification.
NEXT offers payment recommendations that help reduce unpaid premiums by “predicting the likelihood” of non-payment cancellations, minimizing the risk of “policy default.”
Additionally, the company has expanded Business Owners’ Policy (BOP) coverage to 41 states and Washington, D.C., including New York and Texas.
Along with this expansion, NEXT has introduced enhanced customization options, digital servicing capabilities, and increased policy limits, offering flexibility and providing small business owners with “tailored policies.”
Insurance agents are essential partners for small business owners, ensuring they adequately protect “every facet of their operations.”
Through a digital-first approach, agents can add value for their small business clients via NEXT’s instant quote and bind capabilities and leverage digital tools to simplify workflows and services, “expand their books and increase their revenue.”
Jack Ramsey, VP of Agent Business at NEXT Insurance said that drawing on over thirty years in the insurance industry, including my time as an agent, they understand how NEXT’s innovations “offer first-of-their-kind tools with remarkable ease of use.”
Jack added that to effectively address the insurance needs of small businesses, agents require access “to excellent coverage, competitive pricing, and a seamless quoting and binding experience.”
Jack further noted that NEXT is crucial in providing this level of service, and I’m proud to lead their “initiatives to prioritize agents.”
As mentioned in the update, NEXT’s “digital-first” approach enables rapid product development and agile deployment, empowering agents with greater capabilities and flexibility to better “meet the needs of their clients and grow their own businesses.”
By actively listening to agent feedback, the company can swiftly adapt to the changing needs of the insurance market.
Latest product enhancements for agents include:
BOP: Bundle Up Your Clients’ Coverage Across 41 States + DC – Including New York and Texas
NEXT’s BOP enables agents to easily provide their small business clients with liability and property insurance coverage under “a single policy that is simple to quote, bind and manage.”
NEXT now accepts ACH payments.
As explained in the announcement, ACH streamlines payments to help reduce failures and “ensure sufficient customer funds, minimizing the risk of policy default.”
Additionally, NEXT now offers “standalone” Professional Liability (PL) coverage explicitly tailored for consultants, including accountants, architects, engineers, insurance agents, real estate brokers.
Other product launches: Agent Copilot is a digital tool that enables prospects to get online quotes and buy coverage “on their own, 24/7 — while agents still earn their full commission.”
Agents can now add cyber liability coverage to new and existing general liability policies and “increase limits up to $50k.”
It is a critical protection for small businesses looking to “safeguard from online risks.”
NEXT’s Coverage Builder allows agents to micro-tailor small business quotes for their clients. Agents can select their “base policy limits, add or remove coverage or update limits post-purchase.”
NEXT’s Ivans Download integration reportedly provides a frictionless exchange of policy data between NEXT and partner agents for all lines of business.
In addition to this, NEXT has integrations with comparative raters such as Bold Penguin, Vertafore Commercial Submissions.