NEXT Business Insurance Review: All To Know

NEXT offers a wide array of business insurance coverage types, which can be purchased online for same-day coverage. It offers a business owner’s policy (general liability insurance and commercial property insurance), commercial auto insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, professional liability insurance, tools & equipment insurance, and more.

The company also offers a variety of digital policy management tools, including the ability to share a live certificate of insurance and quickly add an additional insured, free of charge. Monthly payments are available, and eligible customers can save up to 25% with discounts.

NEXT Insurance has an A- (Excellent) financial strength rating with AM Best.

Overview of NEXT Insurance

NEXT Insurance is a small business insurance company that sells policies directly to customers online while also working with agents. It offers the core coverages of general liability, professional liability, business owner’s policy, and workers’ comp insurance for more than 1,300 different types of businesses. Policies can be obtained online without speaking to anyone after receiving a custom quote or purchasing a prepackaged policy.

Next is trusted by more than 400,000 small business owners.

The company provides industry-tailored small business insurance policies (liability, auto, workers comp, etc.) online using artificial intelligence to process applications in 10 minutes and to offer 24/7 access to certificates of insurance and claims support. Companies like Intuit use Next Insurance’s white-label service to offer commercial insurance to their own customers.

NEXT business insurance coverages

Business insurance

Business insurance is a term that may include different types of insurance for businesses that can provide protection from liabilities, property damage, and other risks. It can protect:

Small businesses
Self-employed
LLCs
Home businesses
Other types of businesses

Small business insurance provides a financial safety net that can help pay unexpected expenses after an accident or mistake involving your customers, employees and business property. Without insurance, an accident or professional mistake could threaten the survival of your business and your bottom line.

Business insurance involves a package of different types of coverage (also known as an insurance policy). You can choose the policies you need based on your operations and potential risks.

Here are some examples of common types of business insurance:

General liability

General liability insurance, also known as business liability insurance, is often the first kind of insurance business owners purchase. It can help your business cover costs if you or an employee accidentally damage someone’s property or if someone other than an employee gets hurt (the legal term for this is bodily injury).

Professional liability

Professional liability insurance can help protect your business from professional mistakes. This kind of coverage is also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. It is common for professional services.

Workers’ compensation

Workers’ compensation insurance covers workplace injuries. If an employee gets hurt on the job, it can help pay for medical expenses and cover lost wages.

It’s often required by state law when you have employees. You can also protect yourself by opting for voluntary business owner’s coverage.

Commercial property insurance

Commercial property insurance can help protect many of the physical items you need to do business. It can help pay replacement costs if your business property is damaged by water, fire, wind or vandalism.

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines general liability insurance and commercial property. It is often cheaper to bundle these two policies than buy them separately.

Commercial auto insurance

Commercial auto insurance is for small business owners who own or drive vehicles. It can help pay for damages if you or an employee are involved in an auto accident while driving for business.

The business insurance policies listed above are common for many different types of businesses. However, other more niche coverage options are designed specifically for different types of businesses. These include;

Product liability insurance can protect your business from having to pay legal fees if a customer says an issue with your product caused an injury or property damage. It is included with NEXT general liability coverage for retailers.
Liquor liability insurance can provide financial help for restaurants if you serve alcohol to someone who goes on to cause an injury or property damage.
Tools & Equipment Insurance — This coverage at NEXT can help construction and cleaning businesses repair or replace tools and equipment if they are stolen or damaged outside of normal wear and tear.

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines two important types of business insurance — general liability insurance and commercial property insurance — into one package that is usually less expensive than buying the coverage separately.

General liability insurance can help pay for medical expenses if your business is held responsible for an injury to someone who is not an employee, as well as legal costs if they sue your business. It can also help cover the costs if you or an employee accidentally damage someone’s property.

Commercial property coverage helps pay for business goods, gear and inventory and damage to structures and provides business income after a covered event.

BOP insurance has additional benefits:

You save money by bundling two policies into one
You get coverage that’s tailored for small businesses like yours
You can easily manage your coverage, add additional insureds and share certificates online 24/7

A business owner’s policy helps to protect your business from unexpected expenses related to property damage, medical payments and lawsuits. It can also help shield your business from accidents that can hit you where it hurts the most — your bottom line.

Since a BOP is a combination of general liability and commercial property insurance, it includes all the coverage available in those two types of insurance.

Cyber insurance

Cyber insurance can help small businesses prevent, assess and quickly respond to many technology-based problems, including:

Compromised IT infrastructure
Systems failure events
Cyber attacks
Data breaches
And more

Risks to your cyber security can come from many places, including your personal communications (like email) and professional networks, or vendors, partners, and employees. Prevention is key, but fast response time in the event of an incident can help mitigate damage and loss to your business.

Cyber liability insurance can help protect your business and provide:

A suite of free cyber security tools to help monitor and protect your communication and transactions.
24/7 expert response to help you immediately after a cyber attack.
Protection for physical hardware in the event of a virus or malware.
Financial help after phishing scams, data breaches and ransomware attacks.
Recovery or replacement funds lost due to wire fraud.

Product liability insurance

Product liability coverage — which is included in general liability insurance — can protect your small business from having to pay for legal fees if a customer says that an issue with your product caused them injury or property damage.

A consumer can bring a lawsuit against any manufacturer or seller if they allege that your product caused an injury because of a defect. The defect could be in:

The design of the product
The manufacturing of the product
The marketing of the product (unclear instructions or missing warnings)

As a retailer, you can be held liable for defective products even if you were not involved in the design, manufacturing or marketing. If you own a retail or e-commerce small business that sells, makes, repairs or distributes physical items, you should probably get product liability insurance.

Commercial umbrella insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance, also called business umbrella insurance and in some states, excess liability insurance, can also be a requirement for work contracts or a commercial lease. It can increase the limits of your NEXT general liability policy to up to $4 million per year.

If your business is involved in a catastrophic event, such as a life-threatening injury or a fatality, your general liability insurance could pay for up to $1 million in damages for any singular event, and max out at $2 million total for the year.

But what happens if damage costs exceed your limit?

If you purchase coverage, commercial umbrella insurance kicks in once you reach your general liability limit. It can provide up to an additional $2 million in financial protection per accident per year.

How much does NEXT business insurance cost?

Business insurance costs can vary tremendously. That’s because every business has different coverage needs, potential risks and unique circumstances. For example, insurance for a restaurant will be priced differently than for a handyman or financial advisor.

You can purchase business insurance from NEXT in less than 10 minutes. It’s easy, and you can do it 100% online. Here’s how the streamlined process works:

Start an instant quote. You will answer questions to gather basic information about your business, including:

Your industry
Where you do business
How many years you’ve owned the business
Number of employees
Expected annual revenue
Recent insurance and claims history

2. NEXT will use the information you share to create a customized business insurance quote that you can review.

3. If you like what you see, you can adjust the package and limits to fit your preferences and insurance needs.

4. Your insurance will begin immediately after payment, and you’ll have instant access to your certificate of insurance.

Plus, NEXT gives you access to self-service tools online or via the NEXT mobile app. That means you can pay your premiums, add an additional insured or file claims whenever and wherever you are.

While it can be difficult to give a precise business insurance cost estimate — for that, you’ll need to get a quote for your business — here are some of the factors that help determine what your insurance will cost.

#1: Number of employees

Your payroll and the number of employees could impact the amount you pay for insurance, especially with workers’ compensation.

#2: Location, location, location

Where you work and the number of locations where you work are factors in your exposure to risks and how much you’ll pay for insurance.

#3: Your industry

If you work in a profession that involves heavy equipment, expensive property or dangerous environments, your general liability insurance costs might be higher than if you’re in a profession that involves sitting quietly at a desk.

#4: Scope of operations

If you’re a fitness instructor who only teaches privately in people’s homes, your general liability insurance might cost less than if you offer public classes. Or, if you’re a restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages, you might pay extra to purchase liquor liability coverage.

#5: Experience

Some people have spent years building up professional expertise before starting their own business. That can mean that their risk is lower than newer professionals. This risk is often reflected in the price they’ll pay for their coverage.

You can get a quick estimate to see how much insurance could cost your business with NEXT’s insurance calculators:

How NEXT helps businesses get the right coverage

NEXT is 100% dedicated to small businesses and the self-employed. That means it can help you get the simple, affordable coverage you need to stay protected, meet legal requirements and provide customers with proof of insurance.

Whether you’re a contractor, restaurant, retail store, or just starting your side hustle, it will help you stay safe by providing coverage tailored to your profession.

NEXT Business Insurance Review: All To Know

Overview of NEXT Insurance