Insurtech company Next Insurance has raised US$250 million in a Series C funding round from Munich Re. The funds will be used for new product development and to “significantly accelerate” Next Insurance’s customer-expansion initiatives, the company said. The funding round brings Next Insurance’s total funding to US$381 million in just over three years. The company has a total valuation of more than US$1 billion.
Next Insurance provides digital small-business insurance coverage across the US. It offers P&C coverage including general liability, professional liability, commercial auto, and, most recently, workers’ compensation. The company provides coverage to more than 1,000 unique types of business.
“We have been working with Munich Re since the beginning, and they have been a great partner in helping us grow and develop our business,” said Guy Goldstein, co-founder and CEO of Next Insurance. “We launched Next Insurance in order to transform the small-business insurance industry, and this new investment will continue to help us grow our team, develop our technology, deliver phenomenal service and accelerate customer growth. We are excited about the future of insurance and are proud to be, together with Munich Re, drivers of industry change.”
In addition to traditional coverage, Next Insurance offers a range of additional benefits to customers at no extra cost. This includes the Live Certificate, what is described as the industry’s first real-time certificate of insurance verification. The company also gives customers access to an online portal where policyholders can add additional insureds, update policy or payment information, send verifiable proof of insurance and more from their smartphone or computer. The company also recently launched Next for Agents, a platform that lets customers purchase Next Insurance policies through an agent.
“Next Insurance’s data- and technology-driven business model offers outstanding growth opportunities, which we will harness together,” said Joachim Wenning, chairman of Munich Re’s board of management. “Next Insurance will benefit from our expertise in primary insurance and reinsurance. This investment emphasises Munich Re’s commitment to be the leading provider of digital insurance solutions. It also helps Munich Re expand its footprint in the promising insurance market for small and medium-sized commercial partners in the United States. We are confident that building on our proven collaboration will benefit both Munich Re and Next Insurance.”
