NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) review: small business insurance

Peer comparison

How NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) compares

Side-by-side against the 4 carriers we score most similarly.

Carrier	Our score	Positioning	Starting price	Coverage	AM Best
	7.7	Tech & data-handling specialist	Cyber $83/mo	8.5/10	A
	7.9	Single-carrier program for SMBs	GL $68/mo	9.0/10	A+
	7.6	Workers comp specialist	—	8.0/10	A-
	8.1	Broker comparing 8+ carriers	GL $21/mo	8.5/10	—

• 
  7.7

  Positioning

  Tech & data-handling specialist

  Starting price

  Cyber $83/mo

  Coverage

  8.5/10

  AM Best

  A

• 
  7.9

  Positioning

  Single-carrier program for SMBs

  Starting price

  GL $68/mo

  Coverage

  9.0/10

  AM Best

  A+

• 
  7.6

  Positioning

  Workers comp specialist

  Starting price

  —

  Coverage

  8.0/10

  AM Best

  A-

• 
  8.1

  Positioning

  Broker comparing 8+ carriers

  Starting price

  GL $21/mo

  Coverage

  8.5/10

  AM Best

  —

As of July 1, 2025, NEXT Insurance is no longer an independent insurtech. ERGO Group AG — Munich Re's direct-insurance subsidiary — closed a roughly $2.6 billion acquisition of NEXT on that date, completing a deal first announced March 20, 2025.¹ Two months later, on September 4, 2025, A.M. Best upgraded NEXT Insurance US Company to A+ (Superior) with a stable outlook, reflecting the fact that the underwriter's parent is now part of the world's largest reinsurance group.²

That sequence is the single most important thing to know about NEXT today. The pricing, the quote flow, and the digital customer experience that made NEXT the go-to direct carrier for micro-businesses are still intact. What changed is the balance sheet behind the paper. NEXT is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of ERGO/Munich Re — a direct admitted carrier (NAIC 16285, Delaware-domiciled)³ whose claims-paying ability is backstopped by one of the largest reinsurance groups in the world. For small businesses under about $1M in revenue that want to quote and bind a commercial policy online in ten minutes, NEXT remains one of the strongest options in the market. For businesses that need a commercial umbrella, directors and officers coverage, or an agent who can shepherd a complex renewal, it's still not the right fit — and the ERGO acquisition doesn't change that.

Our quick verdict

NEXT Insurance earns 7.8 out of 10, combining the cheapest published starting-price floor in our coverage set with online quote-to-bind in under ten minutes, now backed by ERGO Group AG (Munich Re's direct-insurance subsidiary) following the July 2025 acquisition that prompted A.M. Best's two-notch upgrade to A+ (Superior). Best for micro-businesses and freelancers under roughly $1M in revenue in service classes including cleaning, landscaping, personal training, photography, light contracting, and professional services that value digital quote-to-bind speed and price over broker-channel depth. Not the right fit for businesses needing commercial umbrella, D&O, or EPLI; companies above roughly $2M in revenue; high-hazard classes outside NEXT's automated underwriting appetite; or technology-primary firms where cyber is the load-bearing exposure. Carrier-advertised starting prices are GL from $19/mo, BOP from $25/mo, workers' comp from $14/mo, and cyber add-on from $4/mo.

• Our rating: 7.8 / 10 (Good)
• Best for: micro-businesses and freelancers under $1M revenue that want online quote-to-bind in minutes — especially in cleaning, landscaping, photography, personal training, light contracting, and professional services
• Not for: businesses that need commercial umbrella, D&O, or EPLI; businesses over ~$2M revenue; high-risk classes (roofing, tree care, heavy construction) outside NEXT's underwriting appetite; tech / SaaS firms for whom cyber is the primary exposure
• Starting prices (carrier-advertised minimums): GL $19/mo,⁴ BOP $25/mo,⁵ WC $14/mo,⁶ Cyber add-on from $4/mo⁷
• A.M. Best rating: A+ Superior (upgraded 2025-09-04 following the ERGO acquisition)²
• NAIC complaint index: 3-year window (2023–2025) shows 10 confirmed commercial liability complaints for NEXT Insurance US Co. (NAIC 16285) — below our 20-complaint reliability floor; the post-acquisition book is still accumulating the volume required to read the ratio as signal. See Complaint history and claims experience below

What NEXT Insurance is

NEXT was founded in 2016 in Palo Alto, CA, by a team of ex-Check (Intuit) executives who pitched a direct-to-business, tech-first alternative to broker-placed small business insurance.⁸ From 2018 onward, NEXT raised progressively larger rounds, became a full admitted carrier on its own paper, and by mid-2025 was writing policies for roughly 750,000 small-business customers.²

The structural change in 2025 is what matters for anyone buying today. On March 20, 2025, ERGO Group AG announced an agreement to acquire 100% of NEXT for approximately $2.6B.¹ The deal closed on July 1, 2025, and the brand was positioned as "ERGO NEXT" shortly after.¹⁹ The underwriting entity — NEXT Insurance US Company, NAIC 16285, a Delaware-domiciled admitted carrier — remains on its own paper.³ It did not become an MGA placing business on third-party capacity; it is a direct carrier whose parent is now ERGO, which is itself the direct-insurance arm of Munich Re.¹ A.M. Best's response was a two-notch upgrade to A+ (Superior) on September 4, 2025, with a stable outlook.²

In practical terms: when you bind a policy with NEXT today, risk sits on a Delaware admitted carrier ultimately backed by one of the world's largest reinsurance groups. That is a meaningfully different credit profile from the NEXT of 2019 — and it's the main reason our Financial Strength score lands at 9.0 despite the carrier's relatively short operating history under its current parent.

Policies NEXT offers

NEXT writes seven commercial lines for small businesses, all available to quote and bind through the same online flow:¹⁰

• General liability — standalone GL with $1M/$2M default limits, including products and completed operations. NEXT's cost page advertises starting premiums from $19/mo for low-risk classes.⁴
• Business owner's policy (BOP) — bundled GL + commercial property, starting from $25/mo per the carrier's BOP page.⁵
• Workers' compensation — admitted WC with pay-as-you-go payroll reporting, starting from $14/mo for the lowest-risk class codes.⁶
• Professional liability — errors-and-omissions coverage for consultants, agencies, and professional services.¹⁰
• Commercial auto — fleet and single-vehicle commercial auto in most states.¹⁰
• Cyber liability — not standalone. Available only as an add-on to a GL or BOP policy, from $4/mo.⁷
• Commercial property — standalone property for businesses that own equipment or rent space; most often bundled via BOP.¹⁰

Three coverage types that small businesses commonly need and NEXT does not write: commercial umbrella (excess liability),¹¹ directors and officers,¹² and employment practices liability.¹³ Buyers who need any of those three will have to pair NEXT with a second carrier — or choose a broader writer.

What NEXT actually costs

NEXT publishes starting-price pages for its core lines, and the numbers are among the most transparent in the direct-carrier market.

The advertised starting premiums are:

• General liability: from $19/mo for low-risk occupations per NEXT's GL cost page.⁴ For context, Insureon's aggregated small-business GL cost benchmark across its marketplace sits closer to $42/mo median ($500/yr) across all industries — NEXT's floor is well below that median.¹⁴
• BOP: from $25/mo per NEXT's BOP page.⁵ Insureon's BOP cost benchmark is nearer $57/mo — NEXT's entry price remains competitive.¹⁵
• Workers' comp: from $14/mo per NEXT's WC cost page.⁶ The actual policy is payroll-based, so this floor reflects the minimum-premium rule at the lowest class codes.
• Cyber: from $4/mo as an add-on to GL or BOP per NEXT's cyber page.⁷ NEXT does not write cyber as a standalone product — a meaningful limit for buyers who want a dedicated cyber tower.

These are carrier-advertised minimums, not market averages. A real quote is driven by:

• Industry class code. A SaaS company quoting GL looks nothing like a residential painter or a fitness studio. NEXT's starting prices reflect the cheapest classes.
• State. Workers' comp rates vary by a factor of three or more across states.¹⁶ A business in California will see fundamentally different WC pricing than one in Indiana or Texas.
• Revenue. Above roughly $500K in annual revenue, NEXT's pricing curve steepens.
• Claims history. Prior losses are scored heavily in the quote engine.
• Coverage limits. NEXT's defaults ($1M per-occurrence / $2M aggregate on GL) can be raised, and raising them moves the premium — though usually less than with a broker-placed equivalent.

Relative to category median, NEXT's entry-level premiums on GL, BOP, and WC sit below the Insureon-benchmarked market for micro-business classes — the evidence behind our Pricing score of 8.5.¹⁴¹⁵ In our research, NEXT's pricing becomes less competitive for businesses above roughly $2M revenue in most classes — a pattern consistent with digital-carrier models optimized for micro-business. That's where a broker-placed option or a traditional carrier typically wins on price despite the digital friction.

See full cost analysis: Our general liability insurance cost guide (NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) starts at $19/mo), business owners policy (bop) cost guide (NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) starts at $25/mo), and workers' compensation insurance cost guide (NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT) starts at $14/mo) break down typical pricing across industries and states.

Coverage breadth: where NEXT is strong and where it's thin

Where NEXT is strong. The seven-line product suite¹⁰ covers the overwhelming majority of what a micro-business actually buys — GL, BOP, WC, PL, commercial auto, property, and cyber add-on. Pay-as-you-go WC payroll reporting⁶ is a real operational advantage for businesses with variable headcount, sparing them the annual audit-bill surprise that larger carriers still impose. The mobile-first certificate-of-insurance self-service — generating a COI in under a minute — is a feature buyers consistently cite as a quality-of-life improvement.¹⁰ Industry-specific landing pages for contractors, cleaning companies, photographers, and restaurants include NEXT's own claim data as educational content, which signals real exposure and data in those classes.^1718192021

Where NEXT is thin. Three gaps drive our Coverage score of 7.0 and are worth calling out specifically.

First, no commercial umbrella product.¹¹ Any small business with contractual umbrella requirements — a common request in commercial leases, general-contractor subcontracts, and many professional engagements — has to source the umbrella from another carrier. NEXT's policy ladder ends at the primary layer, a structural limit on how far the relationship scales.

Second, no D&O or EPLI.¹²¹³ Growing businesses, especially those taking on outside capital or hiring at scale, typically need both. NEXT writes neither. For a SaaS company with a board and investors, or a professional services firm with 25+ employees, this means the insurance program has to span at least two carriers — and if the goal is one renewal rhythm and one certificate source, NEXT is not the right primary.

Third, cyber is add-on only.⁷ The $4/mo entry price looks attractive, but it is a bolt-on to GL or BOP, not a standalone cyber tower with pre-negotiated incident response, breach counsel, and regulatory defense sub-limits that cyber specialists provide. For a tech company where cyber is the primary exposure, NEXT's cyber add-on is a starter kit, not a destination product.

Industry-specific strengths. NEXT writes well in service-dominated micro classes: cleaning, landscaping, personal training, photography, light contracting, and consulting.^1718192021 Where NEXT has published its own claims analysis for a specific industry, that's our signal the carrier has real exposure in that class. Where NEXT has not published such analysis (heavy construction, long-haul trucking, restaurants above limited-service tiers), assume the underwriting appetite is thinner.

Complaint history and claims experience

NAIC complaint index: sub-threshold volume, Category B retained. NAIC's Consumer Information Source publishes a 3-year commercial liability complaint index for NEXT Insurance US Co. (NAIC 16285), and we retrieved it. Over the 3-year window (2023–2025), NEXT Insurance US Co. recorded 10 confirmed commercial liability complaints — below our 20-complaint reliability floor. At this volume the CIS ratio cannot be read as signal: a single complaint against a small premium denominator can swing the index dramatically, and reading the ratio as a finding would be overclaiming what the data supports. We keep NEXT in Category B under our methodology — direct carrier with immature or unverifiable NAIC volume (methodology) — and retain the 6.5 Category B baseline on Complaint History. This is a reliability call about the data, not a finding about the carrier's complaint handling; it is consistent with NEXT being a relatively recent commercial liability writer whose book is still accumulating the volume CIS needs to produce a stable index.²²

Claims process. NEXT's claims flow is digital-first: policyholders file via the mobile app or portal, and most first-notice-of-loss cases are assigned quickly.¹⁰ The structural trade-off of digital-first carriers is well-documented: claims automation with human escalation can produce sharper coverage-interpretation disputes on edge cases than carriers with long-tenured adjusters and broker intermediation. That is a general observation about the model, not a finding specific to NEXT.

Regulatory actions. We checked public state DOI enforcement databases for material market-conduct or solvency actions against NEXT Insurance US Company. No recent enforcement action is on file as of our research date.

Net. The 6.5 Complaint History score is a Category B baseline, held because NEXT Insurance US Co. has 10 confirmed commercial liability complaints across the 3-year CIS window — below our 20-complaint reliability floor. The post-acquisition book is still accumulating the volume required for the ratio to be readable as signal; the 6.5 is a neutral data-gap call, not a verdict on complaint handling. If you weight complaint data heavily — and our methodology does at 20% of the overall rating — the sub-threshold treatment is the biggest single reason NEXT does not land in the 8.0+ band. We will revisit this section as NEXT's CL volume clears the 20-complaint threshold.

The honest take

What works well.

1. Price transparency at the entry. NEXT publishes starting-price pages for GL, BOP, WC, and cyber.⁴⁵⁶⁷ Most carriers make you complete a quote form to see a number. That transparency is a real consumer benefit and is the direct evidence behind our Pricing score of 8.5.
2. Post-acquisition credit quality. A.M. Best A+ (Superior), Munich Re / ERGO as parent.¹² For a micro-business, the credit quality of the carrier is often an abstract consideration — with NEXT post-2025, it is unambiguously strong, which is why Financial Strength scores 9.0 and not lower.
3. Self-service COI and policy management. Certificates of insurance are a pain point for every small business that works with landlords, clients, or general contractors who demand them before work can start. NEXT's in-app COI generation is among the fastest in the market.¹⁰
4. Admitted, direct-carrier structure. NEXT is the insurer of record on NEXT-bound policies — not an MGA that cedes to third-party paper.³ That matters if you ever have to work a claim: you're dealing with the carrier directly, not a broker in the middle.

What doesn't work.

1. No umbrella, no D&O, no EPLI.¹¹¹²¹³ This is the single biggest structural limit on NEXT as a long-term insurance relationship. Any business that grows enough to need those lines will have to bring in another carrier. For businesses with specific contractual umbrella requirements today, NEXT cannot be the primary relationship.
2. Cyber is a bolt-on, not a product.⁷ The $4/mo add-on is useful as a starter kit, but it is not a substitute for a dedicated cyber policy. For a tech company or any business where cyber is the primary exposure, NEXT is the wrong primary cyber carrier.
3. No NAIC complaint data. We've explained this above — the absence of a verifiable complaint index is a meaningful data gap on a 20%-weighted dimension in our methodology.²² It doesn't mean NEXT is bad; it means we can't verify that it's good.
4. Scaling past micro breaks the pricing advantage. The pricing analysis above finds NEXT's quotes less competitive for businesses crossing into the lower middle market — and the coverage ladder (no umbrella, D&O, or EPLI) caps where a growing business can stay on NEXT as the primary carrier. The model is designed for the lower end of small business; it does not scale with the policyholder.

Who should skip NEXT.

• Businesses with a contractual commercial umbrella requirement that NEXT cannot satisfy.¹¹
• Businesses approaching or above the revenue threshold where our pricing research finds NEXT less competitive (see the pricing section above), especially in higher-risk classes.
• Tech companies, SaaS firms, or e-commerce businesses for whom cyber is the primary exposure — a standalone cyber carrier will usually write a more capable policy.⁷
• Businesses in specialty classes outside NEXT's published appetite (roofing, tree care, heavy construction, long-haul trucking).
• Buyers who want a broker-advised, white-glove placement experience. NEXT is self-service by design.

Who NEXT is best for

NEXT is a strong fit in three specific scenarios:

1. Micro-businesses and freelancers under $1M revenue in service classes. Cleaning, landscaping, personal training, photography, light contracting, and consulting — all industries where NEXT publishes its own claims data and operates a well-developed underwriting model.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹
2. Buyers who want online quote-to-bind in minutes. NEXT is among the fastest direct-carrier quote flows in the market. For a founder who values their time over a broker's advice, NEXT's friction cost is low.
3. Buyers in all 50 states and DC. NEXT writes in every state on its own admitted paper,³ which is meaningfully different from insurtechs that rely on surplus-lines paper in certain states. NEXT's filings are admitted almost everywhere it operates.

Business size: Micro ($0–$1M revenue) is the sweet spot. Small ($1M–$5M) works for many classes but starts to hit appetite limits. Mid-market is not NEXT's domain.

Situations where NEXT is a strong match: a new business needing a fast GL + COI for a contract; a sole proprietor or 1099 professional needing minimum-viable coverage; a service business with variable headcount that wants pay-as-you-go workers' comp;⁶ and any business already bound with NEXT that is in a covered class — staying is usually the right call unless the carrier has non-renewed or priced out.

Alternatives to consider

If NEXT's coverage limits don't fit, three alternatives — each addressing a different NEXT limitation:

1. Hiscox — If you're in professional services (consulting, design, media, technology consulting) and want a carrier with over a century of operating history, Hiscox is the closest direct competitor. Its U.S. entity (Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., NAIC 10200) is A-rated by A.M. Best.²³ Hiscox writes GL, BOP, professional liability, and cyber; its commercial auto footprint is narrower than NEXT's.
2. biBERK — If price is the single most important factor and you want Berkshire Hathaway paper, biBERK is the closest direct-to-business alternative to NEXT. biBERK is a Berkshire Hathaway Direct subsidiary on A++ (Superior) paper.²⁴ GL starts near $27.50/mo; the trade-off is that biBERK doesn't publish BOP, WC, or cyber starting prices publicly.
3. The Hartford — If you need a broader coverage ladder (umbrella, D&O, EPLI) under one roof and can tolerate a more traditional, broker-friendly flow, The Hartford's small business division writes all the lines NEXT doesn't. A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best on Hartford Fire Insurance Company, NAIC 19682.²⁵ Pricing tends to run above direct-carrier entry points, but that's the cost of the broader ladder.

Different choices for different priorities. Cheapest direct-carrier GL — stay with NEXT or move to biBERK. Professional services depth — move to Hiscox. One carrier for the whole program including umbrella — move to The Hartford.

How to get a NEXT quote

NEXT is direct-to-business, so the quote flow is online and doesn't require a broker. To bind coverage:

1. Start at NEXT's homepage and select your industry from the quote form.⁹
2. Answer 8–12 questions about your business: entity type, state, revenue, years in business, prior claims, specific services performed.
3. Review the quoted coverage options — NEXT will surface GL / BOP / WC / PL quotes depending on your industry and selected coverages.
4. Add payment and bind. Certificate of insurance is typically available within minutes.
5. Download the policy documents and COI from the dashboard; set up the mobile app for ongoing policy management.

What NEXT will ask for: entity name and EIN, primary address, revenue estimate, employee count and payroll (for WC), vehicle information (for commercial auto), prior insurance history, and claim history.

If you need a human: NEXT has phone support for quoting and servicing, but the primary channel is self-service. If you need brokered advice — for example, comparing NEXT's quote against Hiscox or Hartford on the same risk — use a broker-aggregator like Simply Business or Embroker instead.

Alternatives to NEXT Insurance (ERGO NEXT)

Different choices for different priorities.

7.0/10

Hiscox

Professional-services micro-businesses under ~10 employees — consultants, marketing agencies, accountants, IT consultants, photographers, SaaS firms, real estate agents — whose primary exposure is professional liability, cyber, D&O, or EPLI, with commercial liability carried as a secondary line alongside the primary coverage they are actually choosing Hiscox for.

Better if

Professional-services micro-businesses under ~10 employees — consultants, marketing agencies, accountants, IT consultants, photographers, SaaS firms, real estate agents — whose primary exposure is professional liability, cyber, D&O, or EPLI, with commercial liability carried as a secondary line alongside the primary coverage they are actually choosing Hiscox for.

Read full review

7.2/10

biBERK

Small businesses with contractual commercial umbrella requirements (biBerk is the only direct carrier in our coverage set writing umbrella); trade and service businesses (contractors, cleaners, landscapers, HVAC, electricians, plumbers) placing GL + BOP + WC + commercial auto under one A++ direct carrier, where the buyer has read the 3-year CIS pattern (13.25 weighted, 2024 spike to 28.00, 2025 at 11.58) and formed their own view of the trajectory.

Better if

Small businesses with contractual commercial umbrella requirements (biBerk is the only direct carrier in our coverage set writing umbrella); trade and service businesses (contractors, cleaners, landscapers, HVAC, electricians, plumbers) placing GL + BOP + WC + commercial auto under one A++ direct carrier, where the buyer has read the 3-year CIS pattern (13.25 weighted, 2024 spike to 28.00, 2025 at 11.58) and formed their own view of the trajectory.

Read full review

7.9/10

The Hartford

Growing small businesses that need a single-carrier program across five or more commercial lines — especially those needing D&O, EPLI, commercial umbrella, native workers' comp, or commercial auto in the same placement; contractors, trades, and field-services businesses needing GL + WC + commercial auto + umbrella on one carrier; buyers who value 215-year claims-relationship depth over lowest premium.

Better if

Growing small businesses that need a single-carrier program across five or more commercial lines — especially those needing D&O, EPLI, commercial umbrella, native workers' comp, or commercial auto in the same placement; contractors, trades, and field-services businesses needing GL + WC + commercial auto + umbrella on one carrier; buyers who value 215-year claims-relationship depth over lowest premium.

Read full review