NEXT debuts certificate of insurance automation service

Certificates of insurance (COIs) are something most people don't think about, except maybe when they need one for a move.

However, COIs make a lot of functions possible for many businesses and for employers' hiring. Insurtech NEXT Insurance has launched COI Analyzer, which generates instant COIs for proof of insurance coverage using a self-service portal on a desktop or mobile app. 

Some construction business owners may need to share a COI almost 200 times per year, according to NEXT Insurance. Last year, NEXT customers created 16,314 COIs each month, 9,215 of those for construction, 1,204 for retailers and 984 for cleaning professionals.

"The importance of a readily available certificate of insurance is not specific to one industry," wrote Hasse Lienert, product manager at NEXT, in a response to questions. "It extends to multiple businesses and industries, including photographers, carpenters, fitness trainers, house cleaners, yoga instructors and more. The COI Analyzer benefits all 1,300 classes of business that NEXT Insurance serves."

Independent contractors like those Liener mentioned often need a new COI for every new client. Both these freelancers and small businesses normally have "no choice but to order their certificates of insurance by phone during standard customer service hours, and often wait weeks for their certificates to arrive," he wrote. "This is an incredibly time-consuming process for both the insurer and the small business owner." 

COI Analyzer automates verification of coverage necessary to issue a COI. "Small businesses can upload a sample certificate of insurance (often provided by the potential employer) and receive an automatically generated COI within seconds," Lienert wrote. "To do this, NEXT leverages advanced machine learning models to read the sample document using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and an Object Detector Network to accurately extract and understand the certificate holder details, as well as any special requirements that may be included in the sample certificate."

NEXT found that many of its customers needed help with COIs and had been developing COI Analyzer for about a year before its launch, according to Lienert. 

"Certificates are a critical part of our business process, as they are a key requirement for many of our customers to do business with third parties like landlords, customers, and partners," he wrote. "Our service team recognized that the current process for COIs could be even more efficient for both customers and insurers."