Next Insurance, an insurtech providing small business insurance, and BlueVine, an online financing and banking services platform for small businesses, recently announced a partnership to provide BlueVine customers with access to insurance policies.
Insurance requirements for small businesses vary by state, but many require some if a business has employees. However, research from Next, which surveyed 30,000 small businesses, found that over 40% don’t have business-specific insurance coverage and instead rely on personal insurance policies.
Eyal Lifshitz, BlueVine CEO and co-founder, said the company is constantly thinking about how to support small businesses and insurance was one of those areas.
“Through this partnership with Next, BlueVine is solving a significant pain point for small business owners and empowering entrepreneurs to seek out customized, technology-first solutions that enable their businesses to grow and scale,” Lifshitz said.
With this new partnership, BlueVine customers can get a quote and purchase general liability, professional liability, workers compensation, commercial auto, commercial property, and tools and equipment insurance coverage from Next without leaving the BlueVine platform.
John Dwight, head of channel sales and partnerships at Next, said insurance can be difficult to purchase, especially for small business owners.
“Historically, business insurance has been approached from a one size fits all perspective and doesn’t address the fact that small businesses are not all created equal, and they all have different needs,” Dwight said. “Partnerships like the one we announced with BlueVine simplify the process for small business owners by providing them access to tailored insurance policies from their BlueVine accounts.”
Lifshitz said Next also simplifies the claims process and customers can file online.
“Having access to critical financial information or being able to file a claim on the go from your phone is really important, especially for small businesses when time equals money,” Lifshitz said.
Dwight added that looking to the future, other partnerships like this, will be even more important.
“More and more, small businesses want to go to one company that they trust for all of their business needs,” Dwight said. “As we move forward, integrations like the one we announced with BlueVine, will be even more important for both companies and customers.”
Next also announced that it will participate in the Amazon Insurance Accelerator. The Accelerator provides Amazon sellers with access and quotes to buy insurance directly from Amazon Seller Central. Amazon requires most third-party sellers to carry commercial liability insurance, according to the press release.
