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Next Insurance, a digital insurance company for small to medium businesses, said it has raised $29 million in a Series A funding round led by Munich Re/HSB Ventures along with Markel, Nationwide and other existing investors.

Next said the funding will be used to continue building Next’s own insurance products and expand their offering to new business sectors. The announcement follows their recent release of a Facebook chatbot for small business insurance.

“The small business sector is vast and extremely varied, yet the small business insurance market is digitally underserved. This is especially true for independent business owners like photographers and personal trainers that we’re already serving,” said Guy Goldstein, co-founder and CEO of Next.

Next’s platform simplifies the insurance sign up and engagement process for small business owners and uses data analytics to create policies tailored to the unique needs of different classes of business that address needs that are not met by traditional insurance products.

Last December, Next partnered with Munich Re to launch a product targeting commercial photographers, who can pay for insurance on a monthly subscription basis.

In January, Next partnered with specialty insurer Markel Corp. to offer tailored coverage for personal trainers.

In March, Next launched a chatbot that enables personal trainers to quote and buy liability insurance via Facebook Messenger.

According to its website, Next has 3,550 business customers and has paid two claims.

“Insurance is changing to meet the needs of micro businesses,” said Jacqueline LeSage Krause, managing director, Munich Re/HSB Corporate Ventures. “Next is a leader in using new technologies, combined with a deep knowledge of clients’ unique needs, to precisely tailor insurance solutions, simply and easily.”

Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. and received $13 million seed funding from Ribbit Capital, TLV Partners and Zeev Ventures.

Topics Carriers InsurTech