The benefits explained
- Live digital insurance certificate online: You can instantly share an up-to-date, digital Certificate of Insurance (COI) with anyone. You can even add an additional insured to your certificate at any time.
- Highly rated mobile app: The Next Insurance app has a 4.1 star rating on the Google Play Store and a 4.8 star rating on the App Store. You can use the app to share your COI, instantly update your coverage, and even file a claim from your phone.
- Live chat support: You don’t need to get used to the music on hold. You can access customer support through the live chat feature Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT.
- Monthly billing options: While many insurers require annual payments, Next lets you pay two months up front and then continue with monthly payments.
Disadvantages Explained
- Professional liability coverage is based on claims: Event form coverage is preferable because it covers you as long as the incident occurred while the policy was in force. While Next offers general liability coverage, like other insurers, professional liability coverage is claims-based. All professional liability claims must be brought while the policy is active.
Index of complaints
Over the past two years, Next Insurance has received significantly fewer complaints from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) than expected given the size of the business. Note that Next Insurance had a very high complaints index in 2019, but the company had such a low market share that the high index was the result of only two complaints.
The NAIC calculates an annual Complaints Index for insurance companies that indicates the number of complaints received by each company relative to its size. An index of 1.00 means that a company received the expected number of complaints for its size. An index above 1.00 is cause for concern, while an index below 1.00 is ideal. Over the past two years, Next Insurance has received an average complaint index of just 0.30. During this period, very few policyholders filed a complaint against Next.
Third-party reviews
Next Insurance also has an A- (Excellent) financial strength rating from the highly respected rating agency AM Best. AM Best ratings are important because they show the solvency of insurers or the likelihood that companies can meet their financial obligations, such as paying claims.
In fact, AM Best’s financial strength ratings are so critical to our ratings that we generally don’t recommend insurers that score below the A bracket.
Competition
| Next Insurance | The Hartford | Three insurances | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Types of coverage | Professional liability, general liability, commercial property, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile, business income | Professional Liability, General Liability, Commercial Property, Workers Compensation, Commercial Automobile, Business Income, Cyber | Professional Liability, General Liability, Commercial Property, Commercial Automobile, Workers Compensation, Business Income, Cyber |
| Online application | Yes | Yes | Online quote only |
| AM Highest rating | A- (Excellent) | A+ (Superior) | A++ (Superior) |
| Price (minimum) | $220 | Varied | Varied |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.30 | 0.29 | 1.22 |
Policies available
Next offers three levels of coverage for estheticians: Pro Plus, Pro and Basic. Each covers commercial auto insurance, general liability, workers’ compensation, and commercial property insurance, but has different coverage limits. For example, Pro Plus has the following limitations:
- Commercial automobile: $1 million/combined single limit
- General Liability: $1 million per event/$2 million total
- Compensation of workers: $1 million/per accident
- Commercial property: $25,000/per occurrence
General liability
Liability insurance covers you when your business is responsible for injuries or damage to customer property. It pays medical bills, legal fees and judgments against you. Next Insurance’s general liability policy also includes product liability insurance coverage.
Professional liability
Professional indemnity insurance can be added to your policy to cover you if you commit professional misconduct resulting in damage or financial loss to a client or client. If you are accused of negligence, business errors or failure to meet a deadline resulting in losses, professional liability insurance is designed to cover the costs.
Commercial automotive
Commercial auto insurance is mandatory for workers who use their vehicle for business purposes. Commuting to and from work doesn’t count, but commuting between salons or clients’ homes does. You can customize your commercial auto insurance coverage to include bodily injury and property damage liability coverage, collision and comprehensive coverage, towing and labor coverage, rental reimbursement coverage and uninsured motorist coverage.
Commercial property
If you work with equipment, sell products, or rent or own a physical location for your business, you should purchase commercial property insurance. It covers equipment that is stolen or damaged by a covered peril and helps pay for equipment breakdowns, lost inventory, business income replacement and property structure repairs.
workers compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who cannot work because they are injured on the job. It also pays survivor benefits to the employee’s family in the event of death or pays for retraining if he has to enter a new field. And if an employee takes legal action against you, it covers your legal costs.
Depending on your state and the number of employees you have, workers’ compensation insurance may be mandatory. Be sure to do your research or seek legal advice if you are unsure.
Business Owner Policy
This is a group of covers that can be customized to meet your business needs. It usually includes general liability insurance and commercial property insurance, and you can also add any of the other coverages above.
Consolidating your coverage needs under one company policy can help you save money compared to purchasing separate policies.
Customer service
You can reach customer service by filling out an online form or by using the live chat function. You can also email support@nextinsurance.com or call 855-222-5919 for assistance. Hours of operation are weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PT.
Price
Next provides starting prices for many types of coverage, but your individual rate will depend on several factors, such as your location and coverage limits. In general, though, here’s what you can expect.
| Cover | Starting price |
|---|---|
| General liability | From $8 per month |
| Professional liability | From $18.34 per month |
| Commercial automotive | From $750 per year |
| Commercial property | From $17 per month |
| workers compensation | From $14 per month |
Is the next beautician insurance right for me?
If you’re looking for affordable, customizable business coverage that comes with online tools, such as live chat customer support and an easily shareable COI, Next may be a good option. This is our top pick for managing policies from the best insurance companies for beauticians due to the variety of transactions that can be done online compared to other insurers.
Additionally, the company has few complaints and a good financial strength rating. However, like many other companies, Next’s professional liability coverage is claims-based. If a client sues you after your professional liability policy is cancelled, you will not be covered. Also, if you don’t need home or auto insurance, you may be able to find cheaper liability insurance elsewhere.
Our Methodology: How We Review Insurance Companies for Beauticians
To determine the best insurance companies for estheticians, we collected 20 data points on the best insurance companies for estheticians by premium. These data points include:
- Financial solidity
- Cost
- Policy Types and Features
- Exclusions
- Consumer Complaints
- Online tools
- Billing Options
- Coverage limits
We gave preference to companies with high AM Best ratings, a low rate of customer complaints, and those that offer coverage based on the date of the event rather than when the claim was made. Companies with high aggregate coverage limits, monthly billing, low premiums, online shopping options, and those that offer property coverage received improved ratings. To rank the companies we studied, we applied the following weightings to each customer-focused category:
- Types of coverage and features: 40%
- Financial stability: 20%
- Consumer complaints: 25%
- Online purchase: 10%
- Billing options: 5%
We dug deeper into product and company specifics to determine which companies were best for which types of consumers. Through this research, we determined which companies offer the best esthetician insurance.