NEXT Insurance Announces Strategic Hire of Industry Veteran Chris Rhodes as First Chief Insurance Officer

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Dec 06, 2022, 09:00 ET

Rhodes joins NEXT to strengthen insurance and claims functions and ensure products fully support small business owners

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NEXT Insurance, a leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance, today announced the appointment of Chris Rhodes as the company's first Chief Insurance Officer. In this role, Rhodes will leverage his extensive experience at legacy insurance carriers to focus on the insurance function to support product development, elevate the claims automation experience and help connect profit management and loss analytics actions to ensure price adequacy. He will also work to further define NEXT's customer segmentation strategy as the company evaluates new industries it can serve.

Rhodes joins NEXT with twenty years of property and casualty insurance experience, including senior leadership roles at Farmers Insurance, where he managed $4 billion in written premium and at MetLife, where he oversaw product management and business strategy, including all pricing and underwriting decisions.

"Since day one, NEXT has been committed to helping entrepreneurs thrive by providing access to tailored digital-first insurance policies," said Guy Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of NEXT. "Chris shares this excitement for serving this community and sees this role as an opportunity to help us continue to deliver exceptional experiences. He brings extensive knowledge of the insurance space to NEXT, and we look forward to having him as a member of our executive team as we continue to support small businesses. "

Rhodes' focus will be on holistically integrating the insurance planning function with all product managers, both on the insurance and technology development sides, to ensure alignment between the company's growth and profit goals. His track record with traditional insurance players demonstrates his keen dedication to customers, which will play a large role in his work to drive a balance between customer experience and improvement in the overall rate adequacy for NEXT policies.

"There continues to be a huge opportunity for insurtechs to modernize the overall customer experience, and NEXT is well positioned to be the number one small business insurance carrier in the market," said Chris Rhodes, chief insurance officer at NEXT. "I was drawn to the company for three reasons: its digital-first approach, prioritization of customer needs and the company culture. I am excited about the opportunity that NEXT has to bring lasting change to the insurance market and can't wait to continue to make a difference in the lives of its over 400,000 small business customers."

With the appointment of Rhodes, the company will continue to prioritize the needs of small businesses across the U.S. by providing an unparalleled customer experience while also looking at ways to expand embedded insurance solutions through strategic partnerships and support the agent community to further NEXT's reach to small businesses across the U.S.

About NEXT Insurance

NEXT Insurance is transforming small business insurance with simple, digital and affordable coverage tailored to the self-employed. Trusted by 420,000 business owners, NEXT offers policies that are easy to buy and provides 24/7 access to Live Certificates of Insurance, Additional Insured, and more, with no extra fees. Revolutionizing a historically complicated insurance industry, NEXT utilizes AI and machine learning to simplify the purchasing process and provide more affordable coverage. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, has received a total of $881 million in venture capital funding, is rated "A- Excellent" by AM Best and has been recognized by CNBC Disruptor 50, Forbes Fintech 50, Inc.'s Best-Led Companies, and Forbes Best StartUp Employers. For more information, visit NEXTInsurance.com. Stay up to date on the latest with NEXT on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and our blog.