Next Insurance, a digital insurance agency for small to medium businesses, announced that American Express Ventures has joined its previously announced Series A Round led by Munich Re/HSB Ventures.

In May, Next reported the round had reached $29 million and included Markel, Nationwide and other investors in addition to Munich Re/HSB Ventures.

Founded in 2016 in Palo Alto, Calif. by Guy Goldstein, Nissim Tapiro and Alon Huri, the company received $13 million seed funding from Ribbit Capital, TLV Partners and Zeev Ventures.

The firm said the new funding will be used to continue developing Next’s own insurance products and expand its offering to new business sectors.

Next’s platform simplifies the insurance process for small business owners and uses data analytics to create policies tailored to the unique needs of different classes of business. Targets markets include personal trainers, yoga instructors, landscapers, carpenters, janitorial services and photographers.

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.

In addition to Munich Re and Markel, its insurance carrier partners include Liberty Mutual, Hiscox and Nationwide, which is also an investor.

“Finding the right insurance is often a time-consuming, complicated process for small-business owners. Next Insurance has drastically simplified that task by combining an easy-to-use digital experience with cutting-edge data analytics to provide small businesses with options that fit their individual circumstances,” said Harshul Sanghi, managing partner with American Express Ventures.

Source: Next Insurance