NEXT Insurance vs Hiscox: Which Is Better?
A digital-first carrier built for 1,300+ professions versus a century-old specialist built for the smallest office-based firms. Six rounds. Real numbers. One honest scorecard.
The verdict
NEXT Insurance takes it, 4–2 on rounds.
There's no universal winner — Hiscox is the sharper, cheaper specialist for solo professional-services firms, while NEXT is the better all-rounder for hands-on trades and businesses that need more than one line bundled together.
Choose NEXT Insurance if…
- • You have employees or a work vehicle that need workers' comp or commercial auto
- • You want liability, property and multiple coverages bundled into one digital account
Choose Hiscox if…
- • You're a solo or sub-10-employee professional-services firm whose main risk is your advice
- • You want the cheapest possible single E&O or general-liability policy
Round by round
- Round 1Business Appetite & Who They InsureNEXT Insurance winsNEXT Insurance8/10
1,300+
Professions NEXT will write, including hands-on trades
- Broad appetite includes trades Hiscox avoids
- Nearly 750,000 small-business customers
Source: NEXT 2026 company dossier
Hiscox5/10<10 employees
Hiscox's target firm size — office-based professional services
- No. 2 in U.S. News small-business insurance ranking
- Narrow appetite — not built for trades or field work
Source: Hiscox 2026 company dossier
So this round goes to NEXT Insurance.
- Round 2Coverage Specialty: E&O vs BundlingHiscox winsNEXT Insurance6/10
4+ lines, 1 account
General liability, BOP, workers' comp and commercial auto bundled digitally
- Bundles 4+ lines into one digital account
- E&O isn't NEXT's specialty — Hiscox usually beats it there
Source: NEXT 2026 product dossier
Hiscox8/10~$22.50/mo
Hiscox professional-liability / E&O starting price
- Deep specialization purpose-built for E&O risk
- General liability also priced from ~$30/mo
Source: Hiscox 2026 pricing dossier
This round goes to Hiscox.
- Round 3Employees, Workers' Comp & Commercial AutoNEXT Insurance winsNEXT Insurance9/10
~13% market share
Progressive's U.S. commercial-auto market share — NEXT's auto partner
- Writes workers' comp in-house
- Commercial auto via Progressive, the biggest U.S. commercial-auto insurer
Source: Progressive 2025 market data
Hiscox3/10Not a workers'-comp or auto writer
- No workers' comp
- No commercial auto
This round goes to NEXT Insurance, hands down.
- Round 4Financial Strength & Claims ReputationNEXT Insurance winsNEXT Insurance8/10
A+ (Superior)
AM Best rating, reinforced by Munich Re Group membership after 2025 acquisition
- ~$2.6B Munich Re acquisition strengthens the balance sheet
- Some users flag friction from automated underwriting (Trustpilot ~4.3)
Source: AM Best / NEXT 2026 dossier
Hiscox5/104.8 Feefo / 1.5 Trustpilot
A (Excellent) AM Best rating, but reviews split sharply by platform
- A (Excellent) AM Best rating, century of specialty underwriting
- Trustpilot rated 'Bad' — claims-speed and renewal-price complaints
Source: Hiscox 2026 sentiment dossier
This round goes to NEXT Insurance, on balance sheet strength.
- Round 5Buying & Managing the PolicyNEXT Insurance winsNEXT Insurance8/10
Quick, easy, certificate within minutes
- Unlimited free certificates of insurance, generated instantly
- Instant online quote-to-bind in minutes
Hiscox6/10Quick, affordable, set up in minutes
- Also quotes and binds online in minutes
- Leans on phone advisors rather than a self-serve certificate flow
This round goes to NEXT Insurance, on the instant certificates.
- Round 6Pricing & ValueHiscox winsNEXT Insurance6/10
#1 overall, 2026
MoneyGeek ranked NEXT the best small-business insurer on cost + experience
- #1 overall on MoneyGeek's 2026 cost + experience ranking
- No published fixed rates — algorithmic, quote-by-quote pricing
Source: MoneyGeek 2026 Business Insurance Study
Hiscox7/10~$109/mo avg
Hiscox's broader average policy price; E&O from ~$22.50/mo
- Cheapest headline price for a single E&O policy
- Broader policy average runs ~$109/mo, well above the E&O headline rate
Source: Hiscox 2026 pricing dossier
So this round goes to NEXT Insurance for the overall value and cost combination.
Which one is for you?
Solo IT or software consultant whose main risk is bad advice
→ Hiscox · E&O is Hiscox's specialty, priced from ~$22.50/mo
Handyman or contractor needing GL plus tools coverage
→ NEXT Insurance · NEXT's appetite covers the trades Hiscox avoids
Cleaning company with W-2 employees needing workers' comp
→ NEXT Insurance · NEXT writes workers' comp in-house; Hiscox doesn't
Landscaper needing liability plus a work truck covered
→ NEXT Insurance · NEXT bundles GL with commercial auto via Progressive
Side by side
- Fine for one incidental work vehicle
- One digital account, one carrier
- Covers 1,300+ professions, including hard-to-place trades
- Good fit for sole proprietors and hard-to-place trades needing one vehicle
- No. 2 in U.S. News small-business insurance ranking
- Deep specialization purpose-built for E&O risk
- General liability also priced from ~$30/mo
- A (Excellent) AM Best rating, century of specialty underwriting
- Not a vehicle specialist
- Not built for specialty or multi-truck fleets
- Shorter claims track record than a specialist
- Limited hand-holding for complex risk
- Narrow appetite — not built for trades or field work
- No workers' comp
- No commercial auto
- Trustpilot rated 'Bad' — claims-speed and renewal-price complaints