Risk Management: Brick by Brick · 2026-07-29 · 8 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
50 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
NEXT has fundamentally redesigned small commercial insurance underwriting to eliminate the friction that has plagued agents for decades. By operating as a 100% digital carrier with no human underwriting referrals required, NEXT enables agents to determine appetite, collect information, price risk, and bind policies within seconds - solving the core problem that agents serving the small business segment (average premium $500 - $1,500) face when traditional carriers force them through manual underwriting loops that destroy unit economics. Ramsey and host Jason Reichel explore how NEXT uses rich data integration (MCC codes, bank categorization, social media signals) to minimize the questions agents must ask, and how this shifts agent value from administrative certificate-pushing to genuine risk counseling and customer service. The conversation touches on NEXT's evolving AI approach to data enrichment, the strategic decision to keep humans in the loop for complex risks and customer support, and how digital-first architecture allows the risk pool to expand as data confidence improves. For brokers and agents seeking to modernize their tech stack or for risk managers evaluating carrier partnerships, the episode illustrates how operational model design directly impacts profitability and customer experience.
NEXT's fully digital platform eliminates human underwriting referrals entirely, allowing agents to receive an appetite decision, sufficient information for underwriting, and a price quote in seconds. This lets agents bind policies in under five minutes with no follow-up forms, making the $500 - $1,500 premium segment economically viable.
NEXT scrapes MCC codes, bank categorization data, and social media signals (particularly for restaurants, their fastest-growing segment) to pre-populate risk profiles. In current testing, the system can generate quotes using only the business name and address, with agents confirming just three data points.
NEXT keeps humans in the loop for complex or edge-case risks and for customer service inquiries through digital channels, while automating routine administrative tasks like certificate issuance and policy servicing. This frees agent capacity for genuine risk consultation rather than busy work.
Yes. NEXT offers a live portal where customers can pull certificates and policy information on-demand (e.g., at a 7am job site), removing the need to call their agent. Adoption is voluntary; agents can choose traditional servicing if preferred.
NEXT operates with the same digital underwriting team while expanding policy size limits (from $5M to $6M, $8M, and beyond) as its data confidence improves, allowing it to grow market reach and agent options without scaling headcount proportionally.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode contains moderately useful operational insights about digital underwriting models and agent productivity (e.g., reducing quote time to seconds, automating certificates), but substantial portions involve repetitive explanation of the same core value proposition without introducing novel angles. The conversation circles back frequently to how automation frees agent time without deeply exploring the trade-offs, risk implications, or market dynamics.
agents that I've known for decades would come to me and say, you know, small business average premium, fifteen hundred dollars, sometimes a thousand, sometimes five hundred. I can't make money on this if I have to touch it more than once
if I can help an agent take that administrative time off the list and they can spend their people time on, um, true people activities, the revenue goes through the roof
The core argument - that digital automation and data reduce friction and free agents to focus on relationship-building - is familiar fintech-meets-insurance orthodoxy. While specific tactics like MCC-code-based binding and social media scraping for underwriting signals are interesting, the overarching thesis lacks contrarian insight or first-principles thinking. The episode recycles standard automation-as-liberation framing without questioning when speed or data-driven models might degrade decision quality or miss complex risks.
bringing the menial task, and this is what I talk to my son about often is what's all the busy stuff you do every day and if that could be taken off your plate, how would you spend your time?
technology company first that sells insurance
The guest (Jack Ramsey) holds a substantive operational role at a digital insurance carrier and has hands-on experience with agent workflows, underwriting automation, and policy servicing. He speaks with the credibility of a practitioner who has grappled with real constraints. However, the episode lacks clarity on his exact tenure and scope of decision-making authority, and he is somewhat in a promotional capacity for his own company (NEXT), which moderates the independence of his commentary.
they brought you on two and a half years ago
I have so many more data points than what you just described to make that answer in seconds
The transcript includes concrete operational examples (e.g., five-minute policy binding, $500 - $1,500 small business premiums, $5M revenue threshold for micro-small business, live certificate pull on mobile at 7am job sites) and specific data-driven practices (MCC codes, social media scraping for restaurants). However, the episode avoids hard metrics on profitability impact, agent adoption rates, loss ratios, or comparative performance data that would substantiate claims about revenue growth and market expansion.
small business average premium, fifteen hundred dollars, sometimes a thousand, sometimes five hundred
So today we have limits on we consider micro small business. So let's say it's a 5 million revenue account. It's only 5 million because that's the data we have to give us the confidence of say yes or no
The host (Speaker C) asks reasonably sharp follow-up questions (e.g., 'What has NEXT learned about human-in-the-loop?', structured 'Risky/Too Risky' challenges) and attempts to probe specific capabilities. However, questioning is often softball; the host rarely challenges assumptions, doesn't press on downside scenarios (e.g., underwriting risk from minimal data, agent attrition, customer confusion), and accepts assertions at face value. Follow-ups tend to invite elaboration rather than productive disagreement.
Let's just talk about what are the challenges with your particular model right now that you're managing
auto binding a BOP using only bank fee categories and MCC codes. Riskier or too risky?
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this special re-release episode of Risk Management: Brick by Brick , host Jason Reichl sits down with Jack Ramsey, former Head of Agency Sales at Next Insurance. With decades of commercial lines experience, Jack dives deep into the operational friction points that ruin agency profit margins on small commercial accounts, and how modern digital models are solving them. From eliminating time-consuming underwriting referrals to utilizing alternative real-time data signals like social media scraping, Jack breaks down how carriers and agencies can seamlessly blend technology into the workflow. Discover how removing menial administrative tasks enables agents to elevate their role from policy processors to trusted risk advisors, unlocking massive revenue potential and creating a sustainable future for the next generation. Podcast Host: Jason Reichl Executive Producer: Don Halliwell Episode Highlights: 04:18 - Solving Small Commercial Profitability: Why traditional carrier referral loops destroy agency profit margins on small business premiums and how 5-minute digital bind times solve the operational gap.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Foreign.
Speaker B: Hello, my name is Jason Reichel and you're listening to Risk Management Brick by brick. I'm fascinated with people who are helping build and maintain the physical world around us. On each episode of this podcast, we'll dive in with a risk manager, speak to them about how technology plays a role in this process.
Speaker C: Let's just talk about what are the challenges with your particular model right now that you're managing and what makes a good agency to partner with. Like how do you determine in that and how has that changed in the last five years?
Speaker A: Man, we solve such an important need for agents at uh next that I could never solve before. And it's frankly what brought me here. So for years and years in the small commercial space, agents that I've known for decades would come to me and say, you know, small business average premium, fifteen hundred dollars, sometimes a thousand, sometimes five hundred. I can't make money on this if I have to touch it more than once. And I don't understand why the big name traditional carriers still refer to a human underwriter half the time. Because then all of a sudden my financial model is blown. I can't do this. And so next, solve that problem by identifying there was a massive need there. And being a 100% fully digital sales and service carrier allows the agent to within seconds know, is it in our appetite, yes or no? Do we have enough information to uh, confidently underwrite the risk through a digital underwriting model? And at what price? And if the answer is yes to those which we know in seconds agent can collect a premium, bind the policy and move on to the next one. There's no follow up forms, no underwriting referral can ever occur with us. And they can actually be finished in five minutes, go to the next account and create revenue, which is a win
Speaker C: for them because of the operational model they have to have happen and a win for the customer too because they're not being exposed to, let's say, the underbelly of insurance that is also probably difficult for them to manage.
Speaker A: Absolutely. And then the other benefit which I know is kind of part of ITC and what this organization does is if you can blend the technology piece into that and you ask the question about the type of agent we work with, the breadth of, like I said, a very small one person retail shop all the way to a national broker. Our system is designed as a technology company first that sells insurance. So the model is super efficient, it's intuitive. It walks an agent through the quote process to guide them on that journey of how to Counsel and understand risk so that number one, they cover everything that the person needs. They do it as part of the embedded journey. We give them to understand, to lead them to the right point and so bring in that technology solution so that they can spend their actual people time, not on the administrative task of quoting, but instead on actually asking risk questions, asking about what they do specifically in their business and what are they most concerned about. That's where the value is in my opinion of the agent interaction, not so much being administrative.
Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing that's changed in the last 10 years in this industry as it relates to brokers or agents, which is there's a bigger demand for them not to be experts at getting the policy, but being a value added to the service. And I'm guessing that it doesn't change just because they're small, medium sized business, that what you really need is someone thinking about your risk program. As an example, let's talk about human in the loop, like still in this process because NEXT showed up on the scene. We're digital, we're doing this. And I think they got that and now they've been around for a while. They brought you on two and a half years ago. That seems much more in line with a traditional insurance model. What kind of things have you learned or they've learned that's important about putting these humans back in the loop in a digital process?
Speaker A: So for me personally, I believe that's really important. So number one, I don't think in 2026 the agent value is doing a certificate of insurance. That's not why they should be there.
Speaker C: Absolutely.
Speaker A: So where can we take that off their hands so that they can spend their time, like I mentioned before, talking to an underwriter about a more complex risk or talking to customers through the social media, the digital ways to answer their questions. But uh, bringing the menial task, and this is what I talk to my son about often is what's all the busy stuff you do every day and if that could be taken off your plate, how would you spend your time?
Speaker C: I love that. Talking about AI and guardrails and things like that. What kind of stuff has NEXT leaned into around AI? What stuff are you guys still figuring out?
Speaker A: So from a quoting perspective, I mean our business is fascinating, especially at NEXT because we use data so richly and intently to minimize the number of answers an agent has to give us. So I mean imagine the step where now we simply need the name of the business and the address and we say, is this it? You Found it.
Speaker C: Yes.
Speaker A: And you say yes. We say, well, we know everything about it now. Just confirm these three things. And here's your quote. And so bringing that model into that equation to make the life of the agent so much easier and efficient is where we're headed.
Speaker C: That's where you're headed.
Speaker A: Yeah, we're actually testing it now in a couple of classes of business.
Speaker C: I'd love to talk more about that. You know, that's a real data advantage that you guys have. If you're digital first, what ends up happening is you can build the whole profile off of that. Right. And it becomes richer and richer over time.
Speaker A: That's what will bring us into 2026. So today we have limits on we consider micro small business. So let's say it's a 5 million revenue account. It's only 5 million because that's the data we have to give us the confidence of say yes or no. When the data can allow us to go to 6 or 8 or 10, we'll go to 6 or 8 or 10. It opens up more market.
Speaker C: That's really, really awesome. I love the way that you guys are using data and building these risk pools and trying to find closer to, um, what I'll call real time. Even though we're not, we're talking about business data here, but closer to real time information to build a model that a lot of carriers, a lot of brokerages wouldn't use because they're using very, very old actuary models that can't really keep up with what is happening real time to these businesses. They want to play a game of risky or too risky.
Speaker A: Sounds great.
Speaker C: Okay, so auto binding a BOP using only bank fee categories and MCC codes.
Speaker B: Riskier.
Speaker C: Too risky.
Speaker A: That sounds a little too risky.
Speaker C: Why?
Speaker A: Well, selfishly, because I have so many more data points than what you just described to make that answer in seconds.
Speaker C: More data is the answer there, right? Okay. Instant search with additional insured language and zero human qa.
Speaker A: That is go for it. Not risky. We do that today. And that's on the service side of the house. That is our true value add. Where customers are showing up at a job site at 7:00am pulling, um, up a live certificate on their phone without having to call the agent for that info. They love it. They don't do it because we forced them to. It's actually a beautiful model. I give agents the choice. They can service the traditional way if they want, they have access to the same portal or the customer can do it and not have to reach out to the agent. And it's back to what I said originally, that if I can help an agent take that administrative time off the list and they can spend their people time on, um, true people activities, the revenue goes through the roof.
Speaker C: Amazing.
Speaker B: I love that.
Speaker C: Scraping client social media for underwriting signals.
Speaker A: We do that all day long. That's our secret sauce. It's truly fascinating because we do a ton of restaurants. That's our fastest growing segment. And when you have the. I'll call it a traditional carrier question set, ask hours of operations. Do you have a dance floor? Do you have happy hour specials? No, of course not. We have none of that stuff.
Speaker C: Uh, what's a piece of advice you would give to someone who's coming into the industry and where would you tell them to focus?
Speaker A: I think there's still tremendous value as an insurance agent. I don't think that's going to go away in my lifetime. I'm so excited and thrilled to see the next generation and my own son coming through this model and I think embrace the technology that exists today just like you do in your personal life, and then bring it into the insurance business.
Speaker B: I love that.
Speaker C: Thank you so much, my friend. It was a great conversation.
Speaker A: Wonderful seeing you.
Speaker C: Thank you.
Speaker B: Awesome. M Risk Management Brick by Brick is brought to you by Trust Layer. Find out how Trust Layer manages risk so that the people can build the physical world around us. Head over to Trustlayer I.O. and then make sure to subscribe to Risk Management Brick by Brick on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. On behalf of the Trust Layer team, thank you for listening.
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