NEXT Insurance Appoints Insurance Veteran Jennifer Lawrence as First General Counsel

Experienced insurtech advisor and legal executive joins NEXT to help manage risk as company grows and expands to cover to more small businesses

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NEXT Insurance

Mar 09, 2022, 08:30 ET

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NEXT Insurance, a leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance, today announced the appointment of Jennifer Lawrence as the company's first General Counsel. In this role, Lawrence will leverage her unique experience in the public and private sectors to help NEXT effectively manage risk as the company continues to grow and expand to cover more businesses.

Lawrence joins NEXT after four years as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Noblr, a personal auto insurtech recently acquired by USAA, where she created and oversaw the company's legal, regulatory and government affairs teams. Before Noblr, she was General Counsel for the PURE Group of Insurance Companies, and also OneBeacon Insurance Group, where she helped guide the company through its IPO.

"Jennifer is passionate about creating a stronger relationship between the customer and their insurance company in order to help entrepreneurs thrive ," said Guy Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of NEXT. "Her deep expertise in insurance and government policy makes her a uniquely qualified leader to help NEXT scale our business and continue our goal of becoming the number one small business insurance provider in the U.S."

Lawrence is an active supporter of women in leadership. She is a founding member of the Boston chapter of Chief, a membership organization focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders. At Noblr, she was the founder and Executive Sponsor of the Women in Leadership Group aimed at creating equal representation of men and women across all levels at the company. Her passion for nurturing women in insurance and insurtech companies is particularly important, as McKinsey found that while insurance fares relatively well for female representation at the entry level (57 percent), it drops significantly to just 18 percent of the SVP level.

"I am so excited to join NEXT's diverse leadership team. Its incredible growth shows that small businesses have been underserved by traditional insurance carriers, and there is real opportunity for companies to better understand the complexities of their businesses and provide better affordable solutions," Lawrence said. "My real passion is for the policyholder. NEXT is committed to changing the narrative around insurance and making the experience smarter and easier for small businesses, and I'm thrilled to be part of the team making that vision into reality."

In addition to her work for insurance companies, Lawrence has experience serving the public. She served as an Assistant Cabinet Secretary to the former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she oversaw agencies including the Division of Insurance, Division of Banks and the Office of International Trade and Investment.

Lawrence has served on several Boards of Directors in the financial services industry including property casualty insurance companies. Jennifer has a B.A. from Columbia University and holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and an M.B.A. from Boston University School of Management.

She is the latest woman to join NEXT's growing leadership team. Chief Financial Officer Teodora Gouneva joined the company in January after another year of milestones for the 6-year-old company: NEXT tripled its gross written premium last year - reaching a $650 million run rate - and kicked off 2022 with the launch of a new mobile app.

About NEXT Insurance:
NEXT Insurance is transforming small business insurance with simple, digital and affordable coverage tailored to the self-employed. Trusted by 300K business owners, NEXT offers policies that are easy to buy in 10 minutes or less 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 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.