NEXT business insurance and instant COIs help Radtron Studio save 12 hours a month

About Radtron Studio:

• Owner: Andrew Willoughby
• What they do: Creative studio specializing in architectural signage and wayfinding systems.
• Location: Nashville, TN
• Employees: 2-10

When you’re a small business, every hour matters. Radtron Studio, a Nashville-based creative workshop, knows this firsthand.

Founder Andrew Willoughby blends branding expertise with hands-on craftsmanship to produce custom lettering, lighting and wayfinding systems for a variety of different clients. But designing and fabricating architectural signage is a high-touch endeavor that doesn’t leave much time for a small team to focus on administrative tasks.

Before joining NEXT, getting the right coverage and certificates of insurance (COIs) for each project was labor intensive and time consuming. Willoughby and his team wasted creative time chasing paperwork and waiting for answers.

Then a designer friend told Willoughby about NEXT and he found it “checked all the boxes.”

See how NEXT supports Radtron Studio.

The challenge: Managing insurance admin and accessing COIs slowed business momentum

• Getting COIs required multiple steps and back-and-forth with prior carriers
• Job-specific coverage updates were slow and time-consuming
• Insurance paperwork often stalled projects when it was time to start

Radtron Studio’s projects often come with tight deadlines and shifting requirements. Each new project — whether a hotel renovation or a large-scale campus install — requires a certificate of insurance (COI) before work can begin, oftentimes with the client listed as the “additional insured.”

With previous insurers, the process of getting the necessary insurance documents to kick off a project was far from efficient. “Before NEXT, it could take me multiple points of contact and waiting around to get the insurance paperwork I needed,” Willoughby says.

Plus, every time a client requested updated coverage, Willoughby faced even more administrative friction. This turned insurance into a recurring admin bottleneck. Willoughby was juggling design deadlines, fabrication schedules and installation prep — all while waiting on insurance documentation to catch up.

“The problem with business insurance isn’t just the paperwork,” Willoughby says. “When you’re a small team, every hour counts. If I’m chasing a COI, I’m not working on the next client concept.”

Why NEXT? Fast signup and self-serve insurance management

• Recommended by a friend
• Simple signup
• Self-serve client portal
• Instant certificates of insurance (COI)
• Easy to make on-demand policy adjustments for specific projects

When a designer friend recommended NEXT Insurance, Andrew decided to look into it — and it clicked right away.

NEXT offered simple online signup, clear information before committing (including cost details) and a self-serve client portal that gave Andrew instant access to everything he needed. The process eliminated the waiting and middlemen he’d dealt with before.

That self-service model proved essential for Radtron Studio’s pace. If a client needed a higher coverage limit for a specific job or an updated COI, Willoughby could log in, make any necessary policy updates and download the certificate immediately.

“NEXT checked all the boxes,” Willoughby says. “Getting the business insurance coverage I need is a lot faster. I don’t really consider it an admin task anymore.”

The result: Less friction, faster project starts

• Save ~12 hours/month on insurance admin
• Instant COIs enable faster start on projects
• Peace of mind that they have the coverage they need

With NEXT, insurance became frictionless.

Willoughby estimates he saves five to six hours every couple of weeks — roughly 12 hours per month — now that he doesn’t have to chase paperwork or manage the administrative side of showing proof of insurance with every new project.

And with NEXT’s digital platform, Willoughby doesn’t worry about keeping up with files, deadlines or renewals. Everything he needs is in one place, accessible anytime from anywhere with NEXT’s smart phone app and online customer portal.

He can start jobs faster, deliver projects on schedule and focus on what he actually enjoys — creating distinctive, high-quality signage that blends design and fabrication.

“NEXT is absolutely worth the cost,” he says. “Nobody should do what we’re doing without insurance.”

The NEXT difference: Helping Radtron Studio spend time where it matters most

For small businesses like Radtron Studio, every hour spent on admin tasks is an hour not spent developing the business, landing new projects and doing the hard work of designing.

“NEXT took something that used to slow us down and made it seamless,” Willoughby says. “Now I can spend my time where it matters — in the studio, on the job and with my clients.”

Willoughby sums it up: “I trust NEXT because they’re there when I need them. It’s that simple.”

How NEXT helps small business owners

NEXT makes the liability claims process easy so owners like Willoughby — and you — can focus on growing your business instead of worrying about an unfortunate accident.

See how NEXT can get you the insurance you need to help your business move faster. Get an instant quote today.