Hagerty pushes deeper into agent channel
Hagerty reported first quarter written premium growth of 18% to $289 million, as the specialty auto insurer continued expanding its State Farm partnership and completed its transition to retaining 100% of the economics on its U.S. insurance book.
Policies in force grew 15% to 1.8 million, while retention remained stable at 88.5%. The company also added a record 112,000 new policies during the quarter, historically its weakest seasonal period.
Hagerty posted a net loss of $13 million, primarily driven by an $89 million pretax amortization charge tied to deferred ceding commissions from policies written before the January 2026 Markel fronting transition. The company said those transitional costs will decline throughout the year and be largely exhausted by year-end.
Beginning this year, Hagerty Re assumed 100% of the underwriting risk and premium on the U.S. book, eliminating the prior MGA commission and ceding commission structure that had inflated reported revenue and expenses. The shift drove earned premium growth of 42% year-over-year to $240 million.
“2026 marks the first year in our history that we control 100% of the economics on our own U.S. book of business.”
The company also highlighted momentum from its State Farm partnership. Hagerty expects 19,000 State Farm agents to be selling Hagerty products across 40 states by year-end. Conversion of State Farm’s existing 525,000 collector car policies onto the Hagerty platform is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 and is already contributing meaningfully to policies in force growth.
Hagerty also pointed to growth opportunities within its independent agency channel, where it works with roughly 50,000 agents, and said it is investing in straight-through processing and automated tools that help agents identify enthusiast vehicles already sitting in their existing books of business.
Outside insurance, Hagerty highlighted continued growth at Broad Arrow Auctions, which generated a record $111 million in sales during Amelia Car Week, up roughly 50% from prior Amelia events, with a 92% sell-through rate. The top lot, a 2003 Ferrari Enzo, sold for more than $15 million. Hagerty described Broad Arrow as having become a top-tier global auction house within four years of launch, while reinforcing its broader ecosystem strategy where auction buyers can eventually become insurance customers.
During the earnings call, CEO McKeel Hagerty also discussed electric and autonomous vehicles, saying the company expects to insure more EVs over time while continuing to advocate for enthusiast drivers.
“We’re the company that was built by drivers like me for drivers, and we’ll be advocating for those people,” Hagerty said. “But we recognize that we will be surrounded by self-driving cars.”
