Is Hagerty Good for Auto Insurance?

Last Updated on October 7, 2026

By James Shaffer · Reviewed by Thomas Rockford, insurance industry executive and financial analyst, on October 4, 2026 · How we fact-check

Hagerty is best known for classic and collector car insurance—coverage built for vehicles that are stored securely and driven for pleasure, shows, and events (not daily commuting). If you want an agreed/guaranteed value policy and insurer support that understands collector vehicles, Hagerty is often a strong fit.

Hagerty insures classic cars and collectible vehicles across the United States, offering specialized policies for owners with unique needs.

Below is a practical, up-to-date look at how Hagerty works, what it covers, who typically qualifies, and what to consider before you request a quote.

About Hagerty

Hagerty specializes in insurance for classic, antique, and modern collector vehicles, and says it writes classic car insurance in all 50 states. The company is headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. Outside the U.S. it works through separate programs: its International Touring Liability coverage is placed through Hagerty International Limited and underwritten by Hiscox, and overseas shipping is underwritten by Markel American.

While Hagerty is best known for collector vehicle coverage, its insurance page also covers boats and yachts, motorsport vehicles, antique tractors and vintage camper trailers, and it runs a separate Enthusiast+ program underwritten by Drivers Edge Insurance Company.

Collector vehicle policies can sometimes cost less than a standard daily-driver policy because these vehicles are typically driven less and stored more carefully. The best way to keep pricing realistic is to insure the car for an accurate agreed value and avoid coverage gaps—many of the general strategies in these money-saving tips still apply.

How Hagerty Car Insurance Works

Hagerty policies include the same core building blocks as other auto insurance—liability, collision, and comprehensive—plus collector-focused options designed for restoration-quality repairs and agreed/guaranteed value payouts.

Common coverages available through Hagerty include:

Hagerty is an agency, not the carrier. Its U.S. auto disclosures page names three underwriters for car policies: Essentia Insurance Company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Nationwide Insurance Company of America. The page doesn’t say which carrier writes in which state, so check your quote paperwork for the name on your own policy.

If you plan to tour internationally, confirm how your coverage applies outside the U.S. This can be especially important for cross-border travel—see driving to Canada and insurance for a baseline checklist.

What Makes Hagerty Unique?

Collector vehicles are insured differently than daily drivers because the value and repair expectations are different. Many standard auto policies settle claims based on actual cash value (depreciated value). Collector policies are often designed around an agreed value approach.

Hagerty’s signature approach is “Guaranteed Value” (commonly described as agreed value). That means you and the insurer establish the vehicle’s insured value up front, and that agreed amount is used as the basis for a covered total loss settlement. Hagerty says it will pay every cent of the insured value on a covered total loss, with one footnote worth reading: less any deductible, and less the salvage value if you keep the car.

If you’re comparing valuation methods, this guide explains agreed value vs. stated value policies and why the difference matters when the car is rare, restored, or appreciating.

Because of how these policies are priced, Hagerty generally avoids insuring drivers it considers high-risk or vehicles that are used like regular commuters. That’s not unique to Hagerty—many specialty insurers apply similar underwriting standards.

What Types of Vehicles Does Hagerty Insure?

Hagerty is built for enthusiast-owned vehicles that have collector value and are used on a limited basis. Examples commonly considered include:

• Antique, classic, and collectible vehicles, including collectibles from 1980 and newer
• Classic trucks and utility vehicles (subject to usage limits)
• Modified vehicles (when modifications are disclosed and acceptable to underwriting)
• Collector trailers and collectible haulers (varies by program)
• Collectible or vintage motorcycles and scooters (program rules vary)
• Specialty categories like classic military vehicles and antique tractors (case-by-case)

Hagerty also insures boats and yachts, motorsport vehicles and vintage camper trailers, which are quoted separately from a collector car policy.

If you want to compare alternatives, this roundup of collector car insurance companies can help you understand how eligibility rules and policy features differ across providers.

What Types of Vehicles Does Hagerty Not Insure?

Hagerty is not designed for vehicles used like everyday transportation. Most collector policies are priced around limited use, secure storage, and drivers who maintain separate daily-use vehicles and insurance.

Vehicles that often don’t qualify include:

• Daily-use commuter vehicles
• Commercial-use or business-use vehicles
• Off-road and recreational vehicles. Note that a vintage camper trailer is a different thing — Hagerty does insure those.
• Motorcycles with performance modifications. Hagerty does insure modified cars when the modifications are disclosed and underwriting accepts them.

Who Is Eligible for Hagerty Car Insurance?

Hagerty’s eligibility rules are stricter than most standard auto insurers because the program is designed for hobby and collector use. Approval depends on your driving record, how you plan to use the vehicle, where it’s stored, and what daily-use vehicles your household already maintains. Hagerty’s rule on that last point is firm: every household member with a valid driver’s license needs a regular-use vehicle for daily driving.

Hagerty publishes the bar: you can’t have a serious infraction in the last three years, and it names which ones count — alcohol-related offenses, reckless driving and excessive speed violations. So a disqualifying violation doesn’t follow you forever, but it does rule you out for three years. For context on common underwriting red flags, see how speeding tickets, reckless driving, and other moving violations can affect eligibility and pricing—and how long a DUI can stay on your record.

Other Hagerty Classic Car Insurance Restrictions

Collector policies are typically written for hobby use. Most commonly, that means club functions, exhibitions, tours, organized events, and occasional pleasure driving—not running daily errands or commuting.

Storage matters, but not as much as people assume. Hagerty prefers an enclosed, secure structure, and it says on its eligibility page that it will also consider a carport, a driveway, a parking garage or a car hauling trailer. So no garage doesn’t mean no policy — tell them what you actually have and let underwriting decide. Daily commuting is the bigger problem, and it changes how any insurer rates a vehicle, especially for long commutes (see how commutes affect auto rates).

Hagerty Reviews & Ratings

Hagerty is a well-known name in the collector space, but ratings depend on what you’re measuring: financial strength, service experience, and claims outcomes can vary by state and situation.

For third-party context, the Better Business Bureau rates Hagerty Insurance Agency, Inc. A+. Read on October 4, 2026, the profile showed 41 complaints in the last three years, 6 of them closed in the last 12 months, for a business the BBB lists as 35 years old. Hagerty is not a BBB accredited business, which is a separate thing from the rating and doesn’t count against it. You can read the full BBB profile for Hagerty Insurance Agency, Inc. and the complaints behind that number.

For financial strength, Hagerty’s own disclosures page says all three of its U.S. auto underwriters carry an A.M. Best rating of A (Excellent) or better, as of November 2024. That is the company’s statement with a date on it, which is better than most insurer pages manage. A.M. Best’s current rating pages need an account, so that line is Hagerty’s word rather than A.M. Best’s. The newest public A.M. Best item on Essentia is its January 4, 2013 rating release, which assigned Essentia an A (Excellent) financial strength rating when Markel acquired it. Treat that as history, not as today’s rating.

Hagerty Car Insurance Discounts & Features

Hagerty doesn’t publish a discount list the way a daily-driver carrier does. It competes on collector-specific features, and it puts figures on several of them:

Also remember: collector policies are not designed to compete with daily-driver advertising claims. A daily-driver carrier like GEICO may quote very differently because the underwriting assumptions are not the same.

Hagerty Pros and Cons

My advice is to ask for the Guaranteed Value number in writing before you bind, and to revisit it every year or two. A car you agreed at $40,000 in 2022 may be worth a good deal more now, and the agreed value is the one figure that decides what you get paid.

Hagerty Contact Info

To learn more about Hagerty or request a quote, visit the company online at Hagerty’s insurance page or contact a representative through the official contact options on the site.

FAQs on Hagerty Auto Insurance

Sources

Checked October 4, 2026

• Hagerty — Insurance Page
• Hagerty — Does My Vehicle Qualify
• Hagerty — U.S. Auto Disclosures, November 2024
• Hagerty — Claims
• Hagerty — Contact Us
• Better Business Bureau — Hagerty Insurance Agency Profile
• AM Best — Essentia Insurance Company Rating Release, January 4, 2013