Hagerty: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Nov. 3, 2026, Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY) raised its full-year earnings guidance after generating $257 million in adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, through the first nine months of the year. The specialty insurer added 402,000 new members while scaling its high-margin distribution partnerships and auction platform. Three things management said stand out.

1. Younger Generations Now Drive Most New Insurance Quotes

Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z account for the majority of new-quote volume as younger buyers collect post-1980s vehicles. This demographic shift expands the addressable market beyond older collectors of classic automobiles.

Heightened demand is partly the result of the generational shift we are seeing in our quote volume, as Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z now account for over 60% of our quotes.
-- McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

2. Internal Claims Expansion Is Driving Lower Loss Rates

Growing the internal claims team by 40% helped reduce physical damage costs and liability claims below expected levels. Specialty underwriting and proactive storm warnings keep loss ratios more stable than standard auto insurers.

We believe the substantial investments in our in-house claims capabilities are helping contribute to the lower losses. As McKeel noted, we intentionally grew that team by 40%, including doubling the size of the Material Damage and Special Investigation Units.
-- Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

3. Business Distribution Partnerships Provide Low-Cost Policy Growth

Partnerships with large carriers and 54,000 independent agents deliver a steady stream of new business. The rollout with State Farm alone includes converting 525,000 existing classic-car policies to Hagerty-backed coverage.

B2B distribution with large carriers and a network of 54,000 independent agents complement our direct efforts and should support consistent high rates of growth.
-- McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

Looking Ahead

Workflow automation and scaled distribution are strengthening the company's competitive advantage while driving operational efficiency. Management is maintaining pricing discipline and leveraging its partner network to capture market share.

Our member service center is a great example, where we now require just one full-time employee for every 2,800 policies in force. This is a 20% year-over-year productivity improvement across a book of 1.9 million policies.
-- Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Long-term value creation rests on converting auction attendees and car enthusiasts into multi-year policyholders across an underpenetrated vehicle market.

We insure less than 8% of the 36 million vehicle target market in the U.S. today, and there is also a large opportunity for us across the Atlantic.
-- McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

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