And Now A Message From Hagerty Marine Insurance.
It’s springtime and as you are getting ready to plop that water sucker into the drink, you may also want to make sure your drain plug is in… And therefore your insurance. Is your policy up to date? Well, you may be surprised to see here that Hagerty now has some expanded options. This is what they meant by when they rebooted the policies from a couple years ago. And I know many of us are now on the dementia spectrum, so we didn’t completely understand the letters. Basically, our policies were changed over to better underwriters. And therefore better policies.
When they couldn’t find proper coverage for their prized wooden boats, Frank and Louise Hagerty started Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance out of their home basement in 1984, followed by Classic Auto Insurance in 1991.
Classic boats are how Hagerty started and very deep into their DNA, and very solid contributors to our little universe. And below are some new things to consider.
We always keep our insurance up to date. Most disasters happen not on the water….
Hagerty can insure any year boat, 1800’s-brand new.
More then just wood, can insure fiberglass, metal, and wood hulls. (Chemical Spills shaped into the form of a boat?)
No limit on length of boat, from canoes and PWC’s to yachts. ( PWC’s) The mosquitoes of the sea….
Offering coverage in all 50 States with newly opened appetite for larger cruisers in Florida
Multi boat discounts – can combine a classic with a modern pontoon or runabout and receive a discount … ( Pontoons, and so it begins…)
Classic Boat Club Discounts for members of the ACBS, CCACB, Lyman Boat owners, Century, to name a few.
Fenders!
And this one is important for all you classic boat show folks up North. As in Clayton for this years ACBS Event
Some may travel near and far but making sure you are protected from the unexpected is important
Before making the trip if you are not local to the area (even if you are), check your insurance coverages
With the show near the Canadian border, making sure you are covered for Canadian waters will make your trip less worrisome if something was to happen
Hagerty can offer coverage for boats that will be used in Canadian waters if your current provider does not or if you are looking at options.
You can Call or email them at 800-762-2628 or Marine@Hagerty.com
Things happen
While it’s refreshing that this site normally doesn’t do much advertising in the daily blog content, this one seems like it deserves a pass. Good company that supports our hobby and your site. Besides, who ever thinks about insurance until you need it and find nothing was covered for some reason!
Thanks, I agree. Its more of a public service announcement.
Hagerty is great, I was really bummed when they sold my policy to Markel and my policy premium doubled…
I had Markel direct through my broker and it also doubled he place me with travelers for an affordable rate
Had the pleasure to speak with Carla once when I was going to buy a different boat
What a sweet lady
She left an incredible impression
Thanks woodyboater
Thats odd? When that all happened, I did do a comparative price check and Hagerty was actually less expensive, and better policy. Always check what sort of policy you may have. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples
Hello Josh and Mike. I am the Marine Program Manager here at Hagerty. I understand with our underwriter each of your premiums increased. I would be happy review with each of you if you would like to give me a call at 231-252-8842.
I just got off the phone with Ryan and he was able to help me out. Highly recommend calling him with any questions. He did clarify for me that I am still a Hagerty custom but my policy is underwritten by Markel
And we all miss Carla!
That header shot: Lake Minnetonka tornado 1965. I was seven years old and my dad drove me four hours from Wisconsin to see my aunt, uncles and cousins house that was reduced to matchsticks. But their Sea Skiff survived and was at Gull last Summer: Big Bop.
I guess I’m a little confused too. Ten years ago I signed on with Hagerty and then at some point they gave my account to Markel even though I have never made a claim. I had heard that the reason this happened was that Hagerty was getting out of the classic boat market but now they are looking for classic boat business? Did they or did they not get out of the classic boat insurance business or did they just sell my account?
No account was “sold” and they were not getting out of the market. They changed underwriters, your old policy was also done by an underwriter, just a different company.
Their auto policies are also underwritten by two companies.
Tparson56, I am the Marine Program Manager at Hagerty and as Jimmy mentioned, we did not sell anyone’s policy, rather we changed our underwriter. Hagerty is still and will continue to be in the classic boat insurance business. If you have questions about our polices, please give me a call at 231-252-8842.
OK – No worries. I think part of the confusion is that for the first years with Hagerty the billing and payment was made direct to Hagerty but when the change came it was changed to direct to Markel.
Carla is very much missed! She knew the community & shared the enthusiasm. When she answered the phone, you could hear her smile. Hagerty lost one of their greatest assets, when she had to leave. It was disappointing when the Hagerty family sold to Aldel & Markel. After seeing the sizable increase in premium for my 12′ wooden boat, I abandoned the thought of moving insurance for my fiberglass 21′ Malibu to them.
Kelly, I had the pleasure of working with Carla for a number of years here at Hagerty and learned a lot about the hobby from her. If you would like, I would be happy to review the boats for you. Feel free to give me a call at 231-252-8844, you would receive a multi-boat discount with both on the policy
Carla I miss you. It was nice being able to put a face to the person you were talking to on the phone about your insurance. And what a pretty face.
Tim, I am with you on that one! She sponsored some of our boat shows. Almost as pretty as Laura! 😉
We all miss Carla. When my policy went to Markel I had to cut way back on coverage to afford it.
I guess what really happened was that Hagerty outsourced it Marine division Underwriting to Markel. My annual insurance cost actually was reduced because I have a fixed value type insurance with high deductible and that year, I joined both ACBS and CCACB. I admit that there was a lot of confusion when Hagerty announced the switch. I shopped around and found that many insurance companies just don’t cover older boats or have strange limits for those that do.
Michigan does not require insurance on any boats. I learned a lot about boat insurance and incidences two summers ago when while docked at a restaurant seawall, a 40Ft Sea-Ray clipped my portside, causing damage to both sides and transom. Even though we exchanged information, and the other party claimed they had Progressive Insurance, my big mistake was not calling the local police to complete an incident report immediately. The other party was not cooperating even with the County Marine Sheriff. I attempted a third-party claim, but Progressive confirmed that the other party was not and never was a Client. I eventually took the culprit to small claims and received damages and court fees of $1130.
I still get the Hagerty eMagazines exclusive to Classic Cars. I used to annually complain to Hagerty that they should publish at least on article about Classic Boats seeing how many of their clients are only into classic boats not classic cars. But I guess that’s why we have WoodyBoater™!
I had a policy with Hagerty since about 1989. Two years ago they requested that I get a full marine survey for my 28’ Chris. For years they needed only a simple yard survey. The full survey is quite cost prohibitive, (about half the what the boat is worth). There are only about two marine surveyors in my area both of which didn’t know enough about a wood boat to do the job.🤨
❤️
Carla WAS Hagerty for a long time, perhaps not long enough. So many of us miss her….
Carla is the best!!
Last year, looking at a ACBS magazine, I saw a Travelers ad telling boat owners to check with them on insurance. I assembled all of the information and sent it to their office. I got a prompt reply that Travelers did not write boat insurance in the Gulf of America bordered states. I have Haggerty and Markel which ever one writes the policy. Mine did go up considerably.
Molly-O has been with Hagerty since 1984, when AAA dropped wooden boat ins, that she was on.
Well Molly-O took an unexpected off ramp into the reeds which Matt will never let me forget. I had no clams until then.
Yes, I have paid them lots of Mula over the years but not only did they pay over 10+K to have her extracted (which cost 7K alone, (for the less than a 15 minute job) and was COMPLETELY checked for any machinal issues.
The hull, bottom, waterline, decks, were all completely painted, or varnished (3 coats) without ANY complaints or arguments.
I was a VERY camper with Markel.
I have Hagerty insurance on 4 of my boats including Jenny the 1929 Wason. I have never had a claim but feel like they understand our needs!
I still enjoy wearing my beautiful blue and red hats Carla gave me!