Detroit Free Press Mark Phelan column
By Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Thirty years after Frank started the business because none of the insurance companies he represented would underwrite his prized wooden power boat,
"It begins and ends with a love of the automobile," Frank's son
"We were Ford people," McKeel said with pride. "There were no Duesenbergs in our family. There were always car restoration projects in our garage."
As teenagers, he and his two older sisters each got to pick a vintage car they'd restore with their father for their first car. His sisters picked a Chevrolet Corvair station wagon and 1960
The company insures more than a million collectible cars and 13,000 wooden boats in the U.S.,
Its modern headquarters in downtown
Hagerty's staff and cars will be prominent at Woodward Dream Cruise events this week, including a '65 Ford Mustang coupe the company's workers restored to like-new condition last winter. Look for the sparkling white Mustang on Woodward this week, and in
"Everyone on my team really enjoys the opportunity to work on the cars," said
Much of Hagerty's success stems from understanding car collectors and treating them differently from the giant insurers focused on contemporary vehicles. The company guarantees full value on claims, monitors auctions and private sales to see whether the value of each car is rising or falling, and offers flatbed road service, a favorite with owners of finicky old cars.
Hagerty is building a database on collectible cars, including a vehicle identification number decoder to help owners figure out exactly what they have. VINs weren't standardized until 1981. That can makes ID'ing some vintage cars as much art as science. Another part of the company is collecting stories associated with significant cars while the people involved with the vehicles are still alive. Owners can also record their stories on hagerty.com, which aims to have 5,000 stories this year.
Hagerty's call center handles thousands of calls from customers daily, discussing everything from claims to requests for help finding rare spare parts.
The average value of the cars Hagerty insures is
"This is not a sport that's just for the wealthy," McKeel said. "You can get a great pickup, an MGB or a 1970s car for a few thousand dollars.
"At the higher end of the collectible spectrum, though, you're talking about history. The automobile is the most significant industrial artifact of the last 150 years."
Hagerty runs events to teach kids how to drive classic cars with manual transmissions and how to evaluate a vintage car. The company is also involved in initiatives to document and preserve historic vehicles.
Privately owned, Hagerty doesn't have to report financial results, but McKeel says income from premiums is growing at more than 10% annually. He's been approached by larger companies that wanted to buy the business, but McKeel has resisted the offers. In a few cases, he has partnered with some larger insurers, giving them access to Hagerty's expertise.
"We're a car business," he said. "The beginning and end of it is that we love cars and understand people who love them."
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