I'm curious if anyone here has actually had to make a claim with Hagerty? That's the true gauge of an insurance company IMHO - how cooperative are they when it's time to pay up?
Ryan, I have had a few clients with claims through Hagerty on their classics. All have said the company was excellent to deal with and paid promptly. One of the big differences with Hagerty is their "Guarenteed Value" of the vehicles on the policy. Basically, the company does their valuation of the vehicle BEFORE a claim is made (hence all the questions and photos of the vehicles when you write the policy) and when you both agree on the value, that's it. If you have a "total loss" of the vehicle you are paid the "Guarenteed Value" of the vehicle minus the deductible. The term "total loss" will be a little different from state to state but usually means the cost to repair the vehicle is more than 60-80% of the vehicle value. Most of the normal insurance companies will determine the value of the vehicle at the time of the loss, AFTER the claim has happened. The value on their policy when it is written will be limit, not a guaranteed value.
The only complaint I have ever heard regarding Hagerty was on a small partial loss on a '68 Camaro. Someone had backed in to the Camaro's front fender and caused a small dent. When the owner took the car for an estimate, the estimate came back around $12,000 because the shop owner wanted to paint the entire car and didn't want to mess with matching the fender paint. The shop owner convinced the vehicle owner of the "special paint" needed on old cars would never match without painting the entire vehicle. Needless to say, Hagerty did not want to paint the entire vehicle for a $1,100 dent. The situation went on for a month or so until the vehicle owner went and got THREE other estimates from different shops before he was convinced the "special paint" could be matched...
