The collector car insurance landscape is often summed up in one word: Hagerty. We tend to assume that the provider with the biggest media buys and splashiest presence at marquee car shows and auctions is the only game in town, but there are actually quite a few agencies to choose from that provide what we refer to as collector car insurance.
While the benefits of working with such an outfit are numerous, the most obvious one is being able to access what we call assigned value coverage. In other words, you - the customer - have some control over the valuation, and can oftentimes tell the insurance carrier what you believe the vehicle to be worth based on both market dynamics and your own investment into the car or truck you're insuring.
I use Hagerty and JC Taylor for my vehicles, but there's also American Collectors Insurance, Heacock, Chubb, Condon Skelly, and more. Here's what you may not know: NSM Insurance owns all but one of those companies, including JC Taylor (Chubb remains the largest publicly-trade insurance company). You might even say they're a bigger deal than Hagerty, with one distinct edge going to the company that recently went public and bought Broadarrow Group: Hagerty is focused on what's next customer-wise, while NSM seems content to service a boomer audience that is quickly aging out of the hobby.
While Hagerty may be edging closer to catering to the upper end of the hobby, there's no denying they have found a niche and exploited it; the question is whether groups like NSM will find a way to catch up.