Key Highlights

● Second-quarter written premium grew 19.2 per cent year over year to $424.5 million.

● Total revenue fell 6.5 per cent to $354.8 million on the Markel fronting transition.

● Full-year 2026 net income guidance was raised to $18-$30 million.

● Policies in force reached 1,855,649, up 19.0 per cent year over year.

Hagerty (NYSE:HGTY) provides specialty insurance for enthusiast vehicles, alongside live and digital auctions, media and events, and the Hagerty Drivers Club membership community. Its Class A common stock is listed on the NYSE. The company reported second-quarter 2026 results on 5 August 2026, saying it protects 3.0 million vehicles across the United States, Canada and the UK. Total revenue was $354.8 million, down 6.5%, and net income was $8.0 million, against $47.2 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose 2.6% to $74.5 million. Written premium grew 19.2% to $424.5 million. The company's management described the first half of 2026 as the best in its history, which is a company characterisation rather than an independent assessment.

The Markel transition and first-half figures

The revenue decline reflects the Markel fronting arrangement transition, which eliminates certain commission revenue, while written premium growth shows underlying demand. For the first half, revenue was $666.7 million, down 5.8%, and the company recorded a net loss of $4.7 million compared with net income of $74.5 million, including $153 million of pre-tax transitional costs from the arrangement. First-half adjusted EBITDA rose 32.2% to $159.7 million. Management expects Markel transitional amortisation to fall to about $37 million in the third quarter of 2026. That is a management expectation, not a certainty. The mechanics matter. From 1 January 2026 Hagerty Re's US quota share rose from 80% to 100%, so Hagerty now keeps all premium and risk on its US book and controls the Essentia book. Eliminated commission revenue was $144 million in the quarter and $247 million in the half. Transitional costs were $89 million in the first quarter and $64 million in the second. Hagerty Re earned premium rose 42% to $252.0 million in the quarter, and its combined ratio was 89.6%, unchanged from a year earlier, with a loss ratio of 42.7%.

Operating metrics and raised outlook

Operating metrics were steady. Policies in force reached 1,855,649, up 19.0%, and paid Hagerty Drivers Club members rose 5.9% to 961,929. Policy retention was 88.2%, compared with 88.7% a year earlier, a slight slippage worth tracking. The company raised its 2026 outlook: written premium of $1,385 million to $1,397 million (previously $1,373 million to $1,385 million), total revenue of $1,325 million to $1,340 million (previously $1,280 million to $1,300 million), net income of $18 million to $30 million (previously a loss of $51 million to $41 million) and adjusted EBITDA of $270 million to $280 million (previously $236 million to $247 million). The Marketplace segment's revenue rose 47.5% to $39.7 million, helped by live auction sales and higher financing income, while private sales fell 61.5% to $44.1 million. Unrestricted cash was $298.3 million at 30 June, and total debt was about $216 million, including $88 million of back leverage supporting the collector car loan book.

The Pending Bennetts Deal Would Triple UK Scale

Hagerty's revenue decline is a mechanical effect of its Markel fronting arrangement transition, which eliminates certain commission revenue even as written premium growth shows genuine underlying demand, with its own US quota share rising from 80 per cent to 100 per cent from the start of 2026. The company's raised full-year outlook assumes Markel transitional amortisation costs keep falling as guided, and a pending acquisition of UK motorcycle insurer Bennetts, expected to roughly triple Hagerty's UK scale, carries no disclosed price and the company itself warns it may not close on time or at all.