Nationwide Insurance will partner with Hagerty to provide aclassic car insurance policy through Nationwide agents.

The policy, according to Kurt Ely, vice president of strategicpartnerships at Nationwide, is written on Nationwide paper, but itessentially mirrors Hagerty's Guaranteed Value policy with respectto terms and conditions. “We did not go out and build a newproduct,” Ely says. “We are partnering with Hagerty to offer thatproduct.”

Hagerty, meanwhile, will provide services to support thepolicy.

McKeel Hagerty, president and CEO of Hagerty, says that,specifically, Hagerty will handle sales, marketing and serviceassistance for Nationwide agents to familiarize those agents withhow to communicate effectively with classic-car owners. “Open thatdoor, if you will,” he says.

He adds that because the Nationwide policy mirrors Hagerty's,Hagerty will handle pricing, underwriting and claims.

“Claims is a critical component to it,” says Hagerty, notingthat Hagerty's claims department is built to handle classic cars.He says, for example, partial-damage situations can be complex forcollector cars with respect to finding the right replacement parts,an area in which Hagerty has expertise.

A statement from the companies notes that, aside from Hagerty'sclaims service, Nationwide Classic Car Insurance customers receiveflatbed roadside assistance, the Hagerty Price Guide and valuationexpertise and a subscription to Hagerty Classic Car magazine.

Hagerty says that, essentially, the company will act as an MGUin the arrangement, while also performing some TPA services on theside.

Ely says Nationwide had provided a product for customers withclassic automobiles in the past, but it was an accompaniment to theinsurer's standard-auto policy designed to “accommodate some of ourmembers and the vehicles they owned.” That policy, he says, was“not really meeting the needs of the market we wanted to bein.”

As demand grew, “that's when we started looking into how wecould meet that need and what's the best method to do that,” heexplains.

In a statement, Ely says, “Our friends at Hagerty know classiccar insurance better than anyone else, but more importantly, theyshare the same commitment to their customers as we do. Thosefactors made the partnership a natural fit.”

Hagerty, meanwhile, says the partnership opens a new world forhis company with respect to potential clients. RegardingNationwide, Hagerty says, “We've been so impressed with them to beopen to this [partnership] and to make it happen.”

He says Hagerty works with other carriers and brokers who wantaccess to a specific Hagerty program, but the company has neverbefore entered an arrangement where a partner writes the policy onits own paper. “That is currently the unique feature about theNationwide relationship,” he says.

Nationwide says its Classic Car Insurance can cover:

• Antique and vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles.
• Modified vehicles.
• Vehicles under restoration.
• Trailers, military vehicles and tractors.