Frank Hagerty, a Detroit native who co-founded
one of the nation’s largest collector car and boat insurers, died
Tuesday at his home in Traverse City. He was 79.
Hagerty
and his wife, Louise, founded the Hagerty Insurance Agency, LLC, in
Traverse City in 1984. Under the leadership of Frank Hagerty and the
couple’s son, McKeel Hagerty, now CEO, the company grew from a small
insurer into an international business that also publishes industry
magazines and price guides.
Frank Hagerty
grew up in Detroit loving Ford cars. He graduated from Cooley High
School and earned a business degree from Michigan State University in
1955. That same year, he married and he and his wife opened a general
insurance agency in 1956. They eventually sold it and opened a
specialized company to insure collector cars and boats in 1984.
Frank Hagerty’s first classic car was a 1956
Ford Thunderbird, which he bought from a junkyard for $225. The car
remains in the family today.
Larry Moss,
chairman of the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s in
Plymouth, called Mr. Hagerty a “visionary” in the field of car collector
insurance.
The insurance company is a sponsor of the yearly car show.
He recently rediscovered a 1948 Ford Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile
and brought it home to northern Michigan. The car, Dune Car #9, took
First Place in the beach car class at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours
d'Elegance in Florida this month. Frank rode in the car to the award
platform.
In 2013, Fortune Magazine named
Hagerty one of the top 50 small or medium businesses to work for in the
country. Today the company has more than 600 employees, a UK office and
plans to double its work force in the coming years.
photo credit: copyright 2014 The Detroit News
edited text credit: copyright Mike Martinez / The Detroit News
