Earnings Call Transcript - HGTY Q1 2026

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, greetings, and welcome to the Hagerty First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jay Koval, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Jay Koval, Head of Investor Relations

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Hagerty's results for the first quarter of 2026. I'm joined this morning by McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman; and Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer. During this morning's conference call, we will refer to an accompanying presentation that is available on Hagerty's Investor Relations section of the Company's corporate website at investor.hagerty.com. Our earnings release, slides and letter to stockholders covering this period are also posted on the IR website as well as our 8-K filing. Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial metrics as described further on Slide 2 of the earnings presentation. Forward-looking statements include statements about our expected future business and financial performance and are not promises or guarantees of future performance. They are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from our expectations. For a discussion of material risks and important factors that could affect our actual results, please refer to those contained in our filings with the SEC, which are also available on our Investor Relations website and at sec.gov. The appendix of the presentation also contains reconciliations of our non-GAAP metrics to the most directly comparable GAAP measures that are further supplemented by this morning's 8-K filing. And with that, I'll turn the call over to McKeel.

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Thank you, Jay, and good morning, everyone. Spring has finally arrived in Northern Michigan, and with it comes the unmistakable sound of engines turning over after a long winter's rest. Our members have been pulling their cars out of storage, checking all the fluids and tire pressures and getting back out onto the open road. I for one drove a 1963 Corvette split window into the Hagerty headquarters this morning, and I am smiling ear-to-ear. One Team Hagerty has been right there with them and with me, ready to welcome a record number of new members in 2026 as the driving season gets underway. Let me jump to the headline. We are off to an excellent start to 2026. Written premiums increased 18% in the first quarter, ahead of our full year expectations. This marks 13 consecutive quarters of executing on our strategy to deliver compounding top line growth while making investments in our team, technology and members that should sustain high rates of growth in the years to come. As we discussed last quarter, 2026 marks the first year in our history that we control 100% of the economics on our own U.S. book of business. This structural milestone shows up clearly in our results: 42% growth in earned premium and a 77% jump in adjusted EBITDA. The GAAP presentation of revenue down 5% and our net loss of $13 million are temporarily different due to the new Markel Fronting Arrangement, but the underlying business performance has never been stronger. GAAP profits in 2026 are negatively impacted by the amortization of deferred ceding commissions paid to Markel in 2025 for policies written before January 1st. Think of it as settling the tab on the old structure. These deferred acquisition costs were $89 million in Q1 and wind down to 0 by year-end 2026. With that, let me walk through our first quarter results shown on Slide 3. We added a record 112,000 policies during what has historically been a seasonally light quarter for us. Top cars added are not surprising as they are the bread and butter for Hagerty: Mustangs and Miatas, C10 pickup trucks and Camaros. We are also seeing a rapidly growing contribution from more modern enthusiast vehicles, including German and Japanese imports, sought after by the rising generations of drivers. Our written premium growth has been and will continue to be powered by new business count, unlike the broader industry that fluxes with the cycle. PIF growth jumped 15% as our retention rate remained steady at an industry-leading 89%. Retention at that level is not an accident. It is the product of decades of delivering on our brand promise to members who genuinely love their cars and trust Hagerty to protect them. We are delivering this growth with a careful focus on maintaining high-quality underwriting. Hagerty Re's combined ratio was 87%, and we took down our reserves by $6 million in the first quarter. Our underwriting team is one of the best in the industry, and we have been strengthening the capabilities of our in-house claims team. Our sustained market share gains are impressive and indicative of the enormous B2B opportunity for us. We are diligently working on additional partnerships as well as deepening existing relationships by earning the right to ask for more business. Hagerty is uniquely positioned to help protect the carrier's classic car book of business with automotive expertise and excellent service, and we are making the necessary investments to lengthen our lead. State Farm Classic+ is a great example of a tightly integrated partnership where both parties win. We now have an accelerating growth engine with expectations for their 19,000 agents to be selling new business in 40 states by year-end. The conversion of State Farm's existing 525,000 collector car policies to the Hagerty platform is also progressing well, and we remain on pace to convert most of these members to the new Classic+ program by the end of 2027. In addition to the white space with national carriers, our independent agency channel with 50,000 agents is ripe with potential. We are investing to make it easier for these agents to do business with us, including straight-through processing and the automated tools that help them identify enthusiast vehicles already sitting in their existing books of business, likely insured as daily drivers. Our addressable market of 36 million vehicles expands every year, and we want to empower these agents to think of Hagerty as the best solution for their customers. Let me move on to something that genuinely stopped all of us in our tracks during the first quarter. In March, Broad Arrow Auctions hosted a 2-day sale at Amelia Car Week in Jacksonville, Florida, and the results were historic: $111 million in total sales, 50% higher than any prior Amelia auction and with a 92% sell-through rate. The top lot was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo that sold for over $15 million, and we set 12 pricing records. The market for modern enthusiast vehicles has never been stronger, and every car that trades hands at a Broad Arrow Auctions is a potential Hagerty insurance policy. That is the flywheel in action. Our marketplace is not only a rapidly scaling profit center, but it is also a customer acquisition machine that gets cheaper with every car sold. I want to put that into context. In just four years and through the hard work of an exceptional global team, we have become one of the world's leading collector car auction houses. When you combine Broad Arrow's deep expertise with the Hagerty brand, our global community of members and our unmatched proprietary valuation data, you get results that surprise even us. And those results tell us something important about the health of our market. International demand for the finest cars is strong. Values on great cars continue to appreciate. Buyers from 23 countries do not show up to an auction in Northern Florida unless they trust Hagerty and Broad Arrow. That is all good news for Broad Arrow's transaction revenue. It is also good news for Hagerty Re as insured values rise, so too written premiums. Approximately 20% of our per policy premium growth over the last 15 years has come from our members voluntarily choosing to insure their appreciating vehicles for higher guaranteed values. Our customers want their coverage to grow because their cars are worth more. That alignment between asset appreciation and insurance economics is absent from the standard auto market where vehicles tend to devalue, and it is a structural advantage that compounds every year for Hagerty, augmenting our PIF-driven written premium gains. Over the same 15-year period since 2010, our regulatory rate increases for Hagerty Re have averaged only 1.5% per year, bolstering our consumer-friendly value proposition. We saw robust auction demand continue at the Porsche Air/Water auction in April with sales up 30% year-over-year and a sell-through rate of 84%. And in May, Broad Arrow will once again serve as the official auction partner of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este with the BMW Group on Lake Como, Italy. This will be our second year at Villa d'Este, widely considered to be one of the most prestigious Concours events in the world, and we expect to build on last year's inaugural event as Broad Arrow is increasingly recognized as the trusted brand in auctions across major European markets. So in summary, our first quarter results were not only ahead of expectations, but they were far and away the best first quarter we have ever delivered. While it is only May, we are highly encouraged by how we are tracking towards our full year outlook. With that, let me turn it over to Patrick to walk through the financial details.

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, McKeel, and good morning, everyone. Before I begin, let me reiterate the headline. The underlying business is performing very well. Written premiums increased 18% ahead of full year expectations with record new member additions. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 77% to $85 million, including a $6 million reserve reduction due to favorable prior year development. And Hagerty Re's combined ratio was 87%. This is what a healthy compounding specialty insurer looks like when firing on all cylinders. As McKeel mentioned, the GAAP presentation this year requires a brief reminder of what we shared on our fourth quarter call. Starting January 1 of this year, Hagerty Re assumed 100% of the underwriting risk on our U.S. book, a great economic outcome for us given the bump in underwriting profits and investment income. Under the new structure, the MGA commission revenue and the associated ceding commission expense that previously appeared gross on our P&L now eliminate against each other in consolidation, i.e., they net to 0. This is why reported revenue declined 5%, even though written premiums grew 18%. Additionally, there are $89 million of costs in the first quarter from the amortization of deferred ceding commissions for pre-2026 policies that result in a GAAP net loss of $13 million. This charge burns off entirely by year-end. With that, let me walk through the financials shown on Slide 6 and 7. Written premium in the first quarter was $289 million, up 18% versus the prior year period. This is ahead of our full year guidance of 15% to 16%, an acceleration from last year's 14% growth driven by our omnichannel approach, combined with 89% retention. Earned premium jumped 42% to $240 million, reflecting the 100% quota share retention in our U.S. book of business plus written premium growth. This is the structural improvement in our reinsurance economics that we have been working towards for a decade as we evolve our partnership with Markel. Commission and fee revenue in the quarter was $16 million. As I noted, this line is no longer comparable to prior periods given the elimination of Markel-related commissions. As State Farm conversions continue during the next two years, commission revenue inflects upwards. And unlike the prior Markel commission structure, the State Farm MGA fees carry no offsetting ceding commission expense, falling through more cleanly. Marketplace revenue was $26 million, down 12%. We delivered record auction results at Amelia this year, but had lower inventory sales as we compared against last year's one-time sale at the Academy of Art University. Amelia cemented our position as a leader in the high-end auction market. We are investing significantly to position Hagerty as the undisputed global leader in both live and online sales. Membership and other revenue was $22 million, reflecting steady growth in Hagerty Drivers Club, paid memberships and ancillary revenue streams. Net investment income came in at $10 million, benefiting from our now larger investment portfolio at Hagerty Re that enjoys steady returns with low volatility, thanks to our focus on high-quality fixed income investments. Moving on to expenses. Let's start with losses. In 2025 and into 2026, we are seeing declines in frequency and favorable development from prior years that allowed us to reduce reserves by $6 million in the first quarter. Hagerty Re's loss ratio was 38%, resulting in a combined ratio of approximately 87%. We deliver high rates of written premium growth with excellent underwriting discipline, thanks to more than 40 years of proprietary data on 40,000 distinct makes and models, increased efficiency of acquiring and serving members and selecting members who take exceptional care of their toys. With the new Markel Fronting Arrangement, we have also adjusted our presentation of our expenses to allow investors to track and model our core insurance operations the way other insurance companies disclose their results. We will report the balance of the year consistently with our first quarter disclosures. After adjusting for the amortization of the ceding commission for policies issued in 2025, the underlying business showed significantly improved profitability, which can be seen in our adjusted EBITDA of $85 million. We believe that adjusted EBITDA is the best metric to focus on as it reflects the true operating momentum of our differentiated business strategy. We are growing quickly and efficiently converting premium growth into cash flow. I would point out that operating cash flow of $16 million was lower than the prior year's $44 million. With the new Markel Fronting Arrangement, we are paying claims directly, while under the prior structure, Markel paid the claims and we reimbursed Markel with a lag. So in Q1 of 2026, we made both the direct payments and the reimbursement for Q4 2025 claims of approximately $65 million. This normalizes during the balance of 2026. Adjusted for this doubling up of payments, operating cash flow increased roughly in line with adjusted EBITDA growth in the quarter. First quarter loss before taxes was $21 million and includes $89 million of deferred acquisition costs. First quarter net loss was $13 million and net loss attributable to Class A common shareholders was $7 million. GAAP basic and diluted loss per share was $0.06 for the quarter based on 101 million weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding. Adjusted diluted loss per share, defined as adjusted net loss divided by 361 million fully diluted shares was $0.04 for the quarter. We ended the quarter with $212 million in unrestricted cash, total investments of more than $1.1 billion and total debt of $229 million, which includes $110 million of back leverage for Broad Arrow's portfolio of loans. Given the strength in our first quarter results and momentum as we head into the summer driving season, we are reaffirming our full year 2026 guidance and are trending toward the high end of these ranges. This includes anticipated written premium growth of 15% to 16%, adjusted EBITDA of $236 million to $247 million and a GAAP net loss of $41 million to $51 million. As has been our practice in prior years, we will revisit our full year outlook on the second quarter call, but we are increasingly confident in our ability to deliver great 2026 results for shareholders. Looking forward a year, 2027 should be a more normalized year for Hagerty's P&L post-2026 complexity, where revenue growth more closely tracks written premium growth. We anticipate another year of mid-teens growth in written premium while we continue to make multi-year investments in member growth and other initiatives. These include increased capabilities around the Markel Fronting Arrangement, technology investments in our B2B distribution, build-out of our product and Broad Arrow teams, enhancements to our digital marketplace as well as expansion of our special investigation and material damage units. Early indications point to these being high-return investments that will fuel member LTV in the years to come. That wraps up our prepared remarks. Operator, we can open the line for questions.

Operator, Operator

We will take the first question from the line of Pablo Singzon from JPMorgan.

Pablo Singzon, Analyst, JPMorgan

Is there any seasonality considered for EBITDA through the balance of the year? It seems to me or as you pointed out, Patrick, right, it seems to me that at least through 1Q, you're running above the full year guide, and I'd expect revenues to increase through the balance of the year. So I'm just not sure if there's any offsets maybe I don't know if you're considering GAAP in the third quarter or some pick up in expenses that might sort of derail the simplistic math of just annualizing the 1Q number.

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Yes. I think business is seasonal, and so the seasonal pattern has not changed. So you should always consider that in your modeling. And then we are investing in the business, and we talked about that on the last earnings call. Some of that ramps up over the course of the year. And we have the normal dynamic of inevitably in the first quarter, you don't end up filling all the headcount slots that are open. It just takes a little longer than expected. So we would expect to see some ramp-up of expenses embedded in the full year guidance. So I wouldn't just annualize the first quarter. Hopefully, that's helpful and gives you a direction.

Pablo Singzon, Analyst, JPMorgan

Yes. And then the second question I had, just a broader topic, right? So competition in personal auto is increasing. I'm wondering how that's affecting dynamics in your core classic car insurance business. And then maybe just to tack on something to that, like how is the current environment affecting your thinking about the rollout of Enthusiast Plus?

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Thanks, Pablo. As you may recall, we've discussed this in some of our previous calls that when rates have gone up, for example, in standard auto, it tends to create shopping behavior that we actually benefit from. As you know, we're in a different kind of cycle now with standard auto where standard auto carriers are holding pretty steady right now, if not down. But we're seeing very strong year-over-year PIF growth in the core business, not just because of the additional new partnership accounts that are coming in from State Farm and others. In this case, the flywheel effect of the business is holding our momentum strongly into this year, and we're not in any way negatively affected by the fact that the standard auto carriers are in a lateral moving year from a rate standpoint.

Operator, Operator

We take the next question from the line of Michael Phillips from Oppenheimer.

Michael Phillips, Analyst, Oppenheimer

You've talked a bit in recent calls about your European expansion for the auction business. Given the flywheel in your overall business, can you talk about and remind us of your appetite for international expansion in the insurance business?

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Yes. Thanks, Michael. It's a topic we've discussed for years. We've had an international business for over 20 years; our first entry outside the country was actually in the U.K. We still have that business. It's growing. It's doing well. I think the order of things that we've really discovered by unlocking these very successful sales in Europe with Broad Arrow is helping us to understand the market differently than just sort of starting with insurance and then deciding whether membership is added and then thinking about marketplace later. The order of things for us is first to understand the market with these European auctions, get that kind of sales team in place, understand the event environment and then decide whether insurance is something that needs to be added on the back. When we started our U.K. business back in the day, the U.K. was a good place to be able to operate throughout Europe selling insurance. Our MGA structure over there allowed us to consider writing directly into the European continent without having to create an additional entity. After Brexit, that became more difficult. So right now, we are still just operating in the U.K. We write a little bit of some larger collection business in Europe, but we're looking at opportunities. For now, we're focusing on rounding out that auction schedule on the continent.

Michael Phillips, Analyst, Oppenheimer

Okay. I was hoping you could expand a little more on the strengthening of your in-house claims team: what's happening there, why it's happening, how much of it is related to the change in your structure this quarter, and how much is related to the expansion into a more enthusiast market. Can you explain how the in-house claims team ties into the broader changes in your overall business?

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

I'll take the high end of it and Patrick can follow up. We've always done claims in-house. It was a real differentiator for us even when we were operating as an MGA. Now, having 100% of your risk, you want to be paying attention to every dollar you spend on claims while maintaining a very high level of NPS, customer satisfaction and overall claim service rates. Even though this is a low-frequency claim business, the bigger you get, the more claims you'll have. We decided we needed to invest to upgrade that team. We have some incredible leadership on the claims side who bring the best of big auto industry claims expertise but understand that repairing the types of vehicles we insure in our core book is very different than repairing a standard auto where you can bolt on a brand-new part. Many times repairing a vintage car takes time: you have to find the right shop, sometimes fabricate parts or source parts from a variety of places. We have teams of people who help find those parts, which is very different than a standard repair shop. Structurally, we're bringing best practices from standard auto claims around turnaround times and containment while maintaining the high quality of work our customers expect. You want to pay fast, but you don't want to rush the repair to the point they're concerned about the quality. That's the structural piece. Patrick, anything to add on the math?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, it's meaningful. The claims organization has changed the mix: we've increased the number of claims dealt with in-house versus using independent adjusters. Every time they've increased that baseline, they've proven the return is compelling. We decide to increase the baseline again. That return comes from processing in-house: velocity increases, customer service is better and the ultimate economic outcomes improve. Overall frequency and severity trends have been positive, and we think we have more tailwinds because of this strategic decision to invest in that capability. We view it as a differentiator because these cars are different, they need a different level of expertise, and it's driving real value.

Operator, Operator

We take the next question from the line of Elyse Greenspan from Wells Fargo.

Elyse Greenspan, Analyst, Wells Fargo

My first question is just on PIF. How should we just think about seasonality during the year? I think in some years Q1 tends to be the lowest growth quarter of the year. Would you expect to see similar trends this year as we think about PIF growing during the year?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Last year, this year, next year, we do have the impact of the State Farm conversions. That is driving a meaningful increase in PIF and is not seasonal; it's based upon the rollout schedule with our partners at State Farm. You have to put that aside from a seasonality perspective. We're seeing the same trends we typically see: the first quarter is typically a lower quarter for PIF growth. We ramp up starting in April into May and through the summer months, and you see it ramp down again in the fourth quarter. We're seeing that same underlying dynamic, but right now we're also seeing very attractive, healthy growth in the traditional core business.

Elyse Greenspan, Analyst, Wells Fargo

And then you typically update full year guidance after Q2, but you did say you're trending towards the high end of the ranges. It does seem like based on the Q1 results that you're trending favorable to most items. Anything we should think about reversing? I'm more interested in thinking about adjusted EBITDA and written premium growth, but really any components of guidance? Or are you being somewhat conservative and waiting to update with Q2?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

It's just waiting to provide the update. That's our approach. We've been consistent. We conclude that not enough chapters of the books have been written at the end of three months. We'll do our first update after the second quarter.

Elyse Greenspan, Analyst, Wells Fargo

Okay. And you said with State Farm that you would be active in 40 states by the end of the year? Would you expect to add the additional states in 2027 to be at full capacity? Is that how to think about that?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Pretty much. There could be states that stretch a little beyond that because they're more challenging from a regulatory standpoint. By the end of 2027, we should be selling in almost all the states, and then we'll still have a little tail in terms of conversions. There's always that lag where we sell new business first, make sure everything is working and then start the conversion process.

Operator, Operator

We take the next question from the line of Charles Peters from Raymond James.

Charles Peters, Analyst, Raymond James

McKeel, in your opening comments, it's quite enviable your description of driving the Corvette into the office this morning. I recently leased a Tesla Model Y. I know this isn't your classic car addressable market, but I find the experience shockingly positive. As a car enthusiast, what do you think of these new electric cars with self-driving features?

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

First of all, thank you. Yes, it was a super fun drive with the Corvette. I'm a huge fan of electric cars. Some car people view it as a dogmatic war, but I don't. I think we're going to have more and more electric cars. I own an electric car; I have a Porsche Taycan and I'm a big fan. They're simple, fast and quiet. I think we'll be insuring more of them in the years to come. There's a shifting process: even the cars we insure today were daily drivers some number of years ago. There's a process where people decide which cars survive as enthusiast vehicles. There is no doubt we will be insuring Teslas and other electrics in the future. On self-driving, I took my first Waymo ride a couple weeks ago and I thought it was really cool. I think we'll have more self-driving cars, but there will also be human-driven cars. As the technology becomes safer, we'll see more adoption, especially outside of dense cities. We're the company built by drivers for drivers, and we'll advocate for those people while recognizing we'll be surrounded by self-driving cars.

Charles Peters, Analyst, Raymond James

Great. I know it was a little off topic, but not really. It's a great product. It's not in your classic car sweet spot yet, but I'm sure it will be at some point. I know you spent time in your prepared remarks and the follow-up talking about prior year development. Can you revisit that and walk us through the source? Is it lower severity? And as you look forward how are reserves seasoning?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Sure. The prior year development was about a $6.5 million reduction in Q1. In the fourth quarter we had about a $20.5 million reduction. This is a continuation. The $6.5 million was predominantly the 2025 accident year, and we're starting to see that development into the fourth quarter which influenced what we did there. It matured and continued to mature in a very attractive way. From a severity standpoint, we're in a good spot and continue to be. We've discussed frequency before and what we're doing in terms of claims outcomes. Looking at the historical book of losses as those mature, and layering in what we've done on claims, it adds up to being in a better position. That's our market-to-market as of right now for prior years. We'll see how the balance of the year unfolds, but we think we're in a solid position.

Operator, Operator

We take the next question from the line of Mark Hughes from Truist Securities.

Mark Hughes, Analyst, Truist Securities

Patrick, you mentioned you probably see another year of mid-teens growth in written premium next year. Any early thoughts on EBITDA growth when we think about expenses that may be ramping up or being leveraged? How should we think about EBITDA in 2027?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

No, no early thoughts on that. We're going to stick to focusing on the prompt year in terms of guidance. What came through in those comments is this is a business that continues to grow at a credible mid-teens rate, and it's a business where we've been able to expand margins over time. It's also a business we're choosing to invest in to deliver growth not just for next year or the next two years, but for the long haul. That's a balance we constantly strike.

Mark Hughes, Analyst, Truist Securities

McKeel, you talked about higher guaranteed values being a benefit over time. Is there a specific number to throw at that? Is that a low single-digit tailwind? How should we think about how much that helps year-to-year?

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

What's interesting when we go back and look at dips in the market — for example, the dot-com crisis, the great financial crisis — we've seen certain cars hold steady or appreciate. Over the last 15 years sports and racing cars — Ferraris, Porsches and similar — showed the greatest year-over-year increases while the rest of the book held steady. That differs from a standard daily driver book that depreciates over time. Right now we're seeing modern supercars and hypercars in the Broad Arrow business lifting values. These are cars from the '90s and 2000s that are being purchased at higher price points by new entrants and older well-heeled collectors. It's a double effect: new money paying more and established collectors stepping up. Generally, it's single-digit steady growth on those types of cars, but you get wild examples like the 2003 Enzo selling for $15 million when it was a $3–5 million car a few years ago.

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Mark, we've looked at all that over the last 15 years. On average it ends up being low single digits. In those 15 years, there are only two years where it ticked down a little, and then some years it's mid- or high-single digits. In the long run it ends up being that low single-digit number.

Mark Hughes, Analyst, Truist Securities

Very good. Well, I'll tell my own story: I parked in church next to a Camaro Z28 and it looked sort of rough, but it was still in pretty good shape. When he pulled out it had the license plate and peak auto is intriguing and also since I had that car when it was new, I felt a little antique as you drove away. So anyway.

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

We don't call that a beer. We say it has patina.

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

It has patina. My '63 Corvette was a little slow cranking when I was turning it over, and then I realized I'm a couple of years older than I was. That's all right.

Operator, Operator

We take the next question from the line of Michael Zaremski from BMO Capital Markets.

Michael Zaremski, Analyst, BMO Capital Markets

Maybe just back to the excellent PIF growth and revenue growth question. It sounds like if you agree that underlying seasonality did take place, the overlay was the State Farm conversions. I'm trying to help dimension the impact State Farm's having. Is that a fair way to think about it?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, that's accurate.

Michael Zaremski, Analyst, BMO Capital Markets

Okay. Great. I can see there was a $50 million in proceeds from a loss portfolio transfer in the quarter. Any color on what happened there, any implications for capital return, etc.?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

So that's part of the overall transition of our relationship with Markel. For prior periods, we did a loss portfolio transfer; they transferred $50 million and we've assumed those liabilities. Keep in mind this is about 20% or so because in some prior years we retained a little less risk. It represents risk we already had; we're just topping it up for prior periods. We received that cash and put the liability on our balance sheet. You'll see that we're assuming there's a gain associated with that, and that gain amortizes into the income statement over the expected settlement of those claims, which in aggregate will take around four years, but it's front-end loaded. That will flow through. This is not a risk transfer transaction; it's a financing. So it hits the other income and expense line item.

Operator, Operator

We take the last question from the line of Tommy McJoynt from KBW.

Tommy McJoynt-Griffith, Analyst, KBW

When we look at the mid-teens premium growth in the guide this year, is there a roughly even split between the core legacy Hagerty business, State Farm and Enthusiast Plus? Or is one contributing more than the others?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

We're not going to break it down by those lines. What I will say is 2026 and 2027 are going to be big years for State Farm conversion. Between new and converted, we're already in excess of 100,000 policies. In total it's 500-plus thousand policies, and we're in the thick of it. That is a meaningful driver this quarter and will be this year and next year. The core business continues to grow at consistent rates, and E-Plus is still very, very small right now, so it's not much of a driver.

Tommy McJoynt-Griffith, Analyst, KBW

Got it. Switching gears: as large national carriers start to file for rate decreases in some instances, that probably doesn't impact the core Hagerty business. Does it impact your outlook for Enthusiast Plus, where there's more overlap with daily drivers?

Patrick McClymont, Chief Financial Officer

You're right that for the core business our rate increases have been low single digits over the long haul, and we've continued that. As for E-Plus, it's hard to say because it is still early. E-Plus is in one state, Colorado, and we're learning from the rollout. We'll learn in other states about the right pricing approach and profitability. The current market isn't heavily influencing our plans there given where we are in the rollout.

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we conclude the question-and-answer session. I now hand the conference over to McKeel Hagerty for closing comments.

McKeel Hagerty, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Thank you, operator, and thanks to everyone on the call for your continued support. I want to close today by coming back to where we started this morning. Hagerty has never been better positioned to serve the community of auto enthusiasts who trust us to protect what they love. We have a fast-growing recurring revenue model built around specialty insurance that delivers combined ratios of 90% year after year. Our high-quality underwriting and rapidly scaling business allows us to price at a meaningful discount to traditional carriers. What we are building at Hagerty is incredibly unique in the insurance world, making us the partner of choice because there is no one else who can do what we do for their customers, helping retention and protecting their bundled business. We also have a fast-growing auction and marketplace business that did not exist four years ago and is setting world records all over the world. And we have a membership community approaching 1 million paid members that love our member-centric products and services. Thank you, One Team Hagerty. The results we deliver are the product of your passion, excellence and hard work, and I cannot wait to see what this amazing team can accomplish over the coming years as we aim to double PIF count to 3 million by 2030. We look forward to seeing some of you at Villa d'Este in May, and we hope many of you will join us at our annual investor event in Greenwich, Connecticut on May 29, where we will share an update on our progress towards delivering compounding profit growth for our shareholders. Invites will follow, but please reach out to us for more details to our SVP. Until then, never stop driving.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the conference of Hagerty has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.