It’s just five years since it last changed hands. But major bike insurance firm Bennetts (the number two motorcycle insurance broker in the UK) has been taken over once again, after American giant Hagerty purchased it, in a deal worth £34m.
Specialist automotive insurer Hagerty says the acquisition is expected to triple its UK revenue to approximately £25m, and is part of an international growth plan across Europe. Both brands, Hagerty and Bennetts, will “create a more integrated enthusiast platform in the United Kingdom, combining specialist insurance, live and digital auctions and community engagement across both motorcycles and enthusiast cars with meaningful cross-sell opportunities,” according to the Hagerty press release. Hagerty says that Bennetts’ ‘book’ is made up of 92% enthusiast riders and has a risk profile that closely mirrors Hagerty’s enthusiast car insurance portfolio. The deal is expected to be finalised quickly, completing in the third quarter of 2026.
McKeel Hagerty, CEO and chairman of Hagerty“Bennetts is a brand built the same way Hagerty was built, by genuine enthusiasts, for genuine enthusiasts,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO and chairman of Hagerty. “The 100,000 community members of Bennetts’ Bike Social platform, decades of trust in the UK motorcycle market and disciplined, low-frequency book make this a natural extension of everything we stand for as we look to seed our international growth in a deliberate way.”
Mark Roper, Hagerty’s UK managing director, added: “We are excited to welcome the Bennetts team into the Hagerty family. Bennetts has built something special: a brand riders trust, a community they love, and a business with momentum. Our commitment is simple: keep what makes Bennetts great, and bring the best of Hagerty alongside it, building something stronger than either of us could on our own.”
Hagerty is the fifth owner for Bennetts in just over a decade: the firm was bought by Saga in 2015, then sold to Ardonagh Group in 2020, before Ardonagh was forced to sell it by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2021 after the deal was deemed anti-competitive. Bennetts was then bought by Right Choice Holdings (later rebranded to Lucida Group) which has owned it until now.
Hagerty started in 1984 in Michigan, USA, and has since expanded to become the world’s largest provider of insurance for classic vehicles. It now operates in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK.