Is Ocean Harbor Good for Auto Insurance?
Last Updated on October 3, 2021
Ocean Harbor is a property and casualty insurance company founded in 1986.
The company is best-known for selling auto and home insurance policies in the Northeast, Southeast, Mid Atlantic, and Gulf states.
Ocean Harbor was founded with the goal of offering coverage in areas where there’s a need – including coastal areas where major carriers reduce their exposure.
Is Ocean Harbor good for auto insurance? Should you buy car insurance through Ocean Harbor? Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Ocean Harbor and its auto insurance products and services.
Table of Contents:
- What is Ocean Harbor Insurance?
- Ocean Harbor Insurance Products & Services
- How Does Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Work?
- What Makes Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Unique?
- Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Discounts
- Ocean Harbor Insurance Reviews & Ratings
What is Ocean Harbor Insurance?
Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company consists of a group of five insurance companies. The majority of the company’s business comes from homeowners and auto insurance policies.
Today, Ocean Harbor Insurance serves customers in more than a dozen states, writing over $300 million of combined premiums. The company is one of the top 100 writers of homeowners insurance premiums in the United States.
Ocean Harbor’s homeowner’s insurance business is primarily located in Hawaii, Florida, New York, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. The company also has a small but growing customer base in South Carolina, Texas, and Mississippi.
Ocean Harbor’s car insurance business, meanwhile, is concentrated mostly in Florida. Ocean Harbor has more car insurance policyholders in Florida than in any other state, although the company has small numbers of auto insurance policyholders in other states, including California.
Ocean Harbor is a subsidiary of Pearl Holding Group, which has two major insurers under its umbrella: Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company and Equity Insurance Company. Pearl Holding Group is based in Sunrise, Florida.
Ocean Harbor Insurance is based in Tallahassee, Florida, although the company maintains satellite offices and mailing addresses in most of its covered states.
| Ocean Harbor Insurance Contact Info | |
|---|---|
| Address | 2549 Barrington Cir Tallahassee, FL 32308 |
| Phone Number | 1-800-222-3077 |
| Website URL | https://www.oceanharbor-ins.com/ |
Ocean Harbor Insurance Products & Services
Ocean Harbor sells property and casualty insurance to coastal communities (and several inland communities) across the United States, serving over a dozen states across the country.
Ocean Harbor’s insurance products and services include:
Auto Insurance: You can buy minimum liability insurance through Ocean Harbor, full coverage car insurance, uninsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection, and other car insurance coverages. The majority of Ocean Harbor’s car insurance customers are located in Florida, although the company insures policyholders in a small number of other states.
Homeowners Insurance: Ocean Harbor offers homeowners insurance policies for different types of properties. You can buy a condo unit owners policy, dwelling fire policy, manufactured homeowners policy, and other coverages through Ocean Harbor.
How Does Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Work?
Ocean Harbor offers auto insurance in several states, although most of the company’s auto insurance policyholders reside in Florida or California.
Whether you live in Florida, California, or any other state, you can buy the following coverage options through Ocean Harbor:
Liability Coverage: Ocean Harbor will cover your legal liability for bodily injury to others (via bodily injury liability coverage) or damage to their property (via property damage liability coverage). Most states require drivers to carry both coverages, although Florida only requires property damage liability coverage.
Personal Injury Protection: Florida is one of the few states that require drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. Florida’s PIP coverage protects you, your family members, and certain others for bodily injuries resulting from auto accidents, regardless of fault. Ocean Harbor will pay up to 80% of medical expenses, 60% of loss of income, and certain other compensation after a covered accident.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Nearly 1 in 7 drivers in Florida are uninsured. Ocean Harbor offers uninsured motorist coverage to cover bodily injuries to you, resident relatives, and certain others resulting from the negligence of others. If the at-fault driver has no liability insurance or insufficient liability insurance limits to pay for damages from the accident, then you can make a claim through Ocean Harbor’s uninsured motorist coverage.
Collision Coverage: Part of full coverage car insurance, collision coverage covers damage to your vehicle resulting from an impact with another object. It’s optional in all states, although most drivers carry it for added protection.
Comprehensive Coverage: Comprehensive coverage is also optional in all states, although most drivers carry it for peace of mind. Comprehensive coverage covers damage that occurs to your vehicle outside of an accident, including fire damage, theft, vandalism, and hail damage.
What Makes Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Unique?
Ocean Harbor isn’t as well-known as many of its larger auto insurance competitors in Florida and other states. So why pick Ocean Harbor? Here are some of the features that make it unique:
Affordable Prices: Many people find that Ocean Harbor’s car insurance prices are cheaper than competing companies. Florida has some of the highest insurance prices in the United States, and Ocean Harbor may be able to offer a discount on car insurance compared to competing providers in the state.
Available in Florida and California: Ocean Harbor appears to serve customers in over a dozen states, although most of the company’s car insurance customers are located in Florida and California. The majority of Ocean Harbor’s car insurance customers are in Florida.
Focus on Coastal Populations: A significant number of Ocean Harbor policyholders live close to the ocean. Most of Ocean Harbor’s auto insurance policyholders live in Florida, for example. As the name suggests, Ocean Harbor mostly focuses on covering customers who live close to the ocean.
Homeowners Insurance in Underserved Areas: Ocean Harbor was founded with the goal of serving coastal communities of the United States, including communities where major carriers were reducing their customer base. Today, Ocean Harbor sells homeowners insurance in Hawaii, Florida, New York, Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, California, and a small number of other states. If you live near the water in any of these states and are looking for affordable insurance, then Ocean Harbor may be one of your better options.
Locally Based in Florida: Ocean Harbor was founded in Tallahassee, Florida in 1986, and the company continues to be headquartered in Tallahassee to this day.
Ocean Harbor Auto Insurance Discounts
Ocean Harbor does not disclose available discounts upfront. However, the company maintains a range of discounts similar to other insurance companies, including:
Good Driver Discounts: If you have a proven history of safe driving, then you could get a discount with Ocean Harbor.
Multi-Policy, Multi-Vehicle, and Bundling Discounts: If you bundle multiple policies, vehicles, or coverages under one policy, then you receive a discount across all policies. Homeowners in Florida who insure their vehicles and homes with Ocean Harbor, for example, could save a significant amount.
Homeowners Discount: People who own a home may be eligible for an additional discount with Ocean Harbor in certain states.
Proof of Prior Insurance Discount: If you have proof of carrying a previous car insurance policy, then that makes you less risky to insure, and Ocean Harbor could give you a discount.
Other Discounts: Ocean Harbor offers different discounts in different states. Other discounts available with Ocean Harbor include customer loyalty, accident-free, defensive driving course, good student, military, and safe vehicle discounts, among others.
Ocean Harbor Insurance Reviews & Ratings: What Do Customers Have to Say?
Ocean Harbor has a B (Fair) rating from A.M. Best. A.M. Best assesses the financial stability of insurance companies across the United States. Insurers with a strong balance of assets and liabilities score higher. Most major insurers in the United States have an A- rating or higher, so Ocean Harbor’s ‘B’ rating is weaker than many competitors. Ocean Harbor also has a long-term issuer credit rating of bb+.
A.M. Best has rated the company since 2003. In 2012, A.M. Best downgraded Ocean Harbor’s rating from B+ (Good) to B (Fair), and the company has maintained that rating ever since.
Ocean Harbor, does, however, have an A’ (A Prime) rating from Demotech, Inc, indicating the company has an “Unsurpassed” financial stability rating. Although not as well-known as A.M. Best, Demotech also assesses the financial strength of insurance companies across the United States by comparing their assets and liabilities.
Ocean Harbor has dismal ratings on review aggregator websites, although the company also has fewer reviews than many of its larger competitors, reviewers have left largely negative feedback for the company. WalletHub has an average rating of 1.0 star out of 5 with 60+ reviews, for example, while Clearsurance has an average rating of 2.12 stars out of 5 with 20+ reviews. Across both websites, customers complain about customer service issues and long claims processing times.
Auto industry watchdog Motor1.com, meanwhile, awarded Ocean Harbor Insurance an overall rating of 2 stars out of 5. The company praised Ocean Harbor for its financial strength rating of B from A.M. Best and its affordable plans. However, the company disliked the limited coverage options, negative reviews, and inefficient quote and claims processing.
On the Better Business Bureau, Ocean Harbor has a rating of ‘F’ and an average rating of 1.12 stars out of 5.
Overall, Ocean Harbor has a very poor online presence, and most customers seem to have had a negative experience with the company overall.
Final Word on Ocean Harbor Insurance
Ocean Harbor is a property and casualty insurance company based in Tallahassee, Florida. Backed by 35+ years of experience, Ocean Harbor mostly sells car insurance to drivers in Florida, where the company has cheaper prices (and poorer reviews) than many of its larger competitors.
To learn more about Ocean Harbor or to request a quote online today, visit OceanHarbor-Ins.com.
