INSURANCE - CAR INSURANCE

Ocean Harbor Insurance Review: Is Cheap Car Insurance a Smart Move? [2024]

Updated June 9, 2023
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Ocean Harbor Insurance can offer cheap car insurance rates in Florida and California. But the best car insurance companies might provide a better experience.

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Going with a small insurance company like Ocean Harbor Insurance could help you find an inexpensive car insurance policy. But how does the coverage and company experience compare with major insurance providers?

In this Ocean Harbor Insurance review, you’ll learn about how this insurer works and how to get an insurance quote. This will help you understand whether Ocean Harbor would be a good fit for you or whether you should compare quotes, coverage, and benefits from other insurance companies.

In this Ocean Harbor Insurance review

Ocean Harbor Insurance: Is it worth it?

Pros

Cons

  • Minimum required insurance is potentially less expensive compared to larger carriers
  • Ocean Harbor agents may be able to offer additional policy discounts
  • Potential savings if you bundle an auto and home insurance policy
  • Auto coverage is only available in California and Florida
  • You have to call an agent to get a quote or to know what discounts you qualify for
  • 1.08 out of 5 rating from the Better Business Bureau
Our verdict: Ocean Harbor Insurance is primarily known for its home insurance offerings, especially in coastal areas. It offers auto insurance to drivers in California and Florida through independent agents and may be a good option if you are searching for minimum insurance at the lowest price.

What is Ocean Harbor Insurance?

The Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company was founded in 1986 as an insurance company focused on providing coverage to people in primarily coastal areas along the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Gulf States. This includes New York, South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and California. Ocean Harbor offers both home and auto insurance policies, but policy availability varies by state.

As a whole, the Ocean Harbor Insurance Group consists of five insurance companies that do business in more than a dozen states. The group writes over $300 million of combined premiums and is seen as a top 100 U.S. writer of homeowners insurance. Coverage for homeowners is a large part of the business, but car insurance is a focus as well, especially in Florida and California.

If you’re considering getting an Ocean Harbor car insurance policy in Florida, you’re likely to work with Pearl Holding Group. This company represents Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance in Florida and has been operating in the Sunshine State since 1991. It advertises competitive insurance rates and excellent customer service.

Ocean Harbor insurance logo

Year founded 1986
Types of coverage
  • Bodily injury liability
  • Property damage liability
  • Personal injury protection (PIP)
  • Uninsured motorist
  • Collision
  • Comprehensive
Discounts available Ocean Harbor Insurance does not list available discounts on its website, but the agents who represent Ocean Harbor Insurance may offer discounts when providing a quote.
Where you can use it You can view Ocean Harbor Insurances’ product offerings on their website, but you must contact one of their agents to get a quote or file a claim.
Customer support

Claim Support:

Florida

  • Mail: Pearl Holding Group, P.O. Box 452799, Sunrise, FL 33345
  • Phone: (954) 587-2299 Ext 203
  • Fax: (954) 905-2005
  • Email: claimmaterials@pearlholding.com
  • Website: pearlholding.com

California

  • Mail: AFA Claim Services, P.O. Box 25329, Anaheim, CA 92825
  • Phone: (714) 912-2484
  • Fax: (714) 509-5606
  • Email: claims@afaclaims.com
  • Website: afaclaims.com
Availability Auto insurance is only available in California and Florida

What insurance does Ocean Harbor Insurance offer?

Ocean Harbor Insurance offers multiple types of insurance coverage, including car insurance. You may not have heard of Ocean Harbor car insurance policies, though, unless you live in a state where they’re available. Currently, Ocean Harbor works with independent insurance agents in Florida and California to offer car insurance.

Liability insurance is often part of the minimum amount of car insurance required in most states, including Florida and California. But car insurance policies could include more coverage than liability insurance alone. You might consider different car insurance types depending on your neighborhood, weather conditions, and financial situation.

Here are the types of car insurance Ocean Harbor offers:

  • Collision: Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle due to car accidents involving another object. This could include a collision with another vehicle or an object like a tree or telephone pole.
  • Comprehensive: Covers damage to your vehicle not related to collisions. Comprehensive insurance often includes coverage of storms and other natural disasters, vandalism, theft, damage caused by animals, and more.
  • Liability coverage: Liability insurance coverage includes bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage. Bodily injury liability can help cover medical expenses and funeral expenses. Property damage liability can help cover damages to structures and vehicle repairs or replacement. Both of these types of coverage are designed to protect you if you’re at fault for a car accident.
  • Personal injury protection: This coverage is similar to liability coverage except it doesn’t matter who is at fault for the accident. Personal injury protection often covers bodily injuries resulting from car accidents for you, family members, and certain other people.
  • Uninsured motorists coverage: Covers bodily injuries for you, family members, and certain other people when you’re not at fault for a car accident and the at-fault party doesn’t have liability insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to pay fully for damages.

More insurance products

In addition to car insurance, Ocean Harbor also offers property insurance policies. Some offerings include:

  • Homeowners policy
  • Condominium insurance
  • Dwelling fire policy
  • Manufactured homeowners insurance
  • Renter's insurance

  • You could save up to $600 with some companies
  • Compare dozens of providers in under 5 minutes
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  • Quickly find the perfect rate for you

Ocean Harbor Insurance: How cheap is it?

How to find discounts

Part of figuring out how to get car insurance that fits your needs is finding the best coverage at the best price.

Ocean Harbor Insurance does not list specific discounts on its website, but the individual insurance agent you work with may be able to offer savings on policy premiums. Some discounts Ocean Harbor’s agents may offer include:

  • Proof of prior insurance: Having continuous car insurance coverage is a good sign for your new insurance company because it can mean you pose less of a risk. If you have proof of previous car insurance, Ocean Harbor may offer you this discount.
  • Homeowners: If you own a home, you may qualify for this discount.
  • Bundling policies: Insurance companies often provide a discount for bundling insurance policies, like home and auto insurance. You may save money by getting both policies through the same company.
  • Anti-theft devices: Anti-theft devices like a GPS locator, wheel locks, or an alarm system can help you save money on car insurance since they either make your car harder to steal or easier to locate if it has been stolen.
  • Safe vehicles: Having safety devices installed in your vehicle can help keep your car insurance costs down. Airbags, seat belts, anti-lock brakes, and traction control features in your car can help reduce how much you pay for insurance.
  • Good driver: Similarly, avoiding accidents and moving violations can help you save money on car insurance. Many companies offer discounts to accident-free drivers.

How to maximize savings

There are many factors that affect car insurance rates, including your age, where you live, and your driving history. To save the most on car insurance, keep the following in mind:

  • Keep a clean driving history: Avoiding speeding tickets or other moving violations and fender benders can help you save. Insurance companies like to see responsible driving histories.
  • Compare quotes: The prices and discounts each insurance company offers for the same coverage can differ, so be sure to get multiple quotes for the best price.
  • Raise your deductible: Increasing your deductible can help you save on your premium, but you don't want to choose too high of a deductible in the event you need to file a claim. Make sure you have your full deductible amount in savings to avoid financial stress after an accident.
  • Make sure your rates are based on accurate information: If you’re driving less than in the past or a previous accident has fallen off your record, you might be able to save some money on your insurance. Work with your insurance agent to ensure your information is current and see if you qualify for any additional discounts.

How to get an insurance quote from Ocean Harbor Insurance

If you want to know how to get car insurance, you typically have to go through an insurance quote process. Ocean Harbor Insurance works with independent insurance agents to offer insurance quotes in your local area. 

This means you won’t have the option to start the quote process online with Ocean Harbor. But you can click on the “Find an Agent” button on the website to get a list of Ocean Harbor program administrators in different states.

Ocean harbor insurance quote page

The quote process likely happens over the phone, takes around 10 minutes, and requires you to have some information on hand to ensure you receive an accurate rate. 

Here’s what you need to get an insurance quote from Ocean Harbor Insurance:

  • Personal information including your full name, address, phone number, marital status, email, and driver’s license number
  • Year, make, and model of your vehicle
  • Information about your driving history
  • What you use the car for (commuting, pleasure, driving for a rideshare company, etc.)
  • Vehicle identification number (VIN) (usually located on the base of your vehicle’s windshield on the driver’s side or the driver's side door jamb)

You can get in touch with auto insurance agents to get a quote at the following numbers:

  • If you live in Florida: Contact Pearl Holding Group at (954) 587-2299 Ext. 203.
  • If you live in California: You can contact All Star General Agency at (858) 300-8875, or SCJ Insurance Services at (925) 474-3600.

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Ocean Harbor Insurance FAQs

What states does Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance do business in?

Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance does business in California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, and Texas. 

However, the type of insurance policies offered in each state may vary. For example, Florida and California offer only car insurance policies, whereas the other states offer only property insurance policies.

How do I pay my Ocean Harbor Insurance bill online?

How you pay your Ocean Harbor Insurance bill depends on the independent insurance agent you bought your policy through. Each agent will offer different ways to pay your bill, but these often include paying online or over the phone.

If online bill pay is an option, you likely have to navigate to your company’s website and log into your account. Then it’s a matter of using one of the available payment options to complete your bill payment. You may also have the option to pay your bill through a mobile app, if available.

How do customers rate Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance?

Ocean Harbor is rated B by AM Best and rated F by BBB. The average customer review rating on BBB is a 1.08 out of five stars (with five being the highest rating) for 75 customer reviews. Ocean Harbor also has more than 275 customer complaints in the past three years, with 99 of them coming in the past 12 months.

Customers typically express dissatisfaction with experiences they’ve had with Ocean Harbor Insurance. This includes representatives not answering phone calls or returning messages and difficulties with the claims process.

How do I contact Pearl Holding Group?

You can contact Pearl Holding Group any of the following ways:

  • Mail: Pearl Holding Group, P.O. Box 452799, Sunrise, FL 33345
  • Phone: (954) 587-2299 Ext. 203
  • Fax: (954) 905-2005
  • Email: claimmaterials@pearlholding.com
  • Website: pearlholding.com

Bottom line

Ocean Harbor Insurance may offer policyholders the car insurance coverage they need at the price they want. But this may not be the case for everyone, especially if this insurance isn’t offered in your state, you want more coverage, or you aren’t happy with the options.

If you want to find some of the top car insurance companies in your area, compare what’s available from all car insurance providers, including quotes from both small and major companies. You typically have three primary ways to do this: researching each individual provider yourself, speaking with an insurance agent, or using a car insurance comparison site.

Using a car insurance comparison site is likely the better option of the three because it’s quick and efficient. In addition, most online car insurance marketplaces make sure to compare quotes from all your local insurance providers so you can find what you’re looking for.

You can use our list of the best rated insurance companies to get started with fast, easy, and free car insurance quotes from top-rated providers.

Methodology

FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.

  • You could save up to $600 with some companies
  • Compare dozens of providers in under 5 minutes
  • Fast, free and easy way to shop for insurance
  • Quickly find the perfect rate for you

Author Details

Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI® Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI®, is credit cards specialist. For over a decade, he's leveraged credit card points and miles to travel the world. His expertise extends to other areas of personal finance — including loans, insurance, investing, and real estate — and you can find his insights on The Washington Post, Debt.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business.
Kate Daugherty Kate Daugherty is a professional writer with a passion for providing others the head start they deserve on their financial journeys. Largely self-taught, Kate relied on books, blogs, and trial-and-error to learn how to budget and save for the future, all while working to pay back about $15,000 in student loans.