What happened: Georgia’s Court of Appeals ruled Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company cannot be sued in the state, finding the insurer never did business there
Who’s involved: Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company (Florida-based insurer), an injured motorist, the at-fault driver
What’s at stake: A $1.26 million default judgment with no insurer behind it
Why it matters: A policy covering all of America does not mean the insurer can be dragged into court in every state
Where it stands: Affirmed on appeal, October 21, 2026; reconsideration window open
A drunk driver’s lie about his address has left a crash victim’s $1.26 million judgment stranded with no insurer to pay it.
The collision was bad enough. The driver was drunk, speeding, and struck the other vehicle so hard it flipped and caught fire. The injured motorist walked away with extensive injuries - and eventually a $1.26 million default judgment after the driver never showed up in court.
Getting an insurer to pay it is another story entirely.
The driver had purchased an auto policy from Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company while living in Florida. The policy’s territory covered the entire United States - but he had elected not to buy bodily injury coverage. When the crash happened in Georgia, he told Ocean Harbor he still lived in Florida. The Georgia crash report said otherwise.
The injured motorist sued Ocean Harbor directly, arguing that under Georgia’s Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act, the insurer had to provide minimum bodily injury coverage regardless of what the policy said. She also pursued a bad faith claim after obtaining an assignment of the driver’s rights against Ocean Harbor.
Ocean Harbor had never been licensed in Georgia, had no offices, agents, or employees there, and any Georgia-address applicant would be rejected outright. Its only Georgia connection: 101 policyholders - out of more than one million - who had moved from Florida, and whom Florida law required it to continue covering temporarily.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia sided with the insurer across the board. Ocean Harbor is incorporated in Florida with its principal place of business there - no real presence in Georgia. And a policy covering the entire United States does not mean the insurer has deliberately set up shop in every state where a crash might occur.
The court was pointed about the driver’s deception. Because he never told Ocean Harbor he had moved, the insurer was “unwittingly continuing to insure someone who would not qualify for its insurance outside of Florida’s mandatory continuing coverage period.” Jurisdiction could not rest on the “unilateral acts” of the insured.
The injured motorist’s remaining arguments - bad faith and a tortious-injury claim - were abandoned on appeal for lack of supporting authority.
For claims teams handling policies with nationwide territory clauses, the case draws a clear line: writing coverage that follows a vehicle across state lines is not the same as doing business in every state where an accident might happen.
The underlying negligence allegations were established by default judgment after the at-fault driver failed to appear. The appellate decision addresses only jurisdictional and coverage questions. The reconsideration window remains open under Georgia Court of Appeals rules.
