Can I change insurance companies even though I have an open claim?

You are free to change insurance companies any time you wish to do so. If you are not happy with your insurance carrier for any reason, even the way they are responding to an active claim, you have the right to cancel the policy and secure coverage through another insurer.

Normally, you are required to provide a minimum of one billing cycle's notice of your intent to cancel a policy. In most cases this will be around 30 days, but check your policy or contact he insurance company to get the specifics of canceling with that company. Once you have given notice of intent to cancel, find a good company to get a replacement policy from, so that you will not have any lapse of coverage when one policy ends and another begins. For the best coverage, plan the replacement policy to begin one or two days before the old policy ends, to avoid unexpected delays.

Once a claim has been filed on a policy, the insurance company must follow through the claims process. If the claim is determined to be covered under the policy, it will be settled whether you still have an active insurance policy or not, because you have already paid the premiums for the claim being processed. If the claim is determined to be invalid, it will be denied and you will then have the option of contesting the denial or accepting the decision.

The truth is that many policyholders do not discover how incompatible their insurance company is until a claim has been filed. When this happens, changing insurance company while the existing claim is taken care of is common. Shop for a company that offers a good price and has good ratings both with the general public and with financial ratings companies such as the A.M. Best Company. By checking the review from places such as Consumer reports, you can identify companies with a poor track record, avoiding making the same bad choice with the new insurer. Contact a local insurance agent to compare free quotes.