You Have the Right to Choose Your Body Shop

General information, not legal advice. Insurance policies and state laws differ. Check your own policy, and for a legal question ask a licensed attorney or your state insurance department.

In most cases you choose where your car is repaired, not your insurance company. Depending on the state, an insurer may be allowed to suggest shops, and some keep lists of "preferred" shops, but laws in many states say it cannot require you to use a particular one. What the insurer can do is limit its payment to what it decides is a reasonable cost for the repair. If the shop you pick charges more, there are rules about how that difference is handled.

What does the right to choose actually mean?

It means the insurer cannot make its payment depend on you using a shop it picked. A 2003 BodyShop Business list of state steering rules already showed most states with some rule on insurers and repair shops, though several covered only glass and some states had none. Washington's insurance commissioner describes the choice of shop as typically yours. A few examples of how states put it in writing:

• New York. Insurance Law § 2610 sets the rule printed below. The notice on the insurer's repair estimate must be printed in at least 12-point type, and Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-d(4) requires every repair shop to post a sign stating this right in letters at least two inches high.
• California. The state's fair claims regulation says no insurer shall require that a car be repaired at a specific repair shop. California also requires insurers to give policyholders an Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights, and the first right listed is choosing the auto body shop.
• Texas. The Texas Department of Insurance lists choosing the repair shop and parts among a driver's rights, and says insurers may offer a list of preferred shops but can't require you to use one.

Can the insurer recommend a shop?

This is where state rules differ. Pushing a customer toward a particular shop is often called "steering," and states draw the line in different places.

New York's rule is printed below. The Department of Financial Services adds that if you do ask and the insurer names a shop, you still keep the right to choose which shop repairs your car. Other states draw the line elsewhere:

• In Maryland, the Maryland Insurance Administration says an insurer or adjuster may not recommend a particular shop without telling you that you may use the shop of your choice.
• In California, once you have told the insurer which shop you chose, it may not suggest a different one except as state law allows. It also may not tell you your shop does poor work if that statement is untrue or misleading.
• In Texas, insurers may give you a list of preferred shops, but cannot require you to use one.

What does the insurer pay if you pick your own shop?

The insurer pays for covered damage under your policy, but it decides what a reasonable repair costs. New York's Department of Financial Services says a collision or comprehensive claim is settled for the amount of the damage or the car's actual cash value, whichever is lower. It also says the insurer's offer must be one it can back up with the name of a DMV-registered shop that will do the repair for that amount.

That does not leave you stuck when your shop's price is higher. Under the NAIC model regulation, if your shop's written estimate is higher than the insurer's, the insurer should either pay the difference or name at least one shop that will do the repair for the insurer's estimate. California adds a third option: the insurer may adjust your shop's estimate line by line and give both you and your shop a copy showing each change. Our guide on insurance vs. shop estimates walks through how that plays out.

What can't the insurer make you do?

Beyond choosing the shop, model rules and state laws protect you from a few common pressures:

• Travel too far. The NAIC model regulation says insurers should not require you to travel an unreasonable distance to look at a replacement car, get an estimate or have your car repaired at a specific shop.
• Use its shop for the inspection. California bars an insurer, after you have chosen a shop, from requiring that the car be inspected at a shop in its direct repair program or another shop it picks.
• Buy the parts yourself. Both the NAIC model regulation and California's regulation say an insurer should not require you to supply replacement parts.

What do insurers sometimes say, and what does it mean?

"That shop isn't on our list." That is a fact about the insurer's network, not a rule you must follow. Ask whether your policy requires any particular shop. In New York, Insurance Law § 2610 says the insurer cannot require one.

"We can only guarantee repairs at our shops." That may be true. Some insurers back repairs at their network shops. At a shop you choose, ask the shop what written warranty it gives. Our guide to direct repair programs covers the trade-offs.

"You may have to pay the difference." Possibly, if your shop charges more than the insurer's estimate and the insurer meets its duties under your state's rules. Ask for the insurer's estimate in writing and have your shop show where the two differ.

Dos and don'ts

Choosing a shop is still a big decision. Our guide on how to choose a body shop lists what to look for, and the collision repair page explains what the repair involves.