Can my insurance company make me use their body shop in Texas?

Key takeaways

• No. Texas Insurance Code Section 1952.301 bars an insurer from limiting your coverage because of which shop you pick, and the same section covers you when the other driver's insurer is paying.
• Under Section 1952.302, an adjuster may not state or suggest, orally or in writing, that the repair has to go through a specific shop or a preferred list to be covered.
• The Texas Department of Insurance says it in plain words: a company might give you a list of preferred repair shops, but it cannot require you to use one.

After a wreck, the first real conversation many drivers have is with an adjuster, and somewhere in that conversation a shop name can come up. "We have a preferred shop in Sherman." "If you use our network, we can get you in faster." "We can only stand behind the repair if it goes through our program." It is easy to hear that as a rule. It is not a rule. In Texas, the shop is your call, and the law is specific about it.

Can insurance make me use their body shop in Texas? What the law says

The rule lives in the Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 1952, in Sections 1952.301 through 1952.307. Two sections do most of the work.

Section 1952.301 says an insurer may not limit its coverage by "limiting the beneficiary of the policy from selecting a repair person or facility to repair damage to the vehicle." It applies to your own policy. The same section says that when an insurer is paying a claim for someone its driver hit, it "may not require the third-party claimant to have repairs made by a particular repair person or facility." So the protection covers you whether you are the policyholder or the other driver.

Section 1952.302 goes further and lists what an insurer, adjuster, or anyone working for them may not do. They may not "state or suggest, either orally or in writing" that you must use a specific shop, or a shop on a preferred list, for the repair to be covered. They may not accept a referral fee for sending you somewhere. And they may not restrict your choice by making you "travel an unreasonable distance" to get the repair done.

You can read the full subchapter on the Texas Legislature's site: Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1952.

What a "preferred shop" really is

Insurers keep lists of shops that have signed agreements with them. You will hear these called direct repair programs, networks, or preferred providers. The shop agrees to things like discounts on parts or labor, and in return the insurer sends customers its way.

There is nothing wrong with that arrangement, and plenty of good shops are on those lists. Section 1952.303 addresses it directly: a contract between an insurer and a shop "may not result in a reduction of coverage under an insured's automobile insurance policy." In plain terms, the insurer's deal with a network shop cannot shrink what your policy pays for, and choosing a shop outside that network cannot shrink it either.

So when an adjuster recommends a shop, treat it as a recommendation. You are free to take it. You are equally free to say, "Thanks, I am taking it to Star Auto Body in Howe."

Things you are entitled to along the way

A few more pieces of the same subchapter are worth knowing before you make the call.

• Notice of your rights. Section 1952.305 requires that when you present your vehicle for a damage claim, the insurer or adjuster gives you notice of these provisions. If nobody mentioned it, that is worth asking about.
• Parts information. Section 1952.304 says the insurer cannot stop a shop from telling you the description, manufacturer, or source of the parts used, and what the insurer was charged for parts and labor. Ask your shop. A good one will show you.
• A place to complain. Section 1952.306 lets you, or the shop, file a written complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance if any of this is violated. The department's consumer help line and complaint form are on tdi.texas.gov.

The one exception, and how to tell if it applies to you

Section 1952.301 opens with the phrase "except as provided by rules adopted by the commissioner." Section 1952.307 spells out what those rules must require: any limitation on your choice of shop has to be "clearly and prominently displayed on the face of the insurance policy," and you have to give written consent to it after being told about it, orally and in writing, when you bought the policy.

So the question is simple. Did you knowingly sign a policy that names a shop restriction on its front page? Look at the front page of your policy. If no shop restriction is printed there, none applies, and if an adjuster tells you otherwise, ask to see where it is written.

What this looks like in practice

Here is a simple way to handle it. It is the same whether the wreck happened on US-75, Highway 82, or a county road anywhere in Grayson County.

1. Tell the adjuster you have chosen your shop. You do not need to argue the statute. A sentence is enough: "I am taking it to Star Auto Body in Howe."
2. Get the estimate from the shop you chose. Estimates at Star Auto Body are free. Bring the vehicle by, or send photos through our contact page and we will take a look.
3. Expect the insurer to review that estimate. It may send an adjuster to look at the damage, or ask you for your own estimate. That is normal, and it is not the same as being told where to go.
4. If anyone says the repair will not be covered because of the shop you picked, ask for that in writing. Under Section 1952.302, they are not allowed to say it in the first place.

Star Auto Body is a family owned shop at 515 N Collins Fwy in Howe, and has been here since 1992. We work with drivers from Howe, Van Alstyne, Sherman, Denison and the rest of Texoma. Wherever your claim is coming from, the choice of where the repair happens belongs to you.

Bring it to the shop you chose

If you have been in a wreck anywhere in Texoma, you do not need the adjuster's permission to come here. Call (903) 532-5365, see what we repair on our services page, or request a free estimate.