You Choose the Repair Shop, Not Your Insurance Company

Right after a collision, your insurance company is often the first call you make, and one of the first things an adjuster may offer is a list of shops in their network. It sounds like a convenience, and sometimes it is. It is also worth knowing that it's a suggestion, not a requirement. You are the one who decides who repairs your car.

What a direct repair program actually is

A direct repair program, usually shortened to DRP, is an arrangement between an insurance company and a specific list of body shops. The insurer sends its customers to those shops. In exchange, the shop agrees to terms the insurer sets. We are not part of any insurance company's direct repair program. We work with every carrier, but on our own terms as a repair shop, not on terms an insurer sets in exchange for referrals.

Why that distinction matters to you

A shop that depends on referral volume from an insurer has a reason to keep that insurer happy, not only the customer whose car is on the lift. That can show up in small ways: which repair method gets used on a panel, whether a part gets repaired instead of replaced, how thorough the estimate is in the first place. We're not saying every DRP shop cuts corners. We're saying the incentive exists, and you should know it exists before you hand over your keys.

What to actually say to your adjuster

You don't need to argue about it or explain your reasoning. You have the right to choose your own repair facility, and all you need to do is state that choice plainly.

• "I've already chosen my repair shop. Please direct the estimate to Argenti Auto Body, 4381 Elyria Avenue, Lorain, Ohio."
• "I understand I'm not required to use a shop from your preferred list."
• "Please send an appraiser to Argenti Auto Body, or let me know how to submit photos for a claims estimate."

If an adjuster pushes back or keeps naming other shops, you can simply repeat that you've made your choice. It isn't a negotiation, and you don't owe anyone an explanation for it.

If you already gave them a different name

It happens. You're rattled from the accident, the adjuster asks who's doing the repair, and you agree to whatever gets suggested in the moment because you're not thinking about body shops, you're thinking about the crash. That's not final. You can call your insurance company back and tell them you've changed your mind. Naming a shop out loud on that first call doesn't lock the claim to it.

The estimate doesn't cost you anything either way

You don't have to have decided anything to come see us first. We'll look at the car, give you a free estimate for your insurance claim, and put together a damage report that checks the kind of things a quick roadside look can miss, from suspension and steering to parts of a bumper system hidden behind the cover. What you do with that estimate afterward is entirely up to you.

It doesn't matter whose insurance is paying

The same principle holds when the other driver's insurer is the one covering the claim. It is still your car, and the choice of repair shop is still yours to make. Do not assume that because someone else's insurer is paying the bill, that insurer gets to decide where the work happens.

A track record worth checking before you decide

We're a member of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, and we carry a rating of 4.7 out of 5 across 41 Google reviews. None of that requires you to take our word for it. Read the reviews yourself, ask around Lorain County, and make the decision with real information rather than whatever the adjuster happens to mention first.

Why we work this way

We've been repairing cars at 4381 Elyria Avenue since 1963, three generations of the same family. ASE certified technicians inspect every vehicle that comes through the door, we work with every insurance carrier, and we put a written warranty behind our own work instead of relying on a network agreement with any one insurer. Come in for the estimate. The choice of who does the repair is yours to make either way.