After an accident, most insurance companies will suggest — sometimes strongly — that you take your car to a shop in their “preferred” or “Direct Repair Program” network. It’s easy to come away thinking that’s your only option. It isn’t, and the state of California has put that in writing.

What California’s Auto Repair Consumer Bill of Rights says

The California Department of Insurance publishes an official Auto Repair Consumer Bill of Rights, and it’s direct on this point: consumers have the right to select the auto body repair shop to repair damage covered by their insurance company, and an insurance company shall not require repairs to be done at a specific auto body repair shop. You’re also entitled to seek and obtain an independent repair estimate directly from a registered auto body repair shop, even while your claim is being processed.

In plain terms: your insurer can recommend a shop, and can make it more convenient to use one of theirs (sometimes with an in-network rental car deal or a workmanship guarantee attached), but they cannot force you to use it. The final decision belongs to you as the vehicle owner.

Why insurers push their own network anyway

Direct Repair Program (DRP) shops are vetted by the insurer, which can mean faster claims processing, a coordinated rental car handoff, and a lifetime workmanship guarantee backed by the insurer. Those are real conveniences, and for plenty of people a DRP shop works out fine. The tradeoff to be aware of is that DRP shops work closely with the insurer on cost control, which occasionally shows up as pressure to use cheaper aftermarket parts or a faster repair timeline than a shop of your own choosing might use.

What you’re also entitled to

Beyond choosing your shop, the same consumer bill of rights guarantees you an itemized written estimate before work starts, and a detailed invoice afterward that identifies parts by type — new, used, aftermarket, reconditioned, or rebuilt. You’re also entitled to disclosure about towing, storage, and rental vehicle coverage tied to your claim. If a shop or insurer won’t put something in writing, that’s worth treating as a warning sign.

None of this is legal advice, and insurance situations vary — if you run into an insurer that’s outright refusing to honor your choice of shop, the California Department of Insurance (800-927-4357, insurance.ca.gov) is the right place to file a complaint or ask a specific question about your policy.

If you’re shopping around, every listing in our insurance collision repair category works directly with insurance claims and can walk you through what an independent estimate would look like.