# Do You Have To Use The Insurer's Body Shop In Texas? | DG Collision > No — Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 says you pick the body shop, not your insurer. DRP programs, adjuster scripts & what to say on the call. (972) 219-0864. - Canonical page: https://dgcollision.com/guides/insurance-recommended-body-shop/ - This file: Markdown twin of the page above (clean text for AI assistants and crawlers) - Business: DG Collision Center, 693 Metro Park Cir #20, Lewisville, TX 75057 — (972) 219-0864 (text: 817-907-2822) — since 1978 - Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm, Sat 10am–1pm, closed Sunday · 24/7 towing · 4.9/5 on 500+ Google reviews - Full site index for assistants: https://dgcollision.com/llms.txt - Last generated: 2026-08-14 --- # Do You Have To Use The Insurance Company's Body Shop In Texas? No. Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 prohibits an insurer from requiring you to use a specific repair shop as a condition of paying your claim. The adjuster can recommend a "preferred" network shop — but the choice is yours, and one sentence on the claim call settles it. Here's what those network programs really are, how to answer the steering scripts, and exactly what to say. What To Say On The Call You choose the shop — §1952.301 We work with every major carrier Lifetime workmanship warranty Free loaner for the duration TL;DR No. Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 prohibits an insurer from requiring you to use a specific repair shop as a condition of paying your claim. The adjuster can recommend a network shop, but the choice is yours — one sentence on the claim call settles it. - The Texas law: §1952.301 — the insurer cannot force a specific shop as a claim-payment condition - What "preferred/network shops" really are: DRP (Direct Repair Program) — voluntary agreements where the shop accepts the carrier's pricing and procedures - Common adjuster scripts: "we can't guarantee their work" · "it'll delay your claim" · "our shop is faster" — all technically compliant but legally you can still pick - One sentence that ends the pressure: "I want the vehicle repaired at [shop name and address] — please note that in the claim file." - Direct-billing: any Texas-licensed shop can invoice your carrier directly regardless of DRP status Adjuster Pushing A Network Shop? You Don't Have To Argue. Call or text us before you answer the adjuster. We'll tell you straight what your rights are on this claim, what the network pitch actually means, and how to keep your choice in one sentence — no confrontation needed. On this page The Short Answer DRP Shops Explained Your Legal Right Script Decoder Honest Trade-Offs Why Independent What To Say Before & After FAQ By [Shah Jiwani](https://dgcollision.com/about/shah-jiwani/) — Owner, DG Collision Center Updated July 21, 2026 12-minute read I-CAR Gold Class · 30+ years DFW collision experience The Short Answer ## No — In Texas, You Pick The Shop The moment you open an auto claim, most carriers steer you toward a "recommended," "preferred," or "network" body shop. It sounds like a requirement. It isn't. Under Texas Insurance Code §1952.301, an insurer may not require you to use a particular repair shop as a condition of paying your claim. The recommendation is a suggestion — the decision belongs to the person who owns the car. That gap between how the recommendation sounds and what the law says is where most Texas drivers give up their choice without realizing they had one. The adjuster isn't lying to you; they're reading a script designed to move your car into the carrier's Direct Repair Program, because that network saves the carrier money and paperwork. Whether it's the right choice for you is a separate question — one this guide answers honestly, including the cases where a network shop is perfectly fine. I've owned DG Collision Center in Lewisville for over two decades, and the shop has been repairing DFW vehicles at the same address since 1978. We work with every major carrier on every claim — we're just not owned by any of them. What follows is what a Direct Repair Program actually is, what the common steering lines really mean, the honest trade-offs in both directions, and the exact sentence that keeps your choice on the claim call. For the full post-accident sequence, see our [Texas after-an-accident guide](https://dgcollision.com/after-an-accident-texas/). Esta guía existe completa en español: [¿Tengo que usar el taller de la aseguradora?](https://dgcollision.com/es/guias/tengo-que-usar-el-taller-de-la-aseguradora/) General information about standard Texas personal-auto policies as of 2026 — not legal advice. Your policy documents control; for a specific dispute, consult a Texas attorney or the Texas Department of Insurance. The Network Explained ## What A "Preferred Shop" Or DRP Actually Is A Direct Repair Program (DRP) is a standing contract between a body shop and an insurance carrier. The shop gets a steady stream of referred customers from the carrier's claim desk. In exchange, the shop agrees to the carrier's terms: pre-negotiated labor rates, the carrier's parts-selection preferences, its photo and paperwork platforms, and its repair-time targets. When an adjuster says "we have a shop we work with," this contract is what they mean. Understand the economics and the recommendation makes sense — from the carrier's side. A DRP repair is cheaper and easier for the insurer to administer: the rates are locked in advance, the estimates arrive in the carrier's own format, and disputes are rare because the shop's referral stream depends on staying agreeable. None of that is scandalous. It's also not designed around you. The structural issue is simple: a network shop's repeat customer is the carrier, not the driver. You'll likely never crash twice with the same shop nearby; the carrier sends that shop cars every week. When a repair decision sits in the gray zone — repair a panel or replace it, aftermarket part or OEM, blend the paint one panel further or stop — the economic pull on a DRP shop points toward the carrier's cost target. A shop you chose yourself answers to exactly one person: you. That's the entire difference, and it's why Texas law puts the choice in your hands rather than the carrier's. The Law ## What Texas Law Actually Says [Texas Insurance Code §1952.301](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/IN/htm/IN.1952.htm) is short and unambiguous: an insurer may not require the beneficiary of a motor vehicle policy to use a specific repair person or facility as a condition of paying a claim. The carrier can recommend, list, and describe its network shops all day — what it cannot do is make your payment depend on picking one of them. Two practical consequences follow. First, your claim cannot be denied for choosing your own shop. On a covered claim, the insurer's obligation follows the policy, not the repair facility. Second, you don't have to win an argument to use the right. There's no form to file and no statute to quote — you state the shop you've chosen, and the claim file records it. If the rep pushes back, restating your choice once is enough; the law doesn't require your insurer to like the answer, only to honor it. The shop-choice statute travels with an entourage worth knowing by section number. §1952.302 writes the conduct rules: insurers, their adjusters, and even independent adjusting firms may not take referral fees for pointing you anywhere, may not “state or suggest, either orally or in writing” that repairs must happen at a network shop to be covered, and may not steer you by demanding an unreasonable drive. §1952.304 bans gag clauses: no insurer can stop a shop from telling you what parts went on your car and what the insurer was charged for them. §1952.305 requires carriers to hand you notice of these rights when you present the car on a claim — state-prescribed wording that opens, “By law, you have the right to select where your motor vehicle is repaired and the parts used for repairs.” And §1952.306 gives you — and your shop — standing to file a documented complaint with TDI when the script ignores the statute; TDI’s own steering bulletin warns carriers that even implying you’ll pay more for choosing an off-list shop can unlawfully limit your coverage. Once the right is secured, spend it well: the ten-question checklist in our [choose-a-shop guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-body-shop/) is how — and if your fork is dealership-versus-independent, that comparison has its own [honest guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/dealership-vs-independent-body-shop/). The same right covers every kind of Texas auto claim — collision, comprehensive, hail, another driver's liability claim against their carrier. If a hail storm is what brought you here, our [Texas hail claim guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/texas-hail-insurance-claim/) walks that specific process step by step. ### WANT A SECOND OPINION BEFORE YOU DECIDE? Bring us the insurance estimate — or just photos. A free 10-minute look tells you whether the network number covers a complete repair, before you commit your car anywhere. Steering, Decoded ## THE ADJUSTER SCRIPT DECODER The five lines Texas drivers hear most when they name their own shop — what each one implies, and what's actually true. | What You'll Hear | What It Implies | What's Actually True | |---|---|---| | "We can't guarantee their work" | Your shop is a risk | Insurers don't repair cars, so the warranty never comes from them — it comes from the shop. A network "guarantee" is the carrier promising to re-handle a bad repair inside its own network. DG backs every repair with a written lifetime workmanship warranty. | | "The network shop is faster" | Your choice means delays | Every shop waits on the same adjuster assignment and approval pipeline. An independent shop that bills carriers directly and files supplements on the same industry platforms moves at the same speed — the schedule driver is the carrier, not the shop. | | "We already have a shop lined up for you" | The decision is made | It's a suggestion phrased as a plan. Nothing is booked until you agree. Name your own shop and the claim file simply updates — no cancellation, no penalty, no friction. | | "You might have to pay the difference" | Choosing your shop costs extra | Estimate gaps are reconciled through the normal supplement process: your shop documents the damage and bills the carrier. On a covered claim, your deductible stays your share — see our [supplements guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/insurance-estimate-final/) for exactly how that works. | | "We'll need to re-inspect if you go elsewhere" | More hassle for you | Re-inspection is a routine claim step the shop coordinates directly with the adjuster. You don't attend, schedule, or manage it — it costs you nothing but the sentence you just heard. | None of these lines are illegal to say — and none of them change §1952.301. You don't need to rebut a single one. State your shop, repeat it once if asked, done. Both Sides, Honestly ## The Honest DRP Trade-Offs A guide written by an independent shop owes you the fair version, so here it is. The genuine advantages of a network shop: scheduling is one phone call because the claim desk books it for you; the shop and adjuster already share systems, so paperwork friction is near zero; and on a simple, visible repair — a scraped bumper cover, a dented door skin — the outcome at a good DRP shop is usually fine. Plenty of DRP shops are competent operations run by honest people. If you know one and trust it, using it is a legitimate choice. The structural disadvantages don't show up on simple jobs — they show up in the gray zones. Hidden damage found mid-repair: does the shop fight for the supplement or absorb the shortcut? Parts selection: does the estimate default to the cheapest alternative the carrier's platform suggests, or the part the vehicle actually needs? Paint blending, one-time-use fasteners, post-repair scans and calibrations: each is a line item a cost-target shop is nudged to trim. No single trimmed line totals your car — but a repair is a few hundred small decisions, and the question is whose interest breaks the ties. Our position is the boring one: choose whichever shop you trust — just make it an actual choice. Texas law doesn't say independent shops are better; it says the decision is yours. Make it based on certifications, warranty terms, and how straight the shop talks to you — not based on which name the claim rep read first. ### ALREADY HOLDING THE NETWORK ESTIMATE? Text it to us. We'll compare it line by line against what a complete repair of your vehicle actually requires — free, in plain English, no obligation. The Independent Case ## Why An Independent Shop Works For You An independent shop's only revenue is repairs done well enough that customers come back and send their neighbors. That alignment is the whole argument. When DG Collision Center writes a repair plan, the standard is the OEM procedure for your vehicle — not a carrier's cost target — because the person we answer to at pickup is you. We hold [I-CAR Gold Class](https://www.i-car.com/) certification, a shop-wide training designation held by roughly one in ten U.S. body shops, alongside PPG and Sherwin-Williams refinish certifications. Independent doesn't mean insurance-hostile. We work with every major carrier on every claim — [State Farm](https://dgcollision.com/state-farm-body-shop-lewisville/), [GEICO](https://dgcollision.com/geico-body-shop-lewisville/), [Progressive](https://dgcollision.com/progressive-body-shop-lewisville/), [Allstate](https://dgcollision.com/allstate-body-shop-lewisville/), [USAA](https://dgcollision.com/usaa-body-shop-lewisville/), [Tesla Insurance](https://dgcollision.com/tesla-insurance-body-shop-dfw/), [Farmers](https://dgcollision.com/farmers-body-shop-lewisville/), [Liberty Mutual](https://dgcollision.com/liberty-mutual-body-shop-lewisville/), [Nationwide](https://dgcollision.com/nationwide-body-shop-lewisville/), [Travelers](https://dgcollision.com/travelers-body-shop-lewisville/), [Texas Farm Bureau](https://dgcollision.com/texas-farm-bureau-body-shop-lewisville/), [Fred Loya](https://dgcollision.com/fred-loya-body-shop-lewisville/), [AAA Texas](https://dgcollision.com/aaa-body-shop-lewisville/), [Bristol West](https://dgcollision.com/bristol-west-body-shop-lewisville/), [National General](https://dgcollision.com/national-general-body-shop-lewisville/), [Kemper](https://dgcollision.com/kemper-body-shop-lewisville/), [Mercury](https://dgcollision.com/mercury-body-shop-lewisville/), [Alinsco](https://dgcollision.com/alinsco-body-shop-lewisville/), [GAINSCO](https://dgcollision.com/gainsco-body-shop-lewisville/), [Root](https://dgcollision.com/root-body-shop-lewisville/), [Elephant](https://dgcollision.com/elephant-body-shop-lewisville/), [The General](https://dgcollision.com/the-general-body-shop-lewisville/), [Lemonade](https://dgcollision.com/lemonade-body-shop-lewisville/), [GM Insurance](https://dgcollision.com/gm-insurance-body-shop-lewisville/), [Infinity](https://dgcollision.com/infinity-body-shop-lewisville/), and the rest — with direct billing, in-house supplement negotiation, and the same estimating platforms the networks use. You sign one authorization; we handle the claim traffic. The repair itself is covered on our [collision repair page](https://dgcollision.com/services/collision-repair/), and hail-specific work on our [hail damage repair page](https://dgcollision.com/services/hail-damage-repair/). And because the right to choose travels with you, so do we: drivers exercise it from [Carrollton](https://dgcollision.com/collision-repair-carrollton/), [Flower Mound](https://dgcollision.com/collision-repair-flower-mound/), [Frisco](https://dgcollision.com/collision-repair-frisco/), and [Plano](https://dgcollision.com/collision-repair-plano/) every week — a free loaner for the duration of the repair makes the drive to Lewisville a one-time trip, not a commute. The Playbook ## KEEPING YOUR CHOICE — 5 STEPS The exact sequence for the claim call, in the order that keeps the decision yours without a single argument. #### Pick Your Shop Before You Open The Claim Decide where the car is going before you call the insurer. A free estimate from the shop you trust takes minutes and gives you a repair plan to anchor on, instead of reacting to the carrier's suggestions in real time. #### Open The Claim And State Your Choice When the rep asks where you'd like the vehicle repaired, answer in one sentence: "The car is going to DG Collision Center, 693 Metro Park Cir #20, Lewisville." The claim file now shows your chosen shop. #### Answer The Steering Script Once If you hear "we can't guarantee their work" or "the network shop is faster," say: "I understand — my choice stays the same." §1952.301 makes the choice yours; you don't need to argue or quote the statute. #### Have The Estimate & Claim Number Sent To Your Shop Ask the adjuster to send the estimate and claim number to your shop. DG bills every major carrier directly and handles supplement paperwork in-house from that point on — you're out of the middleman role. #### Drop The Car Off & Take The Loaner Drop the vehicle off, take a free loaner for the duration of the repair, and pick the car up with a lifetime workmanship warranty in writing. A Real Claim ## WHAT CHOOSING YOUR OWN SHOP LOOKS LIKE Drag the slider. This front-end repair went through the exact sequence above — the customer named their shop on the claim call, and the carrier was billed direct. Before After #### Front-End Repair — Customer's Chosen Shop Insurer-billed direct, factory color match, lifetime workmanship warranty ### READY TO MAKE IT YOUR CHOICE? Free estimate, direct insurance billing with every major carrier, a free loaner for the duration, and a lifetime workmanship warranty in writing. Shop-Choice Questions ## SHOP CHOICE FAQ **Q: Can my insurance company force me to use their body shop in Texas?** A: No. Texas Insurance Code §1952.301 prohibits an insurer from requiring you to use a specific repair shop as a condition of paying your claim. The carrier can recommend its network shops, but the choice is yours — one sentence to the adjuster, 'I've chosen my shop,' settles it. **Q: What is a DRP or 'preferred' body shop?** A: A Direct Repair Program shop has a standing contract with the insurance carrier: the shop gets a steady stream of referrals, and in exchange it agrees to the carrier's pricing, parts, and process rules. That relationship is why insurers push DRP shops — it saves the carrier money and paperwork. It isn't automatically bad for you, but the shop's repeat customer is the carrier, not the driver. **Q: Will my claim be denied if I don't use the recommended shop?** A: No. On a covered claim, the insurer's obligation to pay follows the policy, not the shop you pick — and Texas law prohibits conditioning payment on using a specific facility. Your carrier writes its estimate, your shop repairs the car, and any difference is handled through the normal supplement process. **Q: The adjuster said they 'can't guarantee the work' if I use my own shop. What does that mean?** A: Less than it sounds like. Insurers don't repair cars — shops do, and the warranty always comes from the shop. A network-shop 'guarantee' is the carrier promising to re-handle a bad repair inside its own network. At DG Collision Center, your repair is backed by our own lifetime workmanship warranty, in writing, for as long as you own the vehicle. **Q: Will using my own body shop slow down my claim?** A: Not meaningfully. Any shop — network or independent — waits on the same adjuster assignment and estimate approval. DG Collision Center bills every major carrier directly, uploads photos and supplements through the same industry platforms network shops use, and handles the paperwork so you're not the middleman. **Q: Do I need to get multiple estimates in Texas?** A: No. That's an old myth — one shop of your choice is enough. The insurer writes its own estimate, your shop writes the repair plan, and the two get reconciled through supplements. Collecting three estimates mostly costs you time. **Q: What if the insurance estimate is lower than my shop's estimate?** A: Normal, and fixable. First estimates are written from photos or a quick walk-around, before anyone removes a bumper cover. Your shop documents the hidden damage during teardown and submits a supplement; on a covered claim your deductible stays your share. Our [supplements guide](https://dgcollision.com/guides/insurance-estimate-final/) explains the whole process. **Q: Does DG Collision Center work with my insurance company?** A: Yes — we work with every major carrier on every claim, whether or not we're in that carrier's network: State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, and the rest. Direct billing, supplement negotiation, and claim paperwork are handled in-house. **Q: What exactly should I say on the claim call?** A: When the rep asks where you'd like the car repaired, say: 'I've chosen my shop — DG Collision Center, 693 Metro Park Cir #20, Lewisville.' If they read the network script, repeat it once. You don't need to argue the law or quote the statute; a clear sentence and a shop name is all the claim file needs. **Q: Is the insurance company's network shop always a bad choice?** A: No — plenty of DRP shops do good work, and the network can be convenient on simple repairs. The honest issue is structural: a network shop's pricing and parts choices answer to the carrier's cost targets. Choose whichever shop you trust — Texas law simply guarantees that the choice is yours, not your insurer's.