Your Right to Choose the Repair Shop in California
Your right to choose a repair shop in California is grounded in Insurance Code section 758.5, which generally prohibits an insurer from requiring an insured to use a particular repair facility. The statute contains a narrow exception allowing a referral when the insured has been given required information and asks for a recommendation, and it imposes disclosure obligations on the insurer. In practice, you select the shop and the carrier adjusts the loss.
Statutes are amended, so confirm the current text with the California Department of Insurance or an attorney rather than relying on any summary. Nothing here is legal advice. What follows is how the conversation usually goes and how to handle it without turning it into a fight.
- Direct billing with 16 major carriers
- California BAR licensed ARD00288521
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- All work performed in shop at our Yorba Linda facility
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What does California law say about choosing your own repair shop?
Insurance Code section 758.5 addresses this directly. In general terms it prohibits an insurer from requiring that repairs be done at a specific facility as a condition of settling a claim, and it limits when a carrier may suggest one. The narrow exception applies where the insured has been given the disclosures the statute requires and then affirmatively asks for a referral.
The statute also touches the insurer obligations once you have selected your own facility, including how the loss is adjusted and what the carrier must communicate. It is written to keep the choice with the consumer while still allowing carriers to manage cost and quality within their own programs.
What the statute generally provides
Read at a high level, the section establishes that shop selection belongs to the insured, that a carrier may not condition claim handling on using a preferred facility, and that specific disclosures accompany any referral. It also addresses the insurer duty to adjust the loss with the facility the insured chose. The precise wording, exceptions, and remedies matter, and they are what you should read for yourself.
Why you should confirm the current text
California statutes are amended and reinterpreted regularly, and a summary written today can be outdated by the time you read it. Pull the current text of section 758.5 yourself, or ask the California Department of Insurance, or consult an attorney licensed in California. Do not rely on a shop, an adjuster, or a web page for a definitive statement of your legal rights.
What does steering actually sound like?
Steering is rarely a direct order. It arrives as friction: a mild warning, a suggestion of delay, a hint about who stands behind the work. Most of the time the adjuster is following a script and is not acting in bad faith, which is why a calm factual response works better than an accusation.
The pattern to notice is a statement that makes your chosen shop sound risky or slow without offering any specific fact you could verify. Each of the phrasings below has a neutral response that keeps the conversation productive and creates a written record at the same time.
Common steering phrasings and a neutral response to each:
- "That shop is not in our network." Response: "Understood. I am selecting them anyway. Please note my selection in the file and send me the estimate assignment."
- "We cannot stand behind the work if you go there." Response: "That is fine. The repair facility is responsible for its own work, and I am comfortable with that. Please confirm my shop selection in writing."
- "It will take longer if you use that shop." Response: "I understand there may be a scheduling difference. Please put the expected timeline for each option in writing so I can compare them."
- "We would have to send an appraiser out, which adds days." Response: "That is acceptable. Please schedule the appraisal and copy me on the appointment confirmation."
- "Our program shop can start tomorrow." Response: "Thank you. I have chosen my facility and I would like the claim assigned there. Please confirm the assignment by email."
- "We only pay our program rate at outside shops." Response: "Please send me that rate policy in writing along with the section of my policy it is based on."
- "You will have to pay the difference yourself." Response: "Please put the specific difference and its basis in writing so I can review it with the shop and, if needed, with the Department of Insurance."
- "Most people just use our program." Response: "I appreciate that. I am selecting my own facility. Please record the selection and proceed with the assignment."
Is a direct repair program automatically a bad thing?
No. A direct repair program is an agreement between a carrier and a repair facility covering pricing, documentation, and communication standards. Program shops often get faster approvals and simpler supplement handling because the file moves through familiar channels. For a straightforward loss on a common vehicle, that speed is a genuine benefit.
The problem is not the program itself, it is treating enrollment as the only criterion. A program shop that has never repaired a coach body is not the right choice for a motorhome regardless of how efficiently the paperwork flows. Match the facility to the vehicle first, then look at how claims are handled.
What a program shop actually agrees to
Program agreements typically cover agreed labor rates, documentation formats, photo requirements, cycle time targets, and customer satisfaction measurement. None of that is inherently against your interest. What it does mean is that the shop has a second relationship to manage alongside yours, and on unusual repairs those interests do not always point the same direction.
Why specialty vehicles change the calculation
RVs, trailers, commercial bodies, and municipal fleet units are not passenger cars with more square footage. Construction methods, parts sourcing, and structural standards differ enough that general collision experience does not transfer cleanly. Ask any candidate facility how many units like yours it has completed, and what equipment it has for a vehicle of that length and weight.
How should you respond when a carrier pushes a different facility?
Stay calm, be brief, and put it in writing. A single email stating that you have selected a facility, naming it, giving the claim number, and asking for written confirmation of the assignment resolves most of these conversations permanently. Adjusters handle high file volume and a clear written instruction is easier for them than a debate.
Never argue about the law on a recorded call. If a carrier representative asserts something about your rights that you believe is wrong, ask for it in writing and take that writing to the California Department of Insurance or an attorney. Written assertions are reviewable. Phone statements are not.
What happens after you name your own shop?
The carrier assigns the claim, an appraiser or adjuster inspects the unit at your facility or reviews a photo estimate, and the shop and carrier reconcile their assessments. On an RV that reconciliation almost always includes supplements, because coach body damage extends past what any first inspection can see. This is normal and it is not a sign of a problem.
Your practical responsibilities are small: authorize the assessment, provide the claim number and adjuster contact, sign the repair authorization, and pay your deductible at delivery. The shop handles the estimate exchange and documentation with the carrier from there.
Get a written scope before the damage spreads
Bring us the claim number and the adjuster's contact. We handle the documentation, the photos, and the supplement.
What if the carrier still will not cooperate?
Escalate inside the carrier first. Ask for a claim supervisor, restate your selection in writing, and ask for the specific policy provision or program rule being applied. Most disagreements end here, because supervisors have authority that front line adjusters do not and they generally prefer a documented resolution over a complaint.
If that fails, the California Department of Insurance accepts consumer complaints about claim handling practices, and a complaint often prompts a file review. Where you believe a statutory violation has occurred or the amount at stake is significant, consult an attorney licensed in California. Do not rely on a repair shop for a legal opinion, including this one.
What to look for in whichever shop you choose
Ask for the California BAR license number, ask about environmental permitting, ask how many units of your type the facility completes annually, and ask how supplements are documented and communicated. Ask whether the shop bills your carrier direct, because direct billing removes an entire layer of paperwork from your side of the transaction.
This shop has operated since 2015, holds California BAR license ARD00288521 and EPA identification CAL000367879, and bills sixteen carriers direct including Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, Mercury, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual. Estimates are paid, including on claims, which is unusual and worth stating plainly. All work is performed in shop at 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887, in a thirty five thousand square foot facility. There is no mobile service, no roadside service, and no fleet route service.
Frequently asked questions
Can my insurer refuse to pay if I use a shop outside its program?
California Insurance Code section 758.5 generally prohibits an insurer from requiring a specific facility as a condition of settling a claim. Carriers still adjust the loss and apply policy terms, so disagreements about specific amounts can occur. If you are told payment depends on using a particular shop, request that statement in writing and take it to the California Department of Insurance or an attorney.
What exactly should I write when an adjuster suggests a different facility?
Send a short email with the claim number stating that you have selected a facility, naming it with its address and phone number, and asking for written confirmation that the claim has been assigned there. Keep it to a few sentences and avoid arguing about rights. A clear written instruction is easier for an adjuster to process than a debate, and it creates the record you may need later.
Does choosing my own shop actually slow the claim down?
Sometimes by a few days at the inspection stage, rarely more than that. Program shops may get a faster first appraisal because the process is routine. On RVs that difference is minor compared to parts lead times and supplement cycles, which dominate the timeline regardless of which facility holds the unit. Ask for the expected inspection date in writing rather than accepting a general warning.
Is a direct repair program shop worse than an independent shop?
Not inherently. Program shops meet documentation and cycle time standards, and those agreements often speed approvals. The real question is whether the facility regularly repairs vehicles like yours. General collision experience does not transfer cleanly to coach bodies, commercial boxes, or municipal fleet units. Ask about annual volume on your vehicle type and about equipment sized for the length and weight involved.
Who is responsible for the repair if the carrier picked the shop?
The repair facility remains responsible for the work it performs regardless of who suggested it. Carrier programs may add their own commitments on top of that, and those commitments are separate from your policy. Ask any shop, program or independent, to explain in writing what it stands behind and for how long, and keep the final invoice and photographs with your vehicle records.
Can I move my RV to a different shop after it has already been towed somewhere?
Usually yes, though you may owe storage and administrative charges to the first facility, and those charges are not always covered by the carrier. Notify your adjuster in writing before arranging the move so the assignment is updated and any covered towing is authorized in advance. Ask the first facility for a written itemization of what it will charge before the unit leaves.
Does the right to choose apply to commercial and municipal fleet vehicles?
Commercial and government fleet policies are written differently from personal lines, and some contain endorsements or procurement terms that affect facility selection. Fleet managers should read the applicable policy and any agency purchasing rules before assuming personal lines protections apply. Confirm specifics with your risk manager, your broker, or an attorney rather than assuming the same rules carry across.
What should I document if I believe I am being steered?
Record the date, time, the representative name, and the exact words used, then follow up by email summarizing the call and asking for written confirmation. Save every email, letter, and estimate revision. If you later file with the California Department of Insurance or consult an attorney, that contemporaneous record is far more persuasive than a recollection, and it costs nothing to build as you go.
Written and reviewed by the OCRV Center Technical Team. Last updated .
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- how an RV claim worksThe full sequence from first notice through final payment and delivery.
- RV collision repairWhat this facility actually does once the claim is assigned here.
- box truck repairCommercial units have different policy language around facility selection.
- for adjusters and carriersHow estimates, photos, and supplements are packaged for carrier review.
- why owners choose this shopLicensing, facility size, and vehicle types handled, so you can compare.
- pricing and estimate chargesEstimates are paid here, including on claims, and the charge is disclosed up front.
- contact the shopName this facility on your claim and schedule the assessment.