How The Body Repair and Quote Process Should Work With Insurance

Hey there, Chicago car owners.

This is Vladimir from Carrectly. Over the years we've had hundreds of clients who needed auto body work done on their vehicles, but who also struggled navigating all the confusing steps of the process, conflicting lingo, and let's be frank - even misleading communication and lies from insurance companies and some shops. 

Worry not, while we can take care of your vehicle’s body repairs quickly and ensure everything is handled properly with your insurance or out of pocket, we've also put together an overview of the body repair quotes and repair process so you know the proper steps and have some peace of mind. 

Here is our overview of the body work process and how repairs and quotes should work when insurance is involved:

1. File a claim & a police report– Start by filing a claim with your insurance provider. Don't forget to file a police report of the accident, too - some insurance companies want to see that as proof. Do so even if there was an overnight hit-and-run or acts of nature such as the accident from a fallen tree and such.
2. Arrange a rental – Confirm with your insurance when and where you can pick up a rental while your car is being repaired.This will help you to determine when you'd be able to give the car to the shop. As I mentioned, we can take it in and start the process as soon as tomorrow. 
3. Send us your claim details – Email us your claim number, insurance adjuster’s contact information, and any other relevant information. This allows us to get started on our side of the estimate as well as to confirm when the adjustor will be able to come by. Here to speed up the process. 
4. A Shop communicates with insurance – Once we have your claim info, we’ll contact your adjuster directly to ensure they come by to inspect the car themselves, cover all necessary repairs, use quality parts, and approve the full scope of work. We have great relationships with all major insurance companies and will negotiate on your behalf.
5. Vehicle drop-off – You can drop off your car at our shop, or we can arrange a free concierge pickup as long as the car is safe to drive. If towing is needed and is covered by insurance - we can arrange it for you and include it in the total cost for the insurance to cover. If it's not covered by insurance, we can shop around between a few towing partners and assist with that too. Just let us know when you are ready to give us a car. 
6. Repairs begin – Once we complete our side of the "body shop" estimate and your insurance adjustor puts together their side of the estimate - and both parties agree on the costs and scope of work - the insurance shall approve the estimate. We’ll start working immediately, ensuring a high-quality and efficient turnaround.

Do remember, many insurance companies are misleading customers by telling them to collect quotes themselves, to accept initial estimates, or even forcing them to go to subpar "preferred" shops that are often cutting corners in order to save insurance money. You don't have to do any of those things.

Here are some quick tips about some iffy insurance practices:

1. You're free to choose any shop — not just the one insurance "recommends." It’s a common misconception (and sometimes a misleading tactic) when insurance companies try to pressure customers into using one of their “preferred” body shops. Legally, you have the right to take your car to any repair shop you trust — and insurance companies are required to work with any shop and to cover a full reasonable and agreed-upon cost of a repair regardless who is doing the work. So when you file a claim and the agent tells you you MUST take your car to one of the shops that are "approved" by insurance or suggests that you'll end up paying out-of-pocket if you don't - know it's illegal for them to say that. As a customer and car owner, you can pick any shop you like and trust - and all you have to tell the insurance is that you already have a place you want to take a car to.
2. "Preferred" shops are often chosen by insurance because they agree to cut costs — sometimes by skipping manufacturer-recommended procedures or using cheaper, refurbished parts. Independent shops like ours focus on doing the job properly and advocating for the customer, even if it means pushing back on insurance to ensure the repairs are done right. Keep in mind, insurance companies often say that preferred shops are insurance-certified because they deliver high-quality work. That is also not true. Sadly, insurance "preferred shops" are only preferred by Insurance because they are willing to cut corners and costs for the insurance companies in exchange of them sending them business - not because those shops do better quality work. Oftentimes, quite the opposite...
3. We work with all insurance companies. The process involves back-and-forth communication to finalize the repair plan and cost — something every shop goes through, regardless of affiliation. Insurance must cover a full market price for a proper repair - and the scope and costs are always ironed-out and agreed on between the insurance and a shop.  
4. Insurance may tell you to collect multiple quotes from different shops. This is a tactic to get you to do the work for them, so they can later "approve" the lowest estimate. You don’t need to do this either. All you have to do is pick a trusted shop with good reviews that guarantees high-quality work and fast turnaround. The shop will then handle negotiations with insurance to determine the proper scope of work and pricing. Our advice is that you do not do the legwork of collecting quotes for the insurance - that is their job and you usually pay them way too much money over the years for them to give you such "homework".
5. You may receive an initial preliminary either AI-generated or super-low estimate based on photos from insurance. Feel free to ignore it and don't accept it thinking that this will cover the full cost of the repair - it usually doesn't. These estimates are almost always inaccurate and too low. A proper, precise quote requires a real inspection—our body shop techs will work directly with an insurance adjuster to ensure an accurate assessment.

That is all and we hope this helps.  While we know that auto body repairs with insurance processes can be confusing, here at Carrectly we can always guide you through the process, give advice, and handle everything with your provider to ensure quality, stress-free repairs.