Can I Choose My Own Body Shop After an Accident in New York?

The short answer

Yes. In New York, your insurance company cannot require you to use a particular repair shop — and under the same statute, it isn’t even supposed to suggest one unless you ask.

The law is New York Insurance Law § 2610. It’s two short subsections and it’s worth reading in full, because almost nobody does.

What the statute actually says

§ 2610(a):

“Whenever a motor vehicle collision or comprehensive loss shall have been suffered by an insured, no insurer providing collision or comprehensive coverage therefor shall require that repairs be made to such vehicle in a particular place or shop or by a particular concern.”

§ 2610(b):

“In processing any such claim (other than a claim solely involving window glass), the insurer shall not, unless expressly requested by the insured, recommend or suggest repairs be made to such vehicle in a particular place or shop or by a particular concern.”

Two things to notice.

Subsection (a) is absolute. No requirement, no steering by mandate. Whatever a claims representative implies about “approved” shops, they cannot compel you.

Subsection (b) is stronger than most people realize. It bars recommending or suggesting a specific shop unless you’ve expressly asked. The New York Department of Financial Services has issued guidance on how (b) applies in practice — Insurance Circular Letter No. 16 (2000) addresses it directly. The carve-out is glass-only claims.

So when an adjuster volunteers that “we have a preferred shop in New Rochelle that can get you in tomorrow,” that is, on its face, exactly what subsection (b) describes — unless you asked first.

What a “preferred” or “direct repair” network actually is

It’s a commercial agreement, not a quality rating.

A shop joins an insurer’s direct repair program (DRP) and in exchange for referral volume agrees to things like:

• Negotiated labor rates, typically below the shop’s posted rate
• Parts sourcing preferences — aftermarket, remanufactured or recycled parts where the policy allows
• Cycle time targets — the insurer measures how fast cars move through
• Estimating and audit procedures the insurer controls

None of those terms are about whether the shop can correctly rivet-bond an aluminum Range Rover structure or calibrate a forward radar. They’re about the insurer’s cost per claim and the shop’s throughput. That’s a legitimate business arrangement — it just isn’t a recommendation made in your interest, and the statute’s existence reflects that.

There are excellent shops in DRP networks. There are poor ones. Membership tells you nothing either way.

What your insurer can legitimately do

To be fair about it, the law doesn’t give you a blank check. Your insurer can:

• Write its own estimate and inspect the vehicle.
• Pay based on a reasonable market cost for the repair. If your shop’s rate exceeds what the insurer considers prevailing, the difference can become a negotiation — your shop should handle it, not you.
• Specify parts as your policy permits. Many policies allow aftermarket or recycled parts for non-structural components. Read your declarations page; an OEM parts endorsement is usually inexpensive and removes this fight entirely.
• Require documentation — photos, teardown reports, supplements.
• Decline to pay for unrelated prior damage.

What it cannot do is condition payment on your using a specific facility.

How to actually use this

1. Name your shop at the first call. Before you’re asked. “The vehicle is going to [shop name and address]. Please send the adjuster there.” This forecloses the whole conversation.

2. If you’re steered, say the sentence. “I’m choosing my own shop under Section 2610.” You don’t need to argue the law — naming it ends the discussion in almost every case, because the representative knows it.

3. Let the shop handle the insurer. A competent shop negotiates rates, writes supplements after teardown, and documents everything. If a shop tells you to fight your own insurer, that’s information about the shop.

4. Control the tow. The most common way people lose the choice is at the scene, when the car goes to whatever yard the tow operator uses. Tell the operator where the vehicle is going. Storage fees at an unaffiliated yard accrue daily and come out of your claim.

5. Don’t sign a blanket authorization you haven’t read. Some intake paperwork assigns broad authority over the repair. Read what you’re signing — particularly anything that lets a third party direct the repair or accept the estimate on your behalf.

6. If you believe you’ve been improperly steered, you can complain. The New York Department of Financial Services accepts consumer complaints about claim handling. Most matters resolve well before that, but it exists.

What about Connecticut and New Jersey?

Both have comparable anti-steering protections. Connecticut’s Unfair Insurance Practices framework and New Jersey’s regulations both restrict an insurer’s ability to require a particular repair facility, though the specific statutory language differs from New York’s.

The practical upshot is the same across the tri-state area: the choice of shop is yours. If you’re a Connecticut or New Jersey resident having a car repaired in New York — which a lot of people in Greenwich, Stamford, Alpine and Fort Lee do — the shop choice is still yours, and the claim is handled by your carrier the same way.

Why this matters more on an expensive car

On a ten-year-old commuter, a DRP shop will usually produce an acceptable outcome.

On a Range Rover, a Rivian, a Porsche or anything exotic, the stakes are different, because a much smaller number of facilities can actually do the work:

• Aluminum structures require a physically separated repair area with dedicated tooling, calibrated rivet equipment and structural adhesive applied to a cure schedule. Most general shops don’t have this.
• EV high-voltage systems require current safety training, insulated tooling and documented pack assessment.
• ADAS requires post-repair calibration with targets on a level floor, and a report to prove it happened.
• Manufacturer certification programs — which are separate from and unrelated to insurer networks — exist precisely because these capabilities aren’t universal.

An insurer’s network is optimized for cost and cycle time. On a vehicle where the correct repair requires six figures of brand-specific tooling, those two optimization targets frequently point away from the shop you actually want.

That’s the whole reason § 2610 is on the books.

Frequently asked questions

We’ll handle the insurer

Enthusiast Auto Works is a Jaguar Land Rover and Rivian Certified Collision Repair Center in New Rochelle, New York. We write the estimate, document the teardown, negotiate the supplement and deal with your carrier directly — for every insurance company, network or not.

Free pickup and delivery across Westchester, the Bronx, Manhattan, lower Fairfield County and Bergen County.

55B Plain Ave, New Rochelle, NY 10801 — (914) 630-1668
Start a claim · Collision repair · JLR certified · Rivian certified

This article describes New York insurance law in general terms and is not legal advice. For a specific claim dispute, consult an attorney.

Related reading

• Total loss claims in New York: how the 75% rule works
• Diminished value after an accident in New York
• What to do after a car accident in Westchester