No. In Virginia, an insurer can't require you to use a particular repair facility as a condition of paying your claim, and it can't coerce or intimidate you into using one (Va. Code § 38.2-517). You can choose where your vehicle is repaired.
Va. Code § 38.2-517 says no person shall require an insured or claimant to use designated repair facilities, or the products of designated manufacturers, as a prerequisite to settling or paying a claim. It also bars coercion or intimidation intended to steer you to a designated facility.
An insurer may recommend a facility, but when it does, it must tell you that you're under no obligation to use it. If the insurer or its representative has a financial interest in the recommended facility, it must disclose that too.
The law doesn't require the insurer to pay more than the prevailing competitive charges for equivalent work by similar repair facilities in the area. An insurer explaining the extent of its obligation isn't a violation by itself. So you can choose any facility, but expect a conversation if its labor rates or procedures differ from what the insurer will pay.
The same statute prohibits "capping," meaning arbitrary and unreasonable limits on what an insurer will reimburse for paint and materials.
Write down what was said and by whom. You can file a complaint with the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance, which investigates written complaints under this section.
Three sides to every claim. I've worked all of them. Geoffrey C. Albach has spent 33 years in the industry as an independent appraiser, a former insurance staff adjuster, and a collision repair operations director.
By Geoffrey C. Albach, independent auto damage appraiser · About Geoff
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No. Va. Code § 38.2-517 prohibits requiring a designated facility as a condition of paying the claim.
Yes, but they must tell you you're under no obligation to use it, and disclose any financial interest in it.
Not necessarily. The law doesn't require paying more than prevailing competitive charges in the area for equivalent work.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance.
General information, not legal advice. Talk to a Virginia attorney about your specific claim.
Call or text Geoff at 434-665-6059. Lynchburg, VA.
