Your Right to Choose Your Own Repairer

If another driver was at fault for the damage to your vehicle, and the claim is pursued against that driver’s insurer, you are entitled to have your vehicle repaired by a garage of your own choosing. You are not obliged to use the repairer your insurer puts forward.

Very few drivers are told this, and almost nobody is told it at the point it matters, which is in the first day or two after the accident.

Where the right comes from

When someone damages your property through their negligence, the law requires them to put you back in the position you were in beforehand. In practice that obligation falls on their insurer, and it is discharged by paying for a proper repair.

What the law does not do is give the person who caused the damage, or their insurer, the right to decide who carries out that repair. The vehicle is yours. The choice of who works on it is yours as well, provided the cost is reasonable.

This is why a non-fault claim is different from a claim on your own policy. You are not asking your insurer for a favour under the terms of a contract you signed. You are recovering a loss from the person who caused it.

Where the position is different

We would rather be straight with you about the limits of this than have you find out later.

If you claim through your own comprehensive policy rather than against the other driver’s insurer, your policy terms apply. Most motor policies allow the insurer to direct the repair to an approved repairer, and some charge a higher excess or restrict certain benefits if you go elsewhere. That is a contract you have agreed to, and it is enforceable.

The same applies where fault is disputed or shared, or where the other driver is untraced or uninsured, because the claim may then have to proceed through a different route.

None of that means you have no say. It means the position depends on how the claim is made, which is exactly why it is worth having the conversation before the claim is logged rather than after. If you tell us what happened, we will tell you honestly which route looks right and what it means for your choice of repairer.

How insurer repair networks work

Most insurers work with a network of approved repairers, and it’s useful to understand how that arrangement works when you’re deciding where your car should go.

Insurers agree labour rates and repair methods with the garages in their network. In return, those garages receive a regular flow of work. This helps claims move along smoothly and lets insurers manage costs across a large number of repairs.

For many drivers, that works well. Others would rather have a say in who repairs their car, perhaps a garage they already know, one closer to home, or one that can fit around their working week.

You’re entitled to make that choice. If you choose us, you’ll deal with us directly, and we’ll keep you informed about the decisions that affect your car, such as whether a panel is repaired or replaced. We’ll also work with your insurer throughout, so the claim is handled properly from start to finish.

What happens when you exercise the choice

Nothing dramatic, and nothing that slows your claim down.

You tell your insurer, or the other driver’s insurer, that you have already appointed a repairer. We provide the estimate, the evidence and the documentation in the form the insurer needs. The claim proceeds in the normal way. You do not lose any protection, and you do not give anything up.

Occasionally an insurer will push back, suggest the process will take longer, or imply that a guarantee only applies within their own network. If that happens, tell us and we will deal with it. It is a conversation we have regularly and it is rarely difficult.

What you should not do

Two things cost people the choice more often than anything else.

The first is agreeing to a collection over the phone. Insurers frequently offer to recover the vehicle immediately. Once it is sitting in somebody else’s compound, getting it back is awkward and you have effectively made the decision.

The second is waiting. If you take a fortnight to think about it, the claim will already have been placed and the work booked in. The choice is real, but it is time-limited in practice.

If you are not sure yet, you do not have to commit to anything. Simply tell the insurer you have not yet decided where the repair will be carried out.

Why people choose us

We are an independent bodyshop in Lingfield. We are not part of an insurer network, which means nobody else sets our rates, our methods or our priorities.

Your vehicle is repaired on our own site by our own technicians. We work to manufacturer repair methods using approved paint systems, and we colour-match to your vehicle’s original finish. We will tell you honestly what needs doing and what does not, and if a panel can be properly repaired rather than replaced, or genuinely cannot, you will hear it from us either way.

You deal with the same people from the first call to the day you collect the vehicle. Our repairs and paintwork are guaranteed for as long as you own the vehicle, and parts are covered by the manufacturer’s own parts warranty. Full terms are on our Our Guarantee page.

If you have already agreed to their repairer

You may still have options, particularly if the work has not yet started. It is worth a phone call before you assume the decision is final.

Talk to us first

You do not need your claim number or your policy documents. All we need to begin is your registration, a postcode, and a couple of minutes of your time.

Our online claim form and our WhatsApp line are open 24 hours a day. Enquiries received during opening hours get a call back within two working hours. Anything that arrives overnight or at the weekend is answered by 9am on the next working day.

If you would rather speak to someone now, call us on 01342 832511.

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