February 10, 2026 · 4 min read
Your Insurance Cannot Choose Your Body Shop in Texas
Texas law gives you the right to pick your own collision repair shop. Here is how steering works and what to say when it happens.
After an accident, one of the first things many Texas drivers hear from their insurance company is that they need to take the vehicle to a shop on the insurer's list. It sounds like a rule. It is not.
In Texas, the vehicle is yours and the repair decision is yours. It is illegal for an insurer to require you to use a specific repair facility. Insurers may recommend shops, but you are free to decline.
Why insurers push preferred shops
Direct repair program shops agree to pricing and process concessions in exchange for referral volume. Those concessions are about cost control, not repair quality. In practice that can mean aftermarket parts where genuine parts belong, or repairing a part that should be replaced.
A certified shop repairs to the manufacturer's published procedure, which is what preserves your vehicle's safety systems, crash performance, and resale value.
What to say if you feel steered
Tell the adjuster clearly: "I have chosen Platinum Auto Collision in Pantego and I'm authorizing them to repair my vehicle." That is all it takes. Then give us the claim number and we take the conversation from there.
If you have already dropped the vehicle at another shop, you can still move it. Call us at 817-677-9244 and we will explain the process.
Questions about your repair?
Call 817-677-9244 or request a free written estimate — we will walk you through the claim.
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