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Your insurance company cannot make you use their shop. Louisiana law gives you the right to choose. Most people never get told.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance says it plainly in its own consumer guide: vehicle owners “have a right to select the repair facility of their choice.” That right comes from Louisiana Revised Statute 22:1892(D)(1).
Louisiana went further with Act 317. An insurer that recommends a particular shop now has to tell you that you are under no obligation to use it. If an insurer ignores that, the insurance commissioner can fine them, and the fines climb with each repeat violation inside the same twelve months.
So when an adjuster tells you where your car is going, that is a recommendation. It is not an instruction, and it is not a condition of your claim.
Steering is when an insurer pushes you toward a shop in its own network, usually a Direct Repair Program (DRP) shop that has a contract with the insurer. You will recognize it. It usually arrives as a warning.
You do not. The choice of repair facility is yours under Louisiana law.
Your repair is warrantied by the shop that performs it. We stand behind ours.
Delay should not be used as leverage to change where your vehicle is repaired.
Your policy covers a proper repair. Pricing is between the shop and the insurer.
Your vehicle can be moved. Call us and we will handle getting it to our shop.
A network list is a business arrangement. It is not a requirement placed on you.
You do not need to argue. One sentence ends it:
“I understand you recommend that shop. I am using Expressway Collision Center at 4609 Airline Drive in Metairie. Please note my file.”
Then write down the date, the time, the adjuster’s name and what was said. Keep every email and text until the claim closes. If the pressure keeps coming, that record is what makes a complaint stick.
Louisiana law (R.S. 51:2424) requires that non-OEM aftermarket crash parts be disclosed to you in writing, and identified as such on the written estimate. You are entitled to know what is going on your car before anyone installs it. Ask. We will show you the line items and explain what each one is.
Steering continues largely because it goes unreported. The Louisiana Department of Insurance handles consumer questions and complaints about insurer conduct.
LDI Consumer Services: 800-259-5300
Email: public@ldi.la.gov
Call us first if you want. We have been doing this on Airline Drive for over 30 years, and the advice costs nothing.
No. Under Louisiana law you have the right to select the repair facility of your choice. An insurer may recommend a shop, but it cannot require you to use one, and it must tell you that you are under no obligation to use the shop it recommends.
Steering is when an insurance company pressures you toward a shop in its own network, usually a Direct Repair Program or DRP shop. It often sounds like a warning: that your claim will be delayed, that the repair will not be guaranteed, or that you will pay the difference. In Louisiana you are free to choose any licensed shop you want.
It should not. Your policy covers a proper repair of your vehicle. A shop outside an insurer's network is not automatically more expensive, and any difference is a negotiation between the shop and the insurer, not a bill that lands on you by default.
Louisiana law requires that non-OEM aftermarket crash parts be disclosed to you in writing and identified on the written estimate. You have the right to know what is going on your vehicle before the work starts.
Write down the date, the time, the adjuster's name and what was said, and keep every email and text. Then tell them plainly which shop you are using. If the pressure continues you can contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 800-259-5300 or public@ldi.la.gov.
Yes. Expressway Collision Center works with all insurance companies and is recognized and authorized by most major carriers. You do not have to be in anyone's network for us to handle your claim.
Expressway Collision Center works with all insurance companies and is recognized and authorized by most major carriers. We handle the claim, document the damage, file supplements when hidden damage turns up, and we do not skip safety procedures to hit someone else’s number.
If you were in a wreck and you are not sure what happens next, start here. If a repair has already been done and something is not right, we will inspect it free.
A note: we are collision repair professionals, not attorneys. The information on this page is a plain-language summary of Louisiana law and the Louisiana Department of Insurance consumer guidance, offered to help you understand your options. For legal advice about your specific claim, talk to a lawyer.
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