Direct repair programs from the insurer's side: scorecards, cycle time

A direct repair program is a contract between an insurer and a body shop. The shop gets a steady flow of claims and quick payment; the insurer gets agreed standards, faster repairs and a shop it can monitor. You never have to use the shop, but the arrangement shapes what you are offered, which shop appears first, and who stands behind the work.

This article looks at the arrangement from the insurer's side of the table, because most of what drivers experience (a "preferred" shop, a guaranteed completion date, a shop that seems to need little approval) follows from terms you never see. The rules that protect your choice of shop are covered below, along with a way to check any shop, network or not, against manufacturer and industry credentials.

What a direct repair program is, and what the shop signs up for

Insurers use different names for their networks (Select Service, Auto Repair Xpress, the Progressive network), but the structure is the same: a list of shops the insurer has vetted, a written agreement with each, and a way of steering work toward the shops that perform best. The Insurance Information Institute describes a direct repair program as a network of repair shops and dealerships that an insurer approves, and notes that insurers vet participating shops for quality (Triple-I FAQ on direct repair programs).

The most detailed public description we found comes from a regulator. In a report submitted in December 2025, the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation surveyed 20 auto insurers and a group of shops. According to the Vermont report, 17 of the 20 insurers used some form of direct repair program, and the number of program shops each insurer reported for 2023 ranged from one to twenty. Vermont is a small market, so treat the counts as one state's snapshot, not a national figure.

The insurers told Vermont they look at these things when deciding whether to admit a shop:

• Convenient location and local reputation
• Modern estimating systems, equipment and technology
• Trained or certified staff
• Required insurance coverage and licenses

In return the insurers said a program shop agrees to provide a lifetime warranty on repairs for as long as the owner has the car, to follow the insurer's appraisal guidelines and best practices, and to accept competitive rates based on prevailing rates in the market. Those three promises are the core of the contract. The detailed terms (estimate deadlines, photo requirements, parts sourcing, how supplements are handled) sit in the agreement itself, and the agreement is not public.

The shops' side of the story is different. About 56% of the shops that answered Vermont's survey were program shops for at least one insurer, and they cited predictable work and standardized processes as the advantage. Shops that stayed out cited the insurer's control over the repair and pressure to write low estimates. Which view is closer to the truth depends on the insurer and the shop, but both are reasons the contract matters to you.

Scorecards and cycle time: how the insurer keeps score

A network is only useful to an insurer if it can tell good shops from bad ones. That is the job of the scorecard, a periodic report that grades each shop on measures the insurer chooses.

Vermont's insurers listed the quality-control tools they use: random re-inspections of finished cars, satisfaction surveys of policyholders, estimate review and monitoring, file reviews and sampling of completed repairs, and quality scorecards from CCC, a claims-technology vendor. A trade-press account of CCC's scorecard product says insurers can choose from nearly 100 measures in four groups (customer satisfaction, cycle time, estimating accuracy and estimating quality) and weight them as they like; the same article reported that Farmers dropped a new shop scorecard after about six months in 2018, a reminder that these systems are rebuilt often (Repairer Driven News, June 2018).

Cycle time deserves a closer look because it is the number most visible to you. It counts the days a car spends in the repair process, and every day on the clock is usually a day of rental car the insurer pays under your rental coverage. The 2020 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, as reported by trade press, found customers at program shops scored 888 out of 1,000 against 844 at non-program shops, and attributed the gap to quicker cycle times and regular progress updates; the same report put the average at 11.6 days from first notice of loss to delivery at program shops and 16 days elsewhere (Repairer Driven News). Those are 2020 figures, and a car's repair time varies enormously with parts availability.

Scorecards also decide who gets the work. A shop owner writing in Fender Bender in 2017 described insurers that ranked program shops publicly or sorted them into performance tiers that reset every month, with the top tier receiving far more referrals (Fender Bender, April 2017). State Farm's own page says its shop locator lists up to 50 shops within 75 miles "in order of performance on the Select Service Program as determined by State Farm" (State Farm repair services). So the shop at the top of the list you are shown is, in part, the shop that scored best on the insurer's formula.

A scorecard worked through with invented numbers

Say an insurer weights satisfaction at 35%, cycle time at 30%, estimate accuracy at 20% and re-inspection quality at 15%, each scored out of 100. Shop A scores 92 on satisfaction, 60 on cycle time, 80 on accuracy and 95 on quality. Shop B scores 88, 90, 70 and 85.

• Shop A: 0.35 × 92 + 0.30 × 60 + 0.20 × 80 + 0.15 × 95 = 80.5
• Shop B: 0.35 × 88 + 0.30 × 90 + 0.20 × 70 + 0.15 × 85 = 84.6

Shop B ranks higher even though Shop A does better work, because speed carries nearly a third of the weight. The numbers are made up; the lesson is general. A formula rewards what it measures, and shops adapt to it. A shop can do both well, but the incentive to hit a cycle-time target is real, and it is one reason to ask your shop how it handles a hidden-damage supplement rather than assuming the schedule will bend.

How a program shapes parts, procedures and estimates

Programs do not only measure shops; they set expectations about how the work is done. The Vermont regulator concluded that a program can give the insurer more influence over the contracted shop, including over parts sources, repair choices and labor rates, and can indirectly pressure independent shops that compete with program prices.

The clearest public record of the two sides' views is a 2021 Texas House Insurance Committee hearing on HB 1131, reported by trade press. An insurer representative said most program contracts allow both original-equipment and aftermarket parts as will best suit the repair, and that claims staff tell shops to do what needs to be done. A shop representative said insurers dictate how to fix a vehicle, which parts to use and where to buy them, and that some programs require an estimate within two hours and expect shops to absorb added damage instead of paying a supplement (Repairer Driven News, April 2021). Both statements were testimony from interested parties, not findings.

What you can verify is in your own policy. State Farm's Oklahoma policy booklet (form 9836A), for example, says the repair estimate may include new, used, recycled and reconditioned parts, whether or not they are OEM parts, and that the insurer may base the repair cost on "prevailing competitive" prices in the area. Other insurers' forms differ, and an endorsement can change the answer; our guide to Aftermarket vs OEM parts in insurance repairs and the article on OEM parts endorsements explain how to find yours. The key point for a program shop is that the policy language and the shop agreement point the same way: the insurer expects the estimate to be priced to a local standard.

When a repair needs a step the estimate does not include, the shop writes a supplement and the insurer reviews it. Vermont's shops reported that supplements were required on about 95% of repairs on average, which they linked to the rise in photo-based appraisals, and reported an average delay of about 7 days. The insurers' own figures were lower and showed a smaller increase. Our article on supplements and hidden damage: why the repair bill grows explains why the bill grows.

What the insurer gets out of the arrangement

The savings are real but mostly indirect. Vermont's insurers all told the regulator that they pay program shops the same labor rates as other shops, though nearly 60% of the shops surveyed said program rates were typically lower. So the dispute is partly about whether the savings come from price. Other places the money can come from:

• Rental days. A shorter cycle time means fewer days of rental or loss-of-use payments.
• Fewer supplements and re-approvals. A shop that writes the first estimate with the insurer's tools and follows its guidelines reduces back-and-forth, and an insurer can often approve a photo estimate without sending an claims adjuster to the shop.
• Lower administrative cost. The insurer pays the shop directly, which avoids a check you have to endorse, and often settles in one transaction.
• Fewer disputes. A written guarantee and a satisfaction survey catch problems before a complaint reaches a regulator.
• Parts cost. Where the policy allows alternative parts, a program can steer toward them.

Customers get something too: one phone call, a ride, and a repair date. The question is not whether the arrangement helps you but whether it helps you more than a shop you pick yourself would, and that depends on the shop.

The guarantee: whose promise it is

Almost every program advertises a lifetime guarantee. The wording differs in ways that matter, so read it as a contract.

The Progressive page limits coverage to a "covered repair," meaning damage described in a written assessment and fixed by a network shop, and excludes normal wear, neglect, a later accident and original manufacturer defects (Progressive's guarantee terms). GEICO's promise page says the repairs are guaranteed by GEICO and the facility for as long as you own the vehicle (GEICO Auto Repair Xpress promise). In Vermont, insurers described the guarantee as the shop's, with the insurer enforcing it for the claimant. Our companion article on who stands behind a collision repair: shop or insurer guarantee covers what to do when a defect shows up years later.

All of these are programs as the companies described them on their sites in November 2026; terms change, and some are state-specific.

Steering rules and your right to choose any shop

Nothing about a program obliges you to use it. Several states go further and regulate how an insurer may talk about its network. Rules differ by state, so check your own regulator's site or the state car insurance requirements lookup tool.

• North Carolina. G.S. 58-3-180 says a policy covering damage to a motor vehicle must allow the claimant to select the repair service, and the insurer must pay the amount it owes regardless of the shop chosen. If the insurer or its representative recommends a particular shop, it must tell the claimant that there is no obligation to use it, that the claimant may choose any shop, that payment will be the same, and whether the insurer has a financial interest in the shop. Violations carry civil penalties capped at $2,000 under the statute (N.C.G.S. 58-3-180).
• New York. Insurance Law section 2610 bars an insurer from requiring repairs at a particular shop and from recommending a shop unless the insured expressly asks. A 2007 opinion of the department's counsel, reviewing a gift-card incentive for agents who mentioned the insurer's program, said the program was not a per se violation but that incentives could foreseeably lead to steering, and advised written guidelines and scripts (NY DFS opinion 07-09-18).
• California. State Farm's own page tells California customers that it may not require repairs at a particular shop and that the choice remains theirs even where it recommends one. Regulation 10 CCR 2695.8 is the underlying rule.
• Vermont. The 2025 report recommended that regulators consider tightening direct repair rules so consumers keep their choice of shop and that shops be barred from charging a consumer any cost difference resulting from a program's contracted rate. These were recommendations, not law.

The practical lines are these. You can take the car anywhere. If you choose a non-network shop, the insurer will still pay for covered damage, but you may need to get or approve an estimate first, and State Farm's page warns that you may be responsible for amounts the insurer did not agree to. Insurers can also explain, truthfully, that a network shop comes with a guarantee and a schedule. What they should not do in the states above is require the shop, or recommend it without being asked.

How to check any shop against manufacturer and industry credentials

Whether or not a shop is in a network, you can test its credentials. Program membership tells you the insurer likes the shop's numbers; it says little about whether the shop can repair your particular car.

1. Ask which automaker certifications the shop holds for your make. Automakers run their own collision-repair programs with tool, training and facility requirements, and many publish a locator on their websites. Our article on Certified EV collision repair networks: what the certification means explains what such a certification means.
2. Look up I-CAR Gold Class. I-CAR's standard requires the shop's estimator, refinish, structural and non-structural roles to be filled by technicians who have reached its second training level, with annual training to keep the status. It is a training credential, not a guarantee of any single repair, and I-CAR offers a Gold Class standards page and a shop locator.
3. Ask for the repair procedures. For structural or driver-assistance work, ask whether the shop will follow the automaker's published procedures and whether the estimate includes recalibration and any needed scans.
4. Ask who decides if the insurer's estimate and the procedure disagree. A good shop will explain how it handles the difference.
5. Check complaints. Your state insurance department and attorney general take complaints about steering and about repairs.

Questions to put to the insurer

• Is this shop part of a program, and does the shop give the guarantee or do you?
• Does the guarantee cover work if I sell the car, and what voids it?
• If I use my own shop, what will you pay and how do I submit its estimate?
• Will you use non-OEM parts on this repair, and can I see them listed on the estimate?
• Who pays if hidden damage is found after teardown?

Common questions

Does using a network shop change my claim payment?

In North Carolina the statute requires the insurer to pay the amount it owes regardless of the shop, and other states have similar rules, but check yours. The practical differences are speed, direct payment and the guarantee. With a non-network shop, the shop may bill more than the insurer's estimate; how that gap is resolved depends on the shop, the policy and your state.

Is a "preferred" shop safer than one I find myself?

The program checks things such as training, equipment and customer surveys, but program membership is not a safety rating. The Vermont regulator also reported that insurers had trouble explaining how they set final labor rates, and it flagged the risk that rates agreed by program shops can be used to set the local prevailing rate. Judge a shop on its credentials and on how it answers your questions.

Can the insurer refuse to pay a non-network shop?

In states with rules like those described above, an insurer cannot refuse a covered claim simply because you picked a different shop. It can pay according to its own estimate and the policy's valuation and parts terms. If the amounts differ, ask for the estimate in writing, and consider an appraisal or a complaint to your state insurance department.

Will the insurer tell me how my shop scored?

Not usually. Scorecards are shared with shops, and a shop may tell you where it stands, but insurers do not publish them, though some use the results to order their shop locators.

Key takeaways

• A direct repair program is a business contract: the shop trades price and process concessions for steady work, and the insurer trades referrals for control and monitoring.
• Scorecards rank shops on satisfaction, cycle time, estimate accuracy and quality, and the ranking can decide which shop you are shown first.
• The lifetime guarantee is only as good as its wording: read who gives it, what voids it, and whether it ends when you sell the car.
• You may use any shop. Several states, including North Carolina and New York, restrict how insurers recommend one, and rules vary by state.
• Check a shop's manufacturer and I-CAR credentials yourself, whether or not it is in a network.