That letter is real. One of our guests received it after choosing Nylund’s Collision Center, and they asked us a simple question: “Is all of this actually going to happen?”

This article walks through what the letter says, what Colorado law says, how the claims process normally works, and what you can do if a letter like this lands in your mailbox.

What the Letter Says About Your Right to Choose a Body Shop

The letter came from SF Insurance Co. after the vehicle owner selected our shop. In fairness, it opens by confirming your right to choose a body shop. It states that you “have the right to select the repair facility of your choice to repair your vehicle.”

After that sentence, however, the tone changes. Here is a plain summary of the main points:

Reading Between the Lines

Our shop is named six times in the letter. Since the letter appears to be a form letter, another owner would likely see their own shop’s name inserted in the same places. We are assuming that, of course, since we have only seen the version sent to our guest. Notably, the letter offers no alternative shop. It simply attaches conditions to the choice you already made, which raises a fair question about how it affects your right to choose a body shop in practice.

In the video above, Robert Grieve and Eric Reamer read the full letter on camera and ask viewers a direct question: would this change your mind about where you take your vehicle?

What Colorado Law Says About Insurance Steering

Colorado has a specific statute on this subject. Under C.R.S. 10-4-120, insurers face several limits on how they handle repair choices. The paragraph read in the video, subsection (2)(e), states that an insurer “shall not use disincentives to discourage a beneficiary or claimant from using a particular repair business.” Its only stated exception covers warranty or guarantee of repairs.

The letter our guest received does not mention a warranty or a guarantee. Consequently, that exception does not appear to apply here.

The same subsection lists other limits as well. According to the statute, insurers may not:

1. Require or forbid that repairs be done by a specified repair business.
2. Tell a claimant that using a particular shop may lead to nonpayment or delayed payment.
3. Intimidate, coerce, or threaten a claimant into using a particular shop.
4. Misinform a claimant to steer them toward a particular repair business.
5. Require a third-party claimant to use a particular shop when settling a property damage claim.

Colorado regulators have enforced these rules before. In 2010, for example, the Colorado Division of Insurance fined one auto insurer $71,100 over a deductible discount tied to its contracted shops.

Whether this specific letter crosses a legal line is a question for regulators or courts, not for us. We are a collision repair facility, not a law firm. This article is not legal advice. Still, every vehicle owner deserves to know the law exists before making a decision.

The Insurer’s Side of the Story

Insurers do have legitimate interests in a claim. Most auto policies give the company a right to inspect damaged property before paying. An insurer that pays for repairs naturally wants to verify the damage and the cost. Supporters of letters like this one would likely argue that it simply explains those policy conditions in writing, and that it affirms your right to choose a body shop in its first paragraph.

That position deserves a fair hearing. In most claims, though, an inspection at the shop you chose already serves that purpose. The question our guest raised is whether the overall effect of the letter discourages a choice the law protects. Reasonable people can read it differently, so we invite you to decide for yourself.

How a Normal Claim Works When You Choose Your Own Shop

Understanding the normal process helps you see why this letter surprised us. For most claims at our shop, the sequence looks like this:

1. You bring your vehicle to the shop you selected.
2. An adjuster from the insurer visits the shop to look at the damage.
3. That adjuster writes a preliminary estimate based on what is visible.
4. Our technicians disassemble the damaged area to find hidden damage.
5. Next, the adjuster reviews the additional damage, either in person or through photos.
6. Both the shop and insurer exchange supplements until the repair plan is complete.

That back and forth is normal. Sometimes the adjuster comes out more than once. In other words, the system already allows the insurer to inspect your vehicle without moving it anywhere.

Why Disassembly Matters for a Safe Repair

The letter asks you not to authorize “tear down.” That phrase sounds destructive, but it simply means careful disassembly. Collision damage rarely stops at the bumper cover or the fender.

Behind those panels sit energy absorbers, brackets, sensors, wiring, and structural rails. A modern vehicle may also carry radar units and cameras for its advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. These parts often require calibration after a collision repair. Damage to any of them stays invisible until someone removes the outer panels.

Delaying disassembly does not make that damage disappear. It only delays the moment everyone learns about it.

Why Certification Matters to Your Right to Choose a Body Shop

Many vehicle owners pick a shop because it holds manufacturer certifications for their make. That choice has real safety value. Automakers publish detailed repair procedures that spell out which parts to replace, where to section, how to weld, and when to calibrate sensors. A certified shop invests in the training, tools, and equipment needed to follow those procedures.

An insurer’s estimate, by contrast, starts with what an adjuster can see from the outside. Supplements close that gap once technicians find the hidden damage and research the factory procedures. For this reason, a supplement does not automatically signal an unnecessary repair. More often, it reflects the difference between a quick visual estimate and a complete repair plan.

When you exercise your right to choose a body shop, you are really choosing whose repair standards will govern your vehicle. Organizations such as I-CAR train technicians on these procedures because modern vehicles leave little room for shortcuts. High strength steels, aluminum, and bonded structures all behave differently in a crash than older designs did.

As a result, the shop you select shapes how your vehicle protects you in the next collision. That decision deserves protection, and it deserves to stay yours.

What an Insurance Inspection Site Means for Your Repair

The most unusual part of the letter is the towing requirement. According to the letter, you would need to authorize the shop to release your vehicle for towing to an inspection site. SF Insurance Co. says it will pay for the tow both ways.

The letter does not say where that site is or who operates it. It also does not explain what happens there that could not happen at the shop.

Here is what we can tell you from experience. We first started noticing this style of letter around 2020. Since then, our guests have received many of them. In all that time, not one vehicle has actually been towed from our shop to a separate inspection site.

Even so, the threat of a tow raises practical concerns:

• Added time: Two tows and an off-site inspection add days to the repair.
• Rental costs: Many policies cap rental coverage by the day and in total, so delays can push you past those limits.
• Extra handling: Every tow and transfer adds another chance for further damage.
• Uncertainty: Without a named location, you cannot evaluate where your car would go.

How to Protect Your Right to Choose a Body Shop

If you receive a letter like this, you do not need to panic. Your right to choose a body shop remains in place, and the letter itself says so. You do, however, need a plan. Consider these steps:

1. Read the whole letter carefully. Note every sentence that mentions cost to you, delays, or towing.
2. Share it with your shop right away. The shop usually does not receive a copy, so your service advisor may not know it exists.
3. Ask the insurer questions in writing. Email creates a record that phone calls do not.
4. Keep copies of everything. Save the letter, emails, estimates, and photos in one folder.
5. Review your policy. Look for the inspection and appraisal provisions so you know your obligations.
6. Contact the regulator if needed. Colorado consumers can file a complaint with the Colorado Division of Insurance if they believe an insurer handled a claim improperly.

Questions to Ask the Adjuster in Writing

Specific questions tend to produce specific answers. Try these:

• Where exactly is the inspection site, and who operates it?
• Why can the inspection not take place at the shop I selected?
• How many days will the tow and inspection add to my repair?
• Will you extend my rental coverage to cover any delay you cause?
• Which repairs on the current estimate do you consider unnecessary, and why?
• Do you follow the vehicle manufacturer’s published repair procedures when writing your estimate?

Clear written answers help you, your shop, and, if necessary, a regulator understand exactly what the insurer intends. They also show the insurer that you know your right to choose a body shop and plan to use it.

Your Right to Choose a Body Shop Is Worth Understanding

Choosing a repair facility is one of the most important decisions after a collision. A certified shop with the right equipment and training directly affects how your vehicle performs in the next crash. That is why the right to choose a body shop matters far beyond paperwork.

The letter in this episode does confirm that right. Then it lists costs, delays, and conditions that may make a vehicle owner second guess the choice they already made. Whether that amounts to a disincentive under Colorado law is not our call. Your reaction to it, however, is entirely yours. Knowing the law, the normal claims process, and the right questions to ask puts you in a stronger position to defend your right to choose a body shop.

So we will ask the same question we asked in the video. Would this letter change your mind about the shop you chose? Leave your answer in the comments on the video, and tell us why. Real experiences from real vehicle owners help everyone make better decisions.

The post Right to Choose a Body Shop: What That Insurer Letter Means appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

This article explains why AI collision repair advice can be confidently wrong, where those answers have already hurt real customers, and how to use AI as a smart research partner instead of a repair authority. Nobody here is arguing against AI. In fact, both of us use it every day. The point is simple: check the math before you act on it.

Why AI Collision Repair Advice Sounds So Convincing

AI chatbots are built to be helpful. As a result, they rarely answer with “I don’t know.” When you ask a question, the tool will almost always produce something that reads like a confident, complete answer.

That eagerness creates a specific problem for AI collision repair advice. If AI told you to remove a body part that doesn’t exist, you would laugh and close the window. However, when it gives you an answer that is 90% plausible and delivered with total confidence, you have no easy way to spot the 10% that is wrong.

Most chatbots also work by blending patterns from huge amounts of public text. In other words, the answer you get often reflects an average of many sources. Some of those sources are expert. Others are not. Averaging an expert’s answer with a guess does not produce an expert answer.

Finally, AI cannot see your car. It only knows what you typed and what it can find in public sources. A trained estimator, by contrast, is looking at the actual damage, measuring the actual structure, and reading the actual factory procedure.

In Episode 300 of The Airing of GRIEVEances, Eric and Rob walk through real emails and letters from customers and insurers that relied on AI. The video shows the documents behind the examples below.

What AI Can’t See: OEM Repair Procedures

Automakers publish detailed repair procedures for every model. These documents specify which parts may be repaired, which must be replaced, where sectioning is allowed, and which welding or bonding methods to use. They also list the steel grades in each structural part.

For Toyota and Lexus, that information lives behind a paid login. Toyota’s Collision Repair Information Bulletins (CRIBs) now require a subscription to the Toyota Technical Information System, as I-CAR’s guide to finding Toyota and Lexus CRIBs explains.

So we asked an AI tool directly whether it could access Toyota and Lexus TIS. It answered honestly: no, TIS is a paid, subscription-based service. The tool can search public web pages. Still, it cannot read the factory procedures your repair actually depends on.

AI Collision Repair Advice on Steel Strength: A Real Example

Next, Rob asked the same AI about the front frame rail on a 2025 Lexus ES. Here is how the conversation went.

Notice the pattern. The tool gave two different answers to the same question. When shown the factory document, it never acknowledged the earlier error. Instead, it just agreed.

This matters because steel strength drives repair decisions. Generally, the higher the megapascal rating, the less repairable the part. Some vehicles use ultra-high-strength rails that the automaker says must be replaced when damaged. A 440 MPa rail is a very different situation. Consequently, AI collision repair advice that mislabels the steel can convince an owner that a repairable car is ruined, or the reverse.

In another email, AI warned against hydraulic cold straightening on “hot stamped, ultra high strength steel frame rails.” That caution is reasonable when those rails exist. On this vehicle, they did not.

Myth: Certified Shops Are Legally Bound to Use OEM Parts

One customer used AI to draft a letter to their insurance company. Part of it read:

“The certified collision repair facility, Nylund’s Collision Center, is contractually and legally bound by factory specifications. They cannot and will not install counterfeit, replica, or aftermarket parts on luxury vehicles.”

That statement is only partly true, which is a common pattern in AI collision repair advice. Nylund’s does choose to install only factory parts. Toyota and Lexus strongly recommend genuine parts through their repair documentation and CRIBs, and they explain the safety reasons. Even so, the Toyota and Lexus certification agreement does not legally require OEM parts.

At other certified shops, policies differ. Some certification programs are stricter than others. With Toyota and Lexus, for example, a different certified shop may install aftermarket parts if the owner insists and signs a form saying so. That is not an option at Nylund’s. It is, however, an option elsewhere.

How AI Collision Repair Advice Can Weaken Your Insurance Letter

Now picture the adjuster reading that letter. They know the “legally bound” claim is not accurate. Next, they can point to the policy language and to state rules that, in the insurer’s view, allow non-OEM parts. Suddenly, the customer’s strongest point looks like a misunderstanding, and the rest of the letter loses credibility.

The same letter also cited laws. That deserves real caution. Neither of us is a lawyer, and we don’t know whether any of those cited laws actually apply. This article is not legal advice. If a dispute turns on a statute, talk to a licensed attorney before you quote one.

Calling a Bumper Cover “Structural” in a Complaint

Another customer sent a complaint to the state insurance regulator. The AI-drafted letter included this bullet: “Sourcing incorrect structural components. This company included a front bumper on the original estimate, but sourced the completely incorrect part number.”

The part in question was a bumper cover. That is the plastic outer piece, not a structural component. A wrong part number is a legitimate concern, and the customer had a fair point to make. Unfortunately, the AI collision repair advice behind the letter overstated it. Calling the cover “structural” handed the insurer an easy rebuttal: the customer is calling non-structural parts structural.

When a regulator is acting as the mediator, accuracy is everything. Interestingly, the regulator has noticed this trend too. The Colorado Division of Insurance complaint page states that it is “seeing an increase in AI-generated complaints that often contain significant errors” regarding state laws and policy details.

When an Adjuster Uses AI Collision Repair Advice

Customers are not the only ones relying on chatbots. In one recent case, an insurance adjuster denied ADAS calibrations because AI collision repair advice claimed that performing one calibration automatically completes the other. According to Rob, that could not be farther from the truth.

Each driver assistance system has its own calibration requirements in the automaker’s procedures. Those requirements depend on the vehicle, the system, and the repair performed. A chatbot’s summary is no substitute for the procedure itself. Skipping a required calibration can leave cameras or radar sensors reading the road incorrectly.

Why This Problem Keeps Growing

More owners are turning to chatbots every month, and so are insurance staff. At Nylund’s, Rob now fields calls from owners who had a shop send them frame specifications, pasted them into a chatbot, and came away convinced their car has some rare and alarming condition.

Most of those calls end with relief. Once a trained professional looks at the actual vehicle and the actual factory procedure, the scary label usually disappears.

Even the AI companies acknowledge the limits. Popular tools such as ChatGPT and Claude display a reminder that AI can make mistakes. That small line of text deserves more attention than it gets, especially when the answer could change how your car is repaired or how your claim is handled.

Put simply, the tools are improving, but they still cannot replace hands, eyes, measurements, and factory documentation.

How to Use AI Collision Repair Advice the Right Way

AI can be incredibly useful during a repair. The key is to treat AI collision repair advice as a starting point. Use it to ask better questions, not to settle technical disputes.

Here are approaches that work well:

• Ask what you should be asking. Prompt the AI with “What questions should I ask my repair shop and insurer about this repair?”
• Compare estimates. Upload the insurer’s estimate and the shop’s estimate, then ask what differs and what might be missing.
• Improve your prompt first. Ask the AI how to phrase your question for the most accurate answer, not the answer you hope to hear.
• Tell it to verify. Instruct the tool to double-check and triple-check before responding. This reduces, but does not eliminate, made-up answers.

Remember that garbage in still means garbage out. Two people can ask about the same car and get very different answers simply because of how they wrote the prompt.

A Checklist Before You Send Anything

Before an AI-drafted email or letter goes to your insurer or a regulator, run through these steps:

1. Confirm every technical term with your repair shop.
2. Remove any claim that a shop is “legally required” to do something unless the shop confirms it.
3. Delete statute numbers and legal citations you haven’t verified with an attorney.
4. Check that parts described as “structural” really are structural.
5. Attach the shop’s documentation instead of paraphrasing it.
6. Read the letter aloud and cut anything you can’t personally explain.

Questions to Bring to Your Repair Professional

There is no shame in saying, “AI told me this. What’s your assessment?” Rob hears versions of that question every day, and a good shop welcomes it. As a Toyota and Lexus certified facility, Nylund’s can check the AI’s claim against the factory procedure for your exact vehicle.

Bring questions like these:

• Which OEM repair procedures apply to my vehicle?
• What steel grades are in the damaged parts, and are they repairable or replace-only?
• Which ADAS calibrations does this repair require, and why?
• What parts are you installing, and what does my policy allow?

Good answers tell you you’re on the right track. Vague or evasive answers tell you something too. At that point, you may want to ask whether your vehicle is in the right place.

The Bottom Line on AI Collision Repair Advice

AI is here to stay, and you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Handled carefully, it helps you understand your repair and prepare smarter questions. Used carelessly, it can put inaccurate claims in your letters, weaken your position with an insurer, or cause needless panic about your car.

So who do you want fixing your car? The answer shouldn’t be a chatbot. AI collision repair advice belongs at the start of your research, never at the end of it. Let trained technicians, factory procedures, and verified documentation decide how your vehicle gets repaired.

The post AI Collision Repair Advice: What to Trust and Verify appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

What Does “Prevailing Competitive Rate” Mean?

Insurers use the term to describe the going rate for collision repair labor in a given area. In theory, the figure reflects what shops in your market typically charge per labor hour. If your shop charges more, the insurer may pay only up to its own figure.

On the surface, that logic sounds fair. Nobody wants to pay $200 for something everyone else sells for $100. Still, a price comparison only works when both sides describe the same product.

Consider a hotel example. Someone tells you the average hotel room in Denver costs $129. That number says very little until you know which hotels went into the average. A roadside motel 20 miles out and a full-service hotel downtown both rent rooms, but they do not sell the same thing.

Labor rates work the same way. A rate survey can include shops with very different training, equipment, and certifications. Consequently, a single prevailing competitive rate can hide more than it reveals about the shops behind it.

Why Any Prevailing Competitive Rate Needs an Apples-to-Apples Comparison

Modern vehicles hide a lot of technology behind ordinary-looking panels. A bumper cover may conceal radar units or parking sensors. Behind the glass, a windshield may hold the camera that runs lane keeping and automatic emergency braking. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes how these driver assistance features rely on cameras and sensors to detect lanes, vehicles, and obstacles.

Structural materials matter too. High-strength steels, aluminum, and bonded joints often limit which repair methods a technician can safely use. Automakers publish repair procedures that spell out those limits.

So the price conversation has to start with the repair itself:

1. Identify the damage on this specific vehicle.
2. Review what the manufacturer’s repair procedures require.
3. List the equipment, training, and calibrations the job needs.
4. Confirm who can perform that work to the automaker’s standard.

Only after those answers come in can anyone compare cost fairly against a prevailing competitive rate. For example, a Lexus owner who chooses a Lexus-certified facility is buying a repair performed inside the manufacturer’s program. A lower hourly rate at a shop outside that program may not describe the same repair at all.

Think about hiring help at home. The price a general handyman charges does not set the price for a licensed electrician. You care whether the person can actually do the job you need.

Insurance Estimate vs. Repair Plan: Two Different Documents

Many drivers assume the shop’s figure and the insurer’s figure measure the same thing. They do not.

Your repair facility has the vehicle in front of it. Technicians tear down the damaged area, find hidden damage, and research the OEM repair procedures. Their repair plan answers one question: what does this car need?

The insurer’s estimate answers a different question: what does the company believe it owes under your policy? Sometimes the two numbers line up. Other times they do not, and the gap needs an explanation. Labor rates are one of the most common sources of that gap, especially when an insurer applies its prevailing competitive rate instead of the shop’s posted rate.

Suppose the shop says a proper repair costs $10,000 and the insurer’s estimate says $8,000. You probably do not care how either side built its number. Instead, you care about three things: whether the car gets fixed correctly, when you get it back, and whether anyone expects you to cover the missing $2,000.

The New York Case Behind the Prevailing Competitive Rate Question

A September 2026 decision from New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, brought this issue into focus. The case involved a 2018 Audi Q7 damaged in a February 2023 accident. After the crash, the owner took it to Prospect Auto Sales and Repairs and signed an assignment that let the shop pursue the claim.

According to the court decision, as reported in insurance trade coverage, the numbers looked like this:

The shop sued SF Insurance Co over the difference. SF Insurance Co asked for summary judgment, which means asking a court to end a case without a trial. The trial court granted that request and dismissed the complaint.

What the Appeals Court Said

The shop appealed, and the Appellate Division unanimously reversed. SF Insurance Co had argued that it paid based on its own estimate at the prevailing competitive rate, which it said a survey determined. However, according to the appellate court, SF Insurance Co never produced that survey in support of its motion.

The judges called SF Insurance Co’s position “wholly conclusory and unsubstantiated.” In plain English, the court said SF Insurance Co made a claim without showing enough evidence to back it up. Reports also note the court found a company representative’s affidavit relied on secondhand information rather than personal knowledge.

What the Ruling Did Not Decide

Precision matters here. The court did not rule that the shop’s bill was correct. It also did not order SF Insurance Co to pay the $6,548.38 difference. The decision only means SF Insurance Co had not shown enough to end the case early, so the dispute goes back to the trial court.

SF Insurance Co’s position remains that it paid according to its estimate and its rate survey. The shop’s claims are allegations that a court has not yet decided. This article is consumer education, not legal advice. Furthermore, New York law governs that case, and the rules in Colorado or your state may differ.

Who Sets the Prevailing Competitive Rate?

The case raises a broader question that collision repairers have asked for years. Insurers pay for a large share of collision repair work. If an insurer sets the amount it will pay for labor in a market, many shops accept that amount on thousands of claims. Later, those paid amounts can show up as evidence of what shops in that market charge.

That cycle invites a fair question about any prevailing competitive rate built from paid claims. Is the market setting the insurance rate, or is the insurance rate helping set the market?

We want to be careful here. Nobody outside the litigation has seen the survey in this case. As a result, no one can say how SF Insurance Co collected its data or what went into its calculation. Oddly enough, that missing survey is exactly why the case drew attention.

Industry frustration extends beyond one courtroom. Repairer Driven News reported on a 2025 industry survey of 230 respondents in which 57 percent said SF Insurance Co had reduced the labor rates offered to their shops without explanation. Keep the context in mind: that survey reflects what repairers reported, and it does not prove what happened on any individual claim. Even so, it helps explain why one New York ruling about a prevailing competitive rate survey has drawn national interest.

How to Respond When Your Insurer Cites the Prevailing Competitive Rate

If your insurer says your shop’s labor rate is too high, stay calm. Asking how the insurer arrived at its prevailing competitive rate is not an accusation. Instead, you are gathering information about your own claim.

Use this checklist:

1. Ask for the specific rate. Find out what hourly rate the insurer applied to your claim.
2. Request the basis in writing. Ask how the insurer calculated its prevailing competitive rate and what data it used.
3. Confirm which shops the survey included. Find out whether those shops hold certifications for your make.
4. Check the age of the data. Rates change, and an old survey may not reflect today’s market.
5. Talk to your repair facility. Ask the shop to explain the difference line by line.
6. Read your policy. The contract and state law decide what the insurer owes, not a phrase on an estimate.
7. Contact your state regulator if needed. The NAIC directory of state insurance departments lists contact information and complaint options for every state.

Questions Worth Putting in Writing

A short, polite email creates a record and usually gets a clearer answer than a phone call. Consider asking your adjuster:

• Which labor rate did you apply to my estimate?
• How did you determine that rate, and when was the data collected?
• Did the comparison include shops certified by my vehicle’s manufacturer?
• Does your rate account for the OEM procedures and calibrations my car requires?
• If I owe any difference, which section of my policy supports that?

Maybe the insurer has excellent data behind its prevailing competitive rate. Great. Then you have real information you can evaluate.

Your Policy, Not the Prevailing Competitive Rate, Decides What Gets Paid

Here is a distinction many drivers learn too late. What your vehicle needs for a proper repair and what your policy pays can become two separate questions.

When someone says “insurance has to pay for that” or “insurance doesn’t cover that,” slow the conversation down. Ask where that answer comes from. A good answer should point to your policy language and the law that applies to your claim.

Many auto policies also contain provisions for resolving disputes over the amount of loss, such as an appraisal clause. Check yours. Ideally, read your policy now, before you ever need it, and ask your agent to explain anything unclear. After an accident is a terrible time to discover what your contract says.

Watch the Full Episode

Eric Reamer walks through the New York case and the bigger labor rate question in this episode of The Airing of GRIEVEances. The video adds context on why certified repairs cost what they do.

A Survey Doesn’t Repair Your Car

Ultimately, there is a big difference between “this is what we pay” and “this is what the repair should cost.” At the counter, those two statements can sound alike. Yet they mean very different things.

Repair cost begins with the vehicle. Start with what happened to it. Next, look at what the manufacturer requires. Finally, identify the people, tools, and procedures the correct repair needs. Once those answers exist, everyone can discuss cost intelligently. And if someone thinks the cost runs too high, that conversation is worth having, as long as both sides bring evidence.

At Nylund’s Collision Center in Englewood, Colorado, we hold Lexus, Toyota, and Lucid certifications. We work inside manufacturer repair systems because automakers engineer today’s vehicles to precise standards. Our repair plans start with OEM procedures, the actual damage, and the vehicle in front of us. When a disagreement arises over labor, parts, or technician training, we believe you deserve to understand why.

Not every shop is the same, and not even every certified shop is the same. A vehicle gets repaired by trained people using the right tools, not by a survey. So if you hear the phrase prevailing competitive rate on your claim, ask one simple question: can you show me how you came up with that number?

Been in an accident and trying to make sense of the next steps? Call Nylund’s Collision Center. We’ll walk you through the repair process and the questions worth asking about your vehicle.

The post Prevailing Competitive Rate: Where Does the Number Come From? appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

Most owners never notice the total loss condition adjustment at all. That matters, because this single adjustment can move your settlement by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

What Is a Total Loss Condition Adjustment?

Most auto policies pay the actual cash value of a totaled vehicle. In plain terms, actual cash value is what your car was worth right before the crash. To estimate it, insurers usually rely on valuation software that finds comparable vehicles, or “comps,” for sale in your area.

Next, the software adjusts each comp so it lines up with your car. Some adjustments are easy to understand. For example, a comp with 20,000 more miles than yours should carry a lower value. Likewise, a comp missing your sunroof or premium audio package needs a small correction.

A total loss condition adjustment works differently. Instead of measuring a real difference, it assumes one. Specifically, the software reduces the asking price of each dealer-listed comp to reflect “average private condition.” The logic says a car on a dealer lot has had reconditioning work, so it must be nicer than a typical privately owned car.

Sometimes that assumption holds up. Other times, it does not. Either way, you should know where the adjustment appears and how to question it.

How Software Applies a Total Loss Condition Adjustment

Several companies produce total loss valuation reports, and CCC Intelligent Solutions is one of the largest. Court filings in a recent North Carolina case describe how that process works in practice. Your own report may come from a different vendor, but the general structure tends to look similar.

Step One: Finding Comparable Vehicles

First, the insurer sends your vehicle details to the valuation company. The software then searches its database for similar vehicles, usually ones listed for sale at dealerships. It compares year, make, model, trim, mileage, and equipment.

Step Two: Applying the Total Loss Condition Adjustment

After that, the software adjusts each comp for mileage, options, and equipment. Then it applies a total loss condition adjustment to every comp’s asking price. The result becomes the “base vehicle value” for your claim.

Step Three: Grading Your Car

Only then does the report evaluate your vehicle. Here, the approach turns much more detailed. According to the filings, the rating covers seats, carpet, dashboard, headliner, sheet metal, trim, paint, glass, engine, transmission, and tires. Each component earns a rating, and those ratings can raise or lower your value.

In short, the comps receive a blanket reduction based on where they sit. Meanwhile, your car receives a part-by-part inspection. That imbalance sits at the heart of a current class action lawsuit.

What the Brewer v. SF Insurance Co Lawsuit Alleges

In October 2025, plaintiffs filed Brewer v. SF Insurance Co. in federal court in North Carolina. They allege that SF Insurance Co lowered total loss payouts by 4% to 9% through condition adjustments on comps. SF Insurance Co denies the allegations. As of this writing, no court has found that SF Insurance Co did anything wrong.

Still, the filings offer a rare look at real numbers. Here is how the total loss condition adjustment played out for four plaintiffs.

Look closely at the Outlander. The comp reduction alone equals roughly 20% of the car’s final value. On an older, lower-value vehicle, a few hundred dollars carries real weight.

The last row stands out too. That owner’s car earned the top condition rating in every category. Even so, the math only brought him back to where the comps started.

Our latest episode of The Airing of GRIEVEances walks through this case and what it means for anyone facing a totaled car. Watch it below, then keep reading for a step-by-step plan to review your own report.

Why “Dealer Ready” Deserves a Closer Look

SF Insurance Co’s filing defends its total loss condition adjustment as the gap between a “dealer-ready” vehicle and a privately owned one. Dealers do have reasons to clean up cars before listing them. However, the phrase covers a lot of ground.

Not Every Dealer Is the Same

A franchise dealership may sell certified pre-owned vehicles. Those cars pass a manufacturer inspection and reconditioning program. On the other hand, a small independent lot may buy inventory at auction and list it within days. Both hold a dealer license. Yet nothing in a valuation report tells you which kind of seller listed each comp.

A Clean Car Can Hide a Poor Repair

As collision repair professionals, we see this side of the story every week. At many dealerships, “ready for sale” means a detail job, shampooed carpet, tire shine, and good photos. None of that reveals the car’s mechanical condition or accident history.

More importantly, fresh paint can hide an improper structural repair. It can also cover a missed weld, a skipped ADAS calibration, or aftermarket parts the manufacturer never approved. A shiny comp on a dealer lot might carry problems your car never had. In that case, assuming the comp is better gets the math backward.

Title History Matters

Some dealers sell vehicles with branded titles, such as salvage, rebuilt, or flood. Nothing in the Brewer filings says any comp carried a branded title. Even so, a rebuilt vehicle and a clean-title vehicle do not sell for the same price. If a comp helps set your car’s value, you have every reason to ask whether anyone checked its history. The federal National Motor Vehicle Title Information System lets consumers look up title brands and total loss history for a small fee.

The Legal Debate Over the Total Loss Condition Adjustment

North Carolina requires total loss settlements to rest on substantially similar vehicles. Its regulation also allows adjustments for condition, options, equipment, and mileage. SF Insurance Co argues the comps serve only as a starting point. It also points to a 2023 federal appeals decision that upheld CCC’s condition adjustment under a similar Florida law.

The plaintiffs see it differently. They argue the regulation allows adjustments based on your car’s condition. In their view, a blanket software reduction applied to every comp is something else entirely.

The courts will settle that question. We are collision repair specialists, not attorneys, and nothing here counts as legal advice. Even so, you do not need a law degree to ask how someone calculated your number.

There is one more practical point. According to the filing, most federal appeals courts have declined to certify total loss class actions. Their reasoning holds that every vehicle valuation is an individual question. As a result, you probably cannot count on a class action to fix a low settlement later. Your best chance to catch an error comes before you accept the check.

How to Review Your Total Loss Valuation Report

A total loss valuation report often runs a dozen pages or more. The settlement figure on page one reflects every decision made on the pages behind it. Here is how to work through it.

1. Request the complete report. Ask for every page, not just the summary letter.
2. Verify each comp. Confirm the trim level, drivetrain, engine, mileage, and options truly match your car.
3. Check location and dates. North Carolina’s rule, for example, looks at vehicles in the local market within 90 days of the loss. Rules vary by state. Still, a comp from three states away or last year deserves a question.
4. Find the total loss condition adjustment on each comp. Write down the dollar amount for every one.
5. Review your own condition ratings. Compare each component rating with how your car actually looked and drove.
6. Gather proof of your car’s condition. Recent tires, new brakes, maintenance records, and pre-accident photos all support a higher rating.
7. Find your own comparable vehicles. Real local listings with VINs give your adjuster something concrete to review.

Send everything to your adjuster in writing. You have the right to bring your own evidence to the table.

Questions to Ask About Your Total Loss Condition Adjustment

Once you find the condition adjustment on each comp, ask your adjuster to explain it in writing. These questions keep the conversation specific:

• What does “dealer ready” mean for this particular vehicle?
• Did anyone physically inspect this comp?
• Has anyone run the VIN or check the title history?
• Does the software apply this reduction to every comp automatically?

If the answer to that last question is yes, you have learned something important. The total loss condition adjustment rests on an assumption, not an inspection. That gives you a fair basis to push back.

Using the Appraisal Clause to Dispute a Total Loss Settlement

Before any claim, it helps to read your policy. Look for three sections: actual cash value, depreciation and physical condition, and appraisal. Most owners never open these pages until something goes wrong.

Many auto policies include an appraisal clause, including the SF Insurance Co policies in the Brewer case. When you and the insurer disagree on the amount of loss, either side can demand appraisal. Typically, you hire your own appraiser and the insurer hires theirs. If the two cannot agree, a neutral umpire makes the final call.

You will usually pay your own appraiser, so run the numbers first. Even so, the results can justify the cost. In the Brewer case, the insurer first valued the plaintiff’s Genesis at $56,772. After a court-ordered appraisal, the appraisers agreed on $62,000. That is a difference of $5,228 on one vehicle.

Loans, Leases, and Gap Insurance

If you finance or lease your car, the settlement check usually goes to the lender first. In the Brewer case, the payment went straight to the leasing company.

Here is why that matters. If you owe more than your car’s actual cash value, every dollar of undervaluation becomes a dollar you may still owe. Gap insurance can cover that difference, but only if you bought it before the loss. Either way, an accurate valuation matters even more when a loan sits on the vehicle.

Where to Turn If a Total Loss Condition Adjustment Looks Wrong

Sometimes an adjuster will not explain a number, or the explanation does not hold up. In that situation, you can contact your state insurance department. Every state regulates how insurers handle claims, and most accept consumer complaints. The NAIC directory of state insurance departments lists contact information for each state.

For larger disputes, a licensed public adjuster or an attorney who handles insurance claims can also help. Their fees vary, so ask about costs up front.

Read the Fine Print Before You Sign

Your total loss settlement is a calculation, and some of its assumptions sit several pages deep. One line about a car on a dealer lot can shift your check by thousands of dollars. So read the full report, question every total loss condition adjustment, and ask how the insurer knows what it claims to know. If someone inspected the comp or checked its title, they can show you the paperwork. If they cannot, you have every right to push back before you sign.

Questions about a total loss, a repair estimate, or a vehicle someone else repaired? Call Nylund’s Collision Center in Englewood. We are always glad to help you understand your options.

The post Total Loss Condition Adjustment: How It Lowers Your Check appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

A federal class action in Colorado recently settled for more than $15 million over one line in those reports. The case, Curran v. Progressive, challenged an adjustment that trimmed money from comparable vehicles. Progressive denies any wrongdoing and agreed to settle to avoid the cost of trial.

You don’t need to be a Progressive customer for this to matter. Most insurers rely on outside software vendors to build these reports. As a result, the lessons from this case apply to almost any total loss claim.

Eric Reamer of Nylund’s Collision Center walks through the case in the video below. This article goes further into how valuations work and what you can do when the number looks low.

How a Total Loss Valuation Works

Insurers total a vehicle when repairing it no longer makes financial sense. Each state sets its own rules for that decision. Some use a fixed percentage of the car’s value. Others add the expected salvage value to the repair cost and compare the total against the car’s worth.

Today’s vehicles cross that line sooner than older models did. Cameras, radar sensors, and the calibrations they require add cost to repairs that once looked routine. Because of that, more owners now end up negotiating a valuation instead of a repair.

What Actual Cash Value Means for Your Claim

Your policy pays actual cash value, or ACV. That figure reflects what your car was worth the moment before the loss. It doesn’t reflect what you paid for the car or what a new one costs.

ACV also has no connection to your loan balance. If you owe more than the car’s value, the insurer pays your lender first. Gap coverage, if you carry it, may cover some or all of the shortfall. Without it, you owe the difference yourself. That is how a totaled car payout works under most policies.

How Comparable Vehicles Shape Your Total Loss Valuation

Insurers rarely build a total loss valuation in-house. Instead, they license software from vendors such as Mitchell or CCC. The software searches for comparable vehicles, often called comps, listed for sale near you.

Next, the report adjusts each comp to match your car more closely. A comp with fewer miles gets adjusted down. On the other hand, a comp missing an option your car has gets adjusted up. The report then blends those adjusted prices into one figure, and that figure becomes your offer.

What a Projected Sold Adjustment Does to a Total Loss Valuation

Comps in these reports usually come from dealer listings. Those listings show asking prices rather than final sale prices. A projected sold adjustment lowers each asking price to reflect the discount the vendor expects a buyer to negotiate.

The math looks small on any single comp. For example, picture three comparable SUVs listed at $24,000, $25,000, and $26,000. A 3% adjustment on each drops the average from $25,000 to $24,250. That $750 disappears from your offer before anyone discusses condition or options.

The plaintiffs in the Colorado case argued that this assumption broke down in recent years. Used car prices climbed sharply, and many dealers sold at sticker price or above. Meanwhile, owners replacing a totaled car still paid full asking price. In the plaintiffs’ view, the assumed discount helped the insurer and did nothing for the policyholder.

However, courts have not settled this question. A federal appeals court sided with Progressive in an Arizona case over the same type of adjustment. Other lawsuits, including Curran, ended in settlements with no finding of fault. Similar challenges have also targeted other insurers and vendors in several states.

For consumers, the takeaway is practical. Any line that subtracts money from a comp deserves an explanation you can understand.

Common Errors in a Total Loss Valuation Report

Disputed adjustments are only part of the picture. A total loss valuation can also contain ordinary mistakes, and those mistakes can cost owners real money.

Wrong Trim Level or Missing Options

Software often decodes a VIN without capturing every package or option. A Limited trim might get compared to a base model. Factory upgrades like premium audio, heated seats, or a technology package may never appear. Check the options list against your window sticker or build sheet.

Mileage and Distance Gaps

A comp with 30,000 more miles should carry a meaningful adjustment. Sometimes that adjustment looks too small to reflect real market differences. Also check where each comp sits. A vehicle listed hours away may not match pricing in your local market.

Condition Deductions Without an Inspection

Many reports rate your car’s interior, exterior, tires, and mechanical systems. In some cases, nobody has looked closely at the car before rating it. Ask who assigned each rating and what they based it on. Photos and service records can challenge an unsupported deduction.

Taxes, Fees, and Prior Damage

Ask whether the offer includes sales tax, title, and registration fees. Rules on these items vary by state and by policy. In addition, review any deduction for prior damage. If a shop already fixed an old dent, your invoice proves it.

How to Dispute a Total Loss Valuation

A first offer is open to discussion. These six steps cost nothing but time, and they put your case on paper.

1. Request the Full Report in Writing

A number read over the phone gives you nothing to check. Ask for the complete valuation report, including every comp and every adjustment. Request the VIN or listing source for each comp so you can confirm it existed.

2. Review Every Adjustment Line

Read each line that adds or subtracts money. Watch for terms like projected sold, negotiation, or condition. If you can’t follow the reasoning, ask the adjuster to explain it in writing. Written answers create a record you can use later.

3. Verify the Comparable Vehicles

Confirm that each comp matches your car’s trim, drivetrain, engine, and options. Then compare mileage and location. When a comp doesn’t fit, say so clearly and explain why.

4. Build Your Own Evidence File

Find current listings for vehicles that truly match yours. Save screenshots with dates and prices. After that, gather service records and receipts for recent work such as tires, brakes, or a timing belt. Pre-loss photos also help show your car’s real condition.

Finally, put everything into a short written rebuttal. List each error, the correction you want, and the dollar amount you believe is fair. Specific numbers give the adjuster something concrete to respond to.

5. Take Your Time Before Signing

Adjusters sometimes point to storage fees or an ending rental to speed things along. Those costs matter, so ask the insurer to move the car to a no-cost location while you review. Avoid signing a release or title transfer until you agree with the value. Once you sign, you may lose the ability to dispute it.

6. Know Your Options If You Still Disagree

Most auto policies include an appraisal clause. You hire an independent appraiser, and the insurer hires one too. If the two can’t agree, a neutral umpire decides. You typically pay your own appraiser and share the umpire’s fee.

Appraisal makes the most sense when the gap is large enough to cover those costs. A few hundred dollars may not justify it. A gap of several thousand often does.

Colorado drivers can also contact the Colorado Division of Insurance. Its consumer services staff can answer questions and help you decide whether to file a formal complaint.

Why Your Collision Shop Cares About Your Total Loss Valuation

At Nylund’s, we see total losses from the repair side of the claim. Some vehicles land close to the threshold, where small errors in a total loss valuation can change the outcome. A higher ACV can sometimes make a repair the better financial choice.

If your car sits near that line, ask for the repair estimate behind the total loss decision. A certified shop can review it for missing or unnecessary operations. That review gives you a clearer picture before you accept either outcome.

Before the insurer takes the car, remove personal items, garage door openers, and toll transponders. Aftermarket equipment you added, like a hitch or upgraded wheels, may also affect the value. Mention it in your rebuttal and include receipts.

Who Qualifies for the Colorado Progressive Total Loss Settlement

The Curran settlement covers two groups of Colorado policyholders. Both groups include people who filed a claim for damage to their own vehicle under a personal auto policy. In each case, Progressive declared the car a total loss. Its payment relied on a Mitchell report that applied a projected sold adjustment to at least one comp.

Progressive Direct customers qualify for claims from April 12, 2019, through July 8, 2026. Progressive Preferred customers qualify for claims from December 19, 2021, through July 8, 2026.

How Much Class Members Receive

The settlement calculates an impact amount as a percentage of your car’s value. That rate is 2.75% for Progressive Direct and 2.25% for Progressive Preferred. Class members receive 68% of that impact amount. Anyone with more than one covered total loss receives payment for each claim.

For example, a Progressive Preferred customer with a $30,000 vehicle has an impact amount of $675. At 68%, the payment comes to about $459.

How to File and Key Deadlines

Eligible owners should have received a notice by mail or email with a claim ID and PIN. You can file online or by mail through the official Colorado total loss settlement website. You can also choose direct deposit or a paper check.

The claim deadline is February 5, 2027. If you want to exclude yourself and pursue your own case, that deadline is November 5, 2026. If you lost your notice, call the settlement administrator at 1-888-808-1463.

Protect Your Payout Before You Accept a Total Loss Valuation

A total loss valuation is a starting point built from software, listings, and assumptions. Some of those assumptions hold up. Others deserve questions, and you are the only person reviewing the report on your behalf.

Ask for the full report and challenge anything you can’t verify. Keep your service records and photos organized before you ever need them. If you have questions about a repair estimate or a total loss decision, the team at Nylund’s Collision Center can review it with you.

The post Total Loss Valuation: How to Check Your Insurer’s Number appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

Her case involved an injury, and yours may involve a crushed quarter panel. Still, the tactics a jury examined in that courtroom will look familiar to anyone who has waited on a supplement approval. This article explains what the court found, where the same patterns show up in collision repair, and what you can do about them.

Eric Reamer breaks down the case in the latest episode of The Airing of GRIEVEances from Nylund’s Collision Center. Watch the episode first, then use this article as your deeper reference.

What Happened in the Progressive Bad Faith Verdict

In August 2022, Mary Paulding of Tulsa filed a claim with her own insurer. She had paid for underinsured motorist coverage for exactly this situation. If an at-fault driver lacked enough insurance, her carrier would make up the difference. According to her attorney, Progressive responded with an offer of $710.

Progressive also said it needed more information before paying. The list included additional medical records and a wage verification form with a doctor’s note. The company also wanted written proof that the other driver’s insurer had paid its policy limits.

Several of those requests carried little weight at trial. Progressive already had the medical records. The wage information wasn’t necessary to make an offer. In addition, the company had known for some time that the other carrier had paid its limit.

Timing mattered most. Progressive’s adjuster completed the evaluation one day after Paulding received written confirmation of that payout. Magistrate Judge Christine Little denied Progressive’s motion for summary judgment, and the case went to a jury. Jurors awarded $20 million in compensatory damages and another $20 million in punitive damages.

The Profit Share Detail

Paulding’s attorneys stated that trial evidence showed Progressive’s adjusters had incentives, through a company-wide profit share program, to reduce loss payouts and claim costs. That is the plaintiff’s description of the evidence. Progressive has filed post-trial motions challenging the verdict. Even so, the detail deserves attention. Most adjusters work hard inside systems they didn’t design. However, when a bonus structure rewards lower payouts, slow approvals and extra paperwork become predictable results. Nobody needs a conspiracy for that to happen. The incentive does the work on its own.

The Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Covers Your Car, Too

Every insurance policy is a contract. Courts across the country read an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing into that contract, whether or not the policy spells it out.

That duty requires your insurer to handle your claim fairly, honestly, and with reasonable speed. It applies to a broken leg and a bent fender alike. When an insurer breaches the duty, the policyholder may sue in tort. In states that allow it, a jury can also award punitive damages on top of the benefits owed. Not every state permits punitive damages in bad faith cases, but Oklahoma does.

How Colorado Law Treats an Auto Insurance Claim Delay

Colorado offers drivers strong protection. Under C.R.S. § 10-3-1115, an insurer may not unreasonably delay or deny payment of a covered benefit to a first-party claimant. A first-party claimant is you, making a claim on your own policy.

Section 10-3-1116 then gives that claimant a path to recover two times the covered benefit. The claimant can also recover reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Whether your situation qualifies depends on the facts, so an attorney should make that call. Still, Colorado drivers facing an auto insurance claim delay without a reasonable basis have real statutory options.

Where an Auto Insurance Claim Delay Shows Up in Collision Repair

Most drivers will never sit through a bad faith trial. Instead, they feel the effects at the repair shop. These three situations come up most often.

Supplements that stall. Initial estimates rarely capture all the damage. Once technicians take a vehicle apart, they often find broken brackets, damaged sensors, or structural issues behind the bumper. The shop then sends the insurer a supplement for the added repairs. An insurance supplement delay happens when that request sits for days or weeks. The shop calls, then calls again, and the adjuster says the file is still under review. Meanwhile, your car sits in the bay.

Document requests that keep coming. Sometimes the insurer asks for one more photo. After that comes a new form, and later a teardown report. Each request may sound reasonable on its own. Together, though, they can add weeks to a repair. The Paulding case centered on this exact pattern.

Rental coverage that runs out first. Rental reimbursement usually carries a daily limit and an overall cap. A stalled claim doesn’t pause that clock. As a result, many drivers lose their rental before the car is ready, and they absorb the cost of a delay they didn’t cause.

Why Your Policy Language Matters More Than the Adjuster’s Opinion

Your coverage comes from the written policy you signed and paid for. That document, and the law behind it, shapes almost every parts decision on a collision claim. Unfortunately, very few drivers read the parts section before they buy.

Like Kind and Quality Parts vs. an OEM Parts Endorsement

Most auto policies promise like kind and quality parts. That wording legally allows aftermarket, recycled, or salvage parts in place of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.

The main exception is an OEM parts endorsement. Many carriers offer one for a modest added premium. Without it, you generally have no contractual right to new OEM parts, even after years of on-time payments.

So when a shop says your insurer will only pay for non-OEM parts, the shop is usually describing your own policy. Many vehicle manufacturers publish position statements calling for OEM parts in certain repairs. Your policy may still allow alternatives. The best time to close that gap is before a claim, while you can still change your coverage.

Now add a cost-reduction incentive to the picture. Suppose an adjuster’s pay rewards lower claim costs, and the policy already permits cheaper parts. The default outcome is easy to predict.

Why the Parts Conversation Rarely Happens

Adjusters rarely walk policyholders through parts decisions over the phone. When anyone explains them, it is usually the body shop.

However, some shops belong to a direct repair program, or DRP, with a specific insurer. That relationship sends them steady referrals. Pushing hard on a parts conflict can put those referrals at risk, so the conversation sometimes never happens. Understanding the incentives on both sides of the counter helps you ask better questions.

Six Ways to Protect Yourself During an Auto Insurance Claim Delay

Most claims don’t require a lawyer. They do reward organization and a few consistent habits. These steps give you leverage without turning every phone call into an argument.

Steps You Can Take Today

1. Put every conversation in writing. Phone calls fade from memory and are hard to prove later. After any call with an adjuster, send a short email restating what you discussed. A simple opening works: “Just confirming what we discussed today.” That habit builds the kind of paper trail that carried the Paulding case.

2. Keep a dated timeline. Record the date you submitted each document and the date each response arrived. Include calls, emails, and updates from the shop. The Oklahoma verdict leaned heavily on timing. Your own timeline could matter just as much.

3. Ask why each new document is necessary. When the insurer requests something new, ask which policy provision or regulation requires it. Ask in writing. Most of the time, you will get a sensible answer. When you don’t, your question becomes part of the record.

When an Auto Insurance Claim Delay Needs Outside Help

4. File a complaint with your state regulator. Every state has an insurance regulator that accepts consumer complaints. In Colorado, you can file a complaint with the Colorado Division of Insurance through its secure online consumer portal. Filing costs nothing. It also creates an official record outside the insurer’s own files.

5. Learn what your appraisal clause allows. Many auto policies include an appraisal clause. If you and the insurer disagree about the value of a loss or the cost of repair, either side can invoke it. Each side then chooses an independent appraiser, and a neutral umpire settles any remaining difference. Read your own policy carefully, though. At least one major Colorado insurer limits appraisal to total loss claims.

6. Talk to an insurance attorney when the stakes are real. Some delays are ordinary, and some are not. If a meaningful amount of money is at stake and the delay feels deliberate, consult an attorney who handles insurance claims. An outside professional can tell you which kind of delay you’re facing.

What Normal Claim Handling Looks Like

None of this means every adjuster acts in bad faith. Most claims move at a reasonable pace, and most adjusters carry heavy caseloads honestly.

A healthy claim usually shows a few clear signs. The insurer responds to supplements promptly. It explains document requests in plain terms. It also answers your questions in writing when you ask. If your claim looks like that, you’re likely in good hands.

The Bottom Line on an Auto Insurance Claim Delay

A $40 million verdict makes headlines. The more useful lesson is what the case revealed once an insurer had to show its work in court. You can read the full report on the Progressive verdict from Repairer Driven News for more detail.

You have every right to ask questions, keep records, and expect fair treatment from the company you pay each month. Most of the time, your insurer will meet that standard. If you ever face an auto insurance claim delay that feels deliberate, you now know how to recognize it and how to respond.

The post Auto Insurance Claim Delay: When It Becomes Bad Faith appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

This matters because modern vehicles lean on cameras, radar sensors, and onboard computers. These systems warn drivers of danger. In some cases, they brake or steer on their own. A bumper repair, a windshield replacement, or a fender repaint can knock these systems out of alignment, even when the bodywork looks flawless. Without proper calibration, a safety feature can fail exactly when a driver needs it most.

In this episode of The Airing of GRIEVEances, Eric Reamer and Rob Grieve walk through a real ADAS MAP-PS report pulled from an active claim. They explain why some items on that report never make it onto the final repair estimate. The video shows the report line by line. This article goes further. It explains what each finding means, why it matters for your safety, and what to ask before you accept your vehicle back from any shop.

What Is ADAS Calibration After an Accident, Exactly?

ADAS stands for advanced driver assistance systems. These include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive headlights. Each system depends on a sensor, camera, or radar unit. That component sits in a precise physical location on the vehicle.

A collision can move, remove, or replace parts near one of these components. When that happens, a sensor’s aim can shift by a fraction of an inch. That small shift is enough to throw off how the system reads the road. Calibration resets the sensor so it points and measures the way the manufacturer designed it to.

Skipping this step does not always produce an obvious symptom. The dashboard may show no warning light at all. That is part of what makes ADAS calibration after an accident easy to overlook, yet important to confirm before you drive away.

How the ADAS MAP-PS Report Works

Several companies produce reports that pull calibration requirements directly from a vehicle’s VIN. One of the most common is the ADAS MAP-PS report. Several large insurers, including XXXX, require their network shops to run it.

The report reads the written repair estimate. It then cross-references that estimate against the vehicle’s specific ADAS components. If the estimate calls for removing a front bumper, the report flags every calibration or initialization tied to that bumper. It also gives a brief explanation of why each one applies.

The report does not replace full OEM repair procedures. It gives a broad starting point. Even an estimator who is not certified on that particular manufacturer can see what needs further investigation.

Pre-Scan and Post-Scan Diagnostics Explained

Nearly every ADAS calibration after an accident starts and ends with a diagnostic scan. The pre-scan runs before any repair work begins. It identifies which fault codes and system alerts the collision triggered. It also helps determine which scan tools and procedures the repair will require.

The post-scan runs after the repair finishes and before the vehicle goes back to the customer. A clean post-scan should show no remaining fault codes. If codes remain, something in the repair or calibration process got missed.

Ask your shop for both reports. A shop with nothing to hide hands them over without hesitation.

Consider these two scans the bookends of any legitimate ADAS calibration after an accident. Without them, nobody, not the shop, not the insurer, and not the driver, can confirm the vehicle’s safety systems work the way the manufacturer intended.

The Systems That Often Need Calibration After a Crash

The transcript behind this article walks through a real case: a nearly new SUV involved in a front-end collision. The ADAS MAP-PS report flagged several systems. Each one illustrates a category of sensor that commonly needs attention after similar damage.

Front and Corner Radar Sensors

Front radar sensors, sometimes called millimeter wave radar, measure distance and closing speed relative to the vehicle ahead. They feed data to adaptive cruise control and, on many vehicles, to automatic emergency braking. Corner radar sensors mount near the front bumper corners. They support blind spot monitoring by detecting pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles approaching from the side. Blind spot sensor calibration on these corner units requires precision, since the sensors sit close together and cover overlapping zones.

OEM service information lists several triggers for radar sensor calibration after an accident. The sensor itself gets removed or replaced. The bumper cover gets removed or replaced. The sensor’s mounting position changes. The vehicle gets repainted within the radar’s field of view. A typical front-end collision repair checks off two or three of those conditions without much effort.

One detail from the transcript deserves special attention. Some manufacturers require a reflection intensity reading, sometimes called a power test, whenever a bumper cover gets repainted. Extra coats of paint add thickness. That added thickness can interfere with how the radar signal passes through the bumper. Technicians measure the reading with the bumper off, then again with the bumper installed. This confirms the paint will not distort the radar’s readings.

Forward-Facing Camera and Lane Assist

Many vehicles mount a forward-facing camera near the top of the windshield. This camera powers lane departure warning and lane keeping assist. It often works alongside the front radar for collision warnings. Any windshield replacement typically requires recalibration of this system. Sometimes even a windshield repair near the camera’s field of view does too.

Steering Angle Sensor

The steering angle sensor tracks which direction the front wheels point. This information feeds stability control and adaptive headlights that swivel into a turn. It also feeds accident reconstruction data showing whether the vehicle was turning or traveling straight at impact. A wheel alignment, suspension repair, or steering component replacement can trigger this calibration.

Post-Collision Seatbelt Inspection

Seatbelts absorb tremendous force during a collision. That force can weaken webbing, buckles, or pretensioners in ways invisible from the outside. OEM procedures and third-party reports both describe seatbelt inspection after a collision as mandatory. The report reviewed in this episode used the word “must,” not “should.”

Why Some Insurers Skip Required Calibrations

Not every insurer disputes every calibration, but the pattern shows up often enough that vehicle owners should watch for it. Here the story shifts from technical detail to a genuine consumer protection issue. In one case discussed on the show, an insurer sent a letter about the shop’s estimate. It stated that several line items were “either not necessary to repair the loss-related damage in a quality manner or not reasonable for the market area.”

Among the declined items were a seatbelt inspection and a steering angle sensor calibration. Both appeared as required items on the same ADAS MAP-PS report the insurer’s own network requires shops to run.

The “Not Necessary” and “Not Reasonable” Language

That phrase, not reasonable for the market area, has nothing to do with whether a repair is technically correct. It refers to whether other shops in a region typically bill for that operation. A safety procedure does not become optional because fewer shops in a certain zip code choose to perform it.

This distinction separates two different questions. One question asks whether a repair meets the manufacturer’s documented requirements. The other asks whether an insurer wants to pay for it. Those answers are not always the same. A vehicle owner rarely hears that difference explained out loud.

Who the Repair Shop Really Works For

An insurance-preferred repair shop often has a contractual relationship with that insurer. That arrangement trades steady referral volume for controlled repair costs. It is not inherently dishonest. But it does mean the insurer and the shop coordinate with each other while the vehicle owner sits outside that conversation.

An independent shop with no such referral relationship answers to one party: the customer sitting in front of them. That difference does not automatically make an independent shop better at the technical work. It does remove a financial incentive to agree with an insurer’s cost-cutting decisions.

What to Ask For Before You Pick Up Your Repaired Vehicle

A vehicle owner does not need to become an estimator to confirm ADAS calibration after an accident happened correctly. A short list of documents and questions covers most of what matters:

• Request a copy of the ADAS report used to scope the repair, and ask someone at the shop to walk through it line by line.
• Request both the pre-scan and post-scan results, and confirm the post-scan shows no remaining fault codes.
• Ask for photo documentation of any calibrations that were performed.
• If the vehicle received an alignment, request the printed specifications for your records.
• If paperwork mentions “internal work product” as a reason to withhold a report, know that courts have rejected that justification for routine business records before.

Every one of these items should already exist in a well-documented repair file. A shop that welcomes the questions is telling you something important about how it operates.

Why This Matters for Vehicle Occupant Safety

None of this is about paperwork for its own sake. Automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, and properly functioning seatbelts exist to prevent injuries during a second collision. A vehicle can look cosmetically perfect while carrying a miscalibrated radar sensor or an uninspected seatbelt. That vehicle is not actually restored to pre-loss condition, no matter how clean the paint looks.

Vehicle safety after collision repair depends on quality, not on the outcome of a cost negotiation. The quality of a repair stands between a driver and a future accident. That holds true whether the vehicle carries a family’s precious cargo, as one guest described their own new SUV, or simply gets someone safely to work every day.

Vehicle owners deserve straightforward answers about what their repair actually included. Asking for the reports, reading them, and following up on anything marked required but left undone is not an unreasonable request. It is the minimum standard for putting a vehicle back on the road the way its manufacturer intended.

Nylund’s Collision Center runs ADAS diagnostic reports on every applicable repair, regardless of whether an insurer requires it. The shop’s certifications in Toyota, Lexus, and Lucid mean the technical requirements are already familiar. The report simply confirms what the certified repair process already demands.

If you ever hear that an insurer denied calibration coverage because a step was “not necessary,” ask for the OEM repair procedures in writing. Radar sensor calibration after bumper repair, along with the other systems covered in this article, exists in those procedures for a reason. ADAS calibration after an accident is not an upsell. It is part of putting your vehicle back the way it left the factory.

The post ADAS Calibration After an Accident: What Insurers Skip appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

That happened to a Colorado driver whose case we cover in this week’s episode of The Airing of GRIEVEances. It’s why every vehicle owner needs an independent post-repair inspection before signing off on a claim as complete.

The vehicle had roughly 600 miles on it when it sustained damage from a natural event. The owner called her insurer. The insurer pointed her toward a preferred shop, the kind of arrangement often called a Direct Repair Program, or DRP. That part is common. Millions of drivers hear a version of it every year.

What happened next should concern anyone who has ever trusted an insurance company to look out for their interests.

What “Internal Work Product” Really Means in an Insurance Claim

Three months after the repair started, the vehicle still sat with the shop. An adjuster from the insurance company visited during a dealership follow-up appointment. He found issues with the repair, photographed them, and told the shop to fix them.

The owner asked to see those photos and findings. She asked again. And again.

Eventually she received a letter. One line stood out: the company said it could not release the inspection documentation or the photos because they were “internal work product.”

Those three words sound official, like a legal wall a consumer cannot climb. In reality, the work product doctrine protects documents an organization creates specifically in anticipation of litigation. It does not automatically cover routine factual findings from a standard business process.

Factual, objective information generally falls outside that protection. That includes photographs, measurements, and a documented list of physical defects, even when a company’s internal notes or legal strategy do not. If your insurer cites internal work product to withhold factual findings about your own vehicle, that response deserves a follow-up question. It shouldn’t get automatic acceptance.

This is general information, not legal advice. Anyone facing this situation should still consult an attorney about the specifics of their policy and state.

Why a Preferred Shop Doesn’t Guarantee a Problem-Free Repair

Insurers steer customers toward preferred shops with a simple pitch. Use our network, they say, and you won’t pay out of pocket beyond your deductible. Some DRP shops probably do solid work. But the arrangement creates a structural conflict most consumers never hear about.

A DRP shop depends on referral volume from the insurer. If that shop flags a parts or process disagreement too often, it risks its place in the network. That pressure doesn’t disappear just because a specific repair went wrong. It can shape which conversations happen, and which ones quietly don’t.

In this week’s case, the shop that performed the repair was the same shop with defects an outside adjuster caught and photographed. Withholding those photos protects more than one party’s reputation. It protects the referral relationship itself.

This Fits a Pattern, Not an Isolated Incident

This case doesn’t stand alone. It follows two other stories covered recently in this series. One involved insurers that profit from delaying claim payouts. Another involved a company that fought for months to keep roughly 800,000 pages of internal documentation sealed, before a court ordered disclosure.

A judge in that case found the material wasn’t sensitive legal strategy. It was ordinary business activity the company was obligated to perform anyway.

The throughline across all three stories is the same. When an insurer controls the flow of information about a claim, delay and non-disclosure become tools rather than exceptions. A policyholder who assumes a company will volunteer unfavorable findings is operating on hope, not evidence.

Independent Post-Repair Inspection: Why It Changes the Outcome

This is where an independent post-repair inspection earns its value. A shop with no financial stake in the insurer’s network has one job: tell you what condition your vehicle is actually in. It has no referral relationship to protect and no incentive to minimize its own mistakes.

Take the vehicle to a reputable, independent auto body shop and ask for a post-repair inspection. A qualified technician checks the work against manufacturer repair procedures, not against what’s convenient for an insurance file. You get a documented, unbiased account of the vehicle’s condition. You get it without waiting on a letter that may never arrive.

What a Third-Party Inspection Typically Uncovers

An independent inspection generally examines several areas that a rushed or compromised repair can miss:

• Panel alignment, gaps, and paint match against factory specifications
• Structural repairs and whether they followed OEM procedures rather than shortcuts
• Corrosion protection in repaired areas, which prevents long-term rust
• Calibration status for driver assistance systems, when the vehicle has them
• Overall build quality compared with how the vehicle left the factory

The goal isn’t to manufacture a dispute. It’s to confirm the vehicle received the repair it was promised, with documentation the owner actually gets to see.

Timing matters here too. A post-repair inspection works best before you sign anything confirming the repair is complete, and before you return a rental vehicle. Once you’ve accepted the vehicle as finished, pushing an insurer to revisit a defect becomes a harder conversation. An inspection scheduled before that sign-off gives you documented leverage while the claim is still active.

Who Actually Warranties Your Repair

Insurers sometimes use language like “guaranteed network.” That phrasing implies the insurance company stands behind the work. In practice, the shop that performs the repair issues the warranty, not the insurer. The company that sent you to that shop typically has no contractual obligation to fix anything once the repair leaves the lot.

That distinction matters when a repair goes wrong. If an insurer genuinely stood behind its preferred shop’s work, a documented defect would prompt a phone call demanding correction. Instead, in this case, the company told the customer to contact the body shop directly about any paint concerns. The insurer that selected the shop, then declined to release its own findings about that shop’s mistakes, stepped back once accountability came into view.

The full conversation goes deeper into this exchange, including the AI-assisted breakdown of the work product doctrine that Rob walks through step by step.

Your Rights When an Insurer Withholds Documentation

If an insurer denies your request for a post-repair inspection report or photos, a few steps move the situation forward.

Ask the insurer, in writing, to distinguish between factual findings and legal strategy. Factual data such as photographs and defect lists usually isn’t protected just because a company labels a file “internal.” Request that information again, and reference that distinction directly.

Don’t wait for the insurer’s cooperation before protecting yourself. You already know a representative found issues with the repair. Take the vehicle to an independent, reputable shop for a third-party post-repair inspection. That inspection creates your own documentation, on your own timeline, regardless of what the insurer decides to release.

If the insurer keeps refusing basic factual documentation about your own vehicle, consider filing a complaint with your state’s insurance regulator. Persistent stall tactics on claim documentation are exactly the pattern regulators track across complaints from multiple policyholders.

Protecting Yourself Before and After a Collision Repair

A few habits reduce the odds of a documentation standoff with your insurer.

• Ask directly whether a recommended shop is part of the insurer’s DRP network before agreeing to use it.
• Request copies of any estimate, supplement, or inspection report at the time it’s created, not after the fact.
• Keep your own photo record of the vehicle before repairs begin and periodically during the process.
• Schedule an independent post-repair inspection before considering the claim closed, especially after a lengthy repair.
• Remember that the repairing shop, not the insurer, typically issues the warranty on the work.

None of this requires assuming bad faith on day one. It requires treating documentation as something you’re entitled to see, not something an insurer gets to decide you don’t need.

It also helps to know who you’re dealing with at each stage. The adjuster works for the insurer, not for you, even when the conversation feels collaborative. The DRP shop has a business relationship with the insurer that predates your claim and will likely outlast it. The only party with no incentive to shade its findings is an independent shop you choose yourself.

Final Thoughts

A brand-new vehicle went into a preferred shop and came out with defects. An insurer’s own adjuster documented those defects, then refused to disclose them.

That’s not a rare exception. It’s a pattern consumers report often enough to deserve attention every time it surfaces. An independent post-repair inspection puts the facts about your vehicle back in your hands, where they belong, regardless of what any letter citing “internal work product” tries to withhold.

The post Get an Independent Post-Repair Inspection After a Claim appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

What the Unsealed Insurance Documents Actually Show

The case is Neil and Lacy West v. (the insurer), filed in Comanche County, Oklahoma. Oklahoma News 4 reviewed the unsealed emails. The station reports the insurer denied claims 39% of the time. It also reports the company saved more than $15,000 per denied claim. The Wests’ attorney, Reggie Whitten, says the insurer cut indemnity payments by $1.4 billion in one year. Indemnity payments are simply the money an insurer pays policyholders. Whitten calls each of those dollars a person’s claim.

One exhibit is a 2021 letter from Tracy Haus, a Kentucky insurance agent for the company in question. She sent it directly to the company’s then-CEO and CFO. The letter reportedly warned that longtime partners were comparing this insurer to some of its lowest-rated competitors. It also described unhappy calls piling up. A judge lifted the confidentiality order on these documents this August. The judge ruled the insurer hadn’t justified blanket secrecy over every page. The insurer denies any coordinated scheme. The company points to more than $1 billion paid to Oklahoma customers over the past two years. None of this is a final court ruling yet. It’s a set of allegations moving through discovery.

Still, the allegations raise a fair question. If a company tracked and rewarded denial savings on one kind of claim, does that mindset show up elsewhere? Nobody outside that courtroom can answer with certainty. But collision repair professionals have measured something adjacent for years, in a different context entirely.

How to Build a Car Insurance Claims Record Before You Need One

Every year, Crash Network publishes an Insurer Report Card. More than 1,100 collision repair professionals grade the insurers they deal with daily. They come from all 50 states and average 27 years in the industry. This year’s survey produced over 22,000 individual grades across 119 companies. Each grader answers one question. Does this insurer’s claims handling, attitude, and payment practice protect your repair and your experience?

The insurer in question earned a D-plus this year. That’s down from a C-minus the two years before. Out of 91 ranked insurers, they finished 85th. It scored worst among the ten largest auto insurers in the country. The average score across every graded company was 680, a C-plus. this insurer scored 298, more than 380 points below that average. Those ten largest insurers collect roughly three-quarters of every premium dollar drivers pay nationwide. Plenty of drivers are covered by a company shops rate near the bottom.

Why Direct Repair Program Grades Can Mislead You

Shops inside this insurer’s own direct repair program gave the company a B-minus. Shops with no referral relationship gave the same company a D-minus. That’s a full letter grade and a half lower. Direct repair shops depend on steady referral volume. That creates real pressure to grade a partner kindly. Shops outside that arrangement have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. Their grade tends to be the more honest signal.

About two out of three surveyed shops said this insurer’s claims process runs less efficiently than its competitors’. That usually means customers pay more out of pocket beyond their deductible. Shops also reported a pattern among lower-graded insurers. Those companies push harder for used or aftermarket parts instead of manufacturer-recommended ones. They skip required repair steps more often too.

The episode above covers the Oklahoma case and the Insurer Report Card data in more depth. It also includes the regional Colorado breakdown below.

A Free Second Opinion: The NAIC Complaint Index

The Report Card reflects what repair professionals see. A separate free tool reflects what regulators see. Every state’s Department of Insurance tracks a complaint index for insurers licensed there. Colorado residents can find theirs through doi.colorado.gov. Search for “complaint index” or “complaint ratio” along with your insurer’s name.

A score of 1.0 marks the baseline average. Anything above 1.0 means a company draws more complaints than expected for its size. Anything below 1.0 means fewer. One caveat matters here. This number is calculated state by state. It’s also often tied to a specific corporate entity underneath a familiar brand name, not automatically your exact policy type. Look up your own state and your own line of coverage. Don’t trust a figure quoted elsewhere.

This index isn’t limited to auto policies. If your homeowner’s coverage ever denies a hail claim, the same complaint index applies there too. That’s exactly the scenario at the center of the Oklahoma case. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners maintains the framework state regulators use for this data. Its consumer resources are a solid starting point if your own state’s site is confusing.

What a Low Grade Actually Means for Your Repair

OEM Parts vs. Aftermarket Shortcuts

Most auto policies default to “like kind and quality” coverage. That legally permits aftermarket, recycled, or salvage parts. It applies unless you added and paid for an OEM parts endorsement, usually a modest premium increase. Whatever parts language you agreed to is the contract that binds you. Most drivers never read that section closely enough to know which version they signed.

This isn’t only a cosmetic issue. Modern vehicles carry advanced driver assistance systems. That includes forward-facing cameras mounted behind the windshield for lane keep assist and automatic emergency braking. Those systems need precise calibration. Calibration accuracy partly depends on parts that match the manufacturer’s original specifications. An insurer that pushes for the cheaper part is making a choice. So is an insurer that skips a required procedure to save money. Either one can shape how your car performs in your next accident. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety publishes independent research on repair quality and parts choice. It’s a useful resource when your shop and insurer disagree about what a repair requires. A single calibration can run several hundred dollars. Skipping it to save money on a claim shifts risk onto you, not your insurer.

Why Colorado Drivers Should Pay Extra Attention

Crash Network breaks its data down by region too. In the Rocky Mountain region, six insurers scored high enough for the honor roll. They were Chubb, Amica, Mutual, Pure Insurance, Acuity, and AIG Private Client. Chubb earned an A+, essentially a perfect score. Amica scored an A. Pure and Acuity both scored A-minus. The questionable insurer didn’t score high enough in this region to make that list at all.

These aren’t obscure names. They’re real insurers selling real policies in Colorado. Shops rate them well above several heavily advertised household brands. For broader context, consider North Carolina Farm Bureau. It has topped the national report card for seven straight years with a flat A+. It sells policies in only one state. That proves a grade like that has nothing to do with a company’s ad budget.

Did your roof and your vehicle both take damage in the same Colorado hailstorm? You may already be running two separate claims with the same insurer at once. The incentive structure behind a denied roof claim in Oklahoma is the same structure behind a corner-cut auto claim in Colorado. It’s just showing up in two different lines of coverage.

What to Do If You’re Already Mid-Claim

Checking a company’s record before you buy is the easiest version of this work. Here’s what helps once you’re already in a claim that isn’t going your way.

Put Everything in Writing

If an adjuster tells you something over the phone, send a follow-up email confirming what they said. That way a record exists. Ask for the specific reason behind any denial or reduced payout in writing. Don’t settle for a verbal explanation you can’t reference later.

Understand Your Appraisal Clause

Most auto policies include an appraisal clause. When you and your insurer disagree on repair costs, either side can invoke it. That clause brings in independent appraisers to settle the number. It replaces whatever the adjuster offered first. Ask your agent directly whether your policy includes one. Use it if you need to.

Get a Second Opinion Outside the Network

A shop with no referral relationship to protect has no reason to defend a repair method it disagrees with. Suppose your shop says an insurer wants a method that doesn’t match the manufacturer’s procedures. Treat that as worth a second opinion. Document it too.

File a Complaint If You’re Stonewalled

Every state’s Department of Insurance runs a complaint process. It’s the same one behind the complaint index above. You can file a complaint on an active claim right now, not only as research before buying a policy. That complaint becomes part of the same kind of public record now surfacing in Oklahoma.

Quick Reference: Questions to Ask Before You Renew

• What is my insurer’s Crash Network Insurer Report Card grade this year?
• What is my insurer’s complaint index in my state, for my exact type of policy?
• Does my policy default to “like kind and quality” parts, or do I carry an OEM parts endorsement?
• Does my policy include an appraisal clause, and do I know how to invoke it?
• Would my own body shop recommend this insurer to their own family?

The Bottom Line

The auto insurance industry spent $11.5 billion on advertising in 2024 alone. None of that spend helps you in a parking lot after an accident. Do this before your next renewal, not after your next accident. Pull the Crash Network Insurer Report Card. Check your state’s complaint index. Ask your body shop which insurer they’d want covering their own family. Those three habits build a car insurance claims record that actually protects you. They cost nothing but a few minutes.

The post Car Insurance Claims Record: How to Check It First appeared first on Nylunds Collision.

A recent joint analysis from the Consumer Federation of America and Weiss Ratings put a hard number on that profit. The property and casualty insurance industry earns more than fifty-two million dollars a day. That figure comes from the gap between collecting premiums up front and paying out claims later. The industry calls that gap “float.” Float is exactly why your supplement can sit untouched for days, even when everything on your end is done correctly.

At Nylund’s Collision Center, we see this pattern every week. A supplement gets written with full documentation and clear photos. It gets submitted exactly the way the insurer requires. Then it waits. Nobody disputes the numbers. Nothing about it is unclear. It waits because nobody on the other end has a reason to hurry.

Why Colorado Insurance Claim Delays Keep Happening

The Wall Street Journal analysis referenced in the CFA report found something troubling. Insurers did not pay forty-five percent of liability and medical claims resolved last year. A decade earlier, that figure was thirty-five percent. The trend is moving in the wrong direction for drivers, and it isn’t moving that way by accident.

Warren Buffett described this same mechanism decades ago. He explained how Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance float worked in his own business. He said the float cost him less than zero. In practice, that meant he was paid to hold money that belonged to policyholders. Douglas Heller, who directs insurance policy at the Consumer Federation of America, described the incentive structure in plain terms. Insurers cancel a policyholder for paying late. They face no comparable consequence when they pay a claim late themselves.

That incentive structure explains why Colorado insurance claim delays feel so consistent from one shop to the next. That imbalance sits underneath nearly every frustrating repair timeline. The shop finishes its documentation on schedule. The insurer sits on it anyway. The customer absorbs the wait in the form of a rental bill, a missed appointment, or a vehicle that isn’t safe to drive yet.

The Colorado Laws Insurers Would Rather You Not Know About

Here is what changes the situation for Colorado drivers. State law already prohibits this behavior. Most people who need that protection have never heard of it.

Colorado Revised Statute 10-3-1104 is part of the state’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. It spells out specific conduct insurers cannot engage in. That includes failing to acknowledge a claim promptly. It includes failing to set up a reasonable process for investigating a claim. It also includes failing to tell a policyholder, within a reasonable time, whether the claim is even covered.

Colorado Revised Statute 10-3-1115 goes further. It prohibits an insurer from unreasonably delaying or denying payment to what the law calls a first-party claimant. That term means you, the policyholder. This statute applies directly to auto insurance claims, not just homeowners’ claims. It covers the exact situation many Nylund’s customers face while waiting on a supplement.

Colorado Revised Statute 10-3-1116 carries the real consequence. If a court finds that an insurer unreasonably delayed or denied a claim, the policyholder can recover double the amount owed. Attorney fees and court costs get added on top of that. Few other states give consumers that kind of leverage. California is only now debating a much narrower version of this protection through Senate Bill 878. That bill would require insurers to pay interest on delayed home claims, which is a smaller remedy than what Colorado already has on the books.

What “Unreasonable Delay” Actually Means for Your Repair

An unreasonable delay does not require proof that the insurer acted with bad intent. Colorado’s statutes focus on the outcome and the pattern. They don’t focus on the insurer’s stated excuse. A supplement that sits for a week with no explanation fits that pattern, especially after your shop submitted everything the insurer’s own guidelines require.

This distinction matters more in collision repair than in almost any other kind of insurance claim. A slow homeowners claim is frustrating, but a family can usually keep living in their house while it gets sorted out. A slow auto claim often means a vehicle sits unfinished, uninspected, or undriveable.

Why Repair Delays Are a Safety Issue, Not Just an Inconvenience

Modern collision repair depends on more than bodywork. Many vehicles built in the last decade rely on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, commonly called ADAS, for basic safety functions like automatic braking, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise control. After a collision, those systems often need recalibration before the vehicle can safely return to the road.

ADAS calibration typically depends on insurance approval before a shop can move forward. When an insurer delays a supplement that includes calibration, the shop cannot simply skip that step to speed things up. Skipping it would mean returning a vehicle to a customer with safety systems that may not function the way the manufacturer intended.

The same logic applies to OEM-certified parts and structural repairs. Manufacturers publish repair procedures for a reason. Those procedures specify which parts, which welds, and which materials restore a vehicle to its original safety performance. When a shop follows OEM guidance and an insurer questions or delays approval for that guidance, the customer is the one left waiting in the middle, often without a clear explanation of why.

None of this is about fear. It’s about the plain reality that a collision repair claim is not just a financial transaction. It is tied directly to whether a vehicle performs the way it’s supposed to in the next accident.

How a Certified Shop Protects You During a Delay

A manufacturer-certified shop can’t control how fast an insurer moves. What it can control is the paper trail. Every photo, every OEM procedure citation, and every calibration record should exist in writing before a supplement ever reaches the insurer’s desk.

That documentation does two things at once. It gives the insurer no legitimate reason to question the repair itself. It also becomes the exact record you’d need if a delay ever crosses into unreasonable territory under Colorado law. A shop that documents thoroughly isn’t just protecting the repair. It’s protecting your ability to prove a timeline later, if it comes to that.

Ask your shop directly whether they document supplement submissions with dates and confirmation of receipt. A shop that already does this is doing half the work Colorado’s statutes require of you as evidence.

How to Document an Insurance Delay the Right Way

Colorado’s laws give you real protection, but that protection depends on evidence. A vague sense that “this is taking too long” does not hold up well on its own. A documented timeline does.

Start keeping a written record the moment a supplement or claim decision starts to lag. Track these four things:

• The date your shop submitted documentation, photos, or a supplement request
• The date you personally followed up, along with who you spoke to
• The date you received a response, and what that response said
• Any date you expected a response and did not receive one

That timeline turns a frustrating wait into evidence. It is also exactly what the Colorado Division of Insurance looks for when a consumer files a complaint. The division exists specifically to investigate patterns like unexplained delays. A documented pattern is far easier to act on than a general complaint about slow service.

When to Involve the Colorado Division of Insurance

Filing a complaint makes sense once a delay stretches well beyond what your shop’s documentation should require, and follow-up calls produce no real answer. Bring your timeline. Bring copies of the documentation your shop submitted. A specific, dated record gives the division something concrete to investigate. A general impression that the process “feels slow” does not carry the same weight.

Most drivers never get this far, because most delays resolve once an insurer realizes a consumer is tracking dates and asking specific questions. Insurers know the statutes exist even when policyholders don’t. A documented timeline signals that you know them too.

Questions Colorado Drivers Often Ask About Claim Delays

Does this apply if my claim is with my own insurer, not the other driver’s? Yes. Colorado’s first-party claimant protections under 10-3-1115 apply specifically to your own policy, not just claims against another driver’s insurance.

What counts as “unreasonable” under Colorado law? There’s no single fixed number of days written into the statute. Courts look at the full pattern: how long the delay lasted, whether documentation was complete, and whether the insurer gave a legitimate reason for the wait.

Do I need a lawyer to file a complaint with the Division of Insurance? No. Filing a complaint with the Colorado Division of Insurance does not require legal representation. An attorney becomes relevant only if you pursue the remedies available under 10-3-1116.

The Bigger Picture Behind Colorado’s Protections

Colorado didn’t write these statutes in a vacuum. Regulators in the state recognized decades ago that insurers hold structural leverage over policyholders. The company decides when a claim gets acknowledged. The company decides how thorough its own investigation needs to be. Without a law addressing that imbalance directly, a policyholder has almost no way to push back beyond a phone call and a hope for a faster answer.

That’s exactly why 10-3-1104, 10-3-1115, and 10-3-1116 work together instead of standing alone. The first defines the misconduct. The second names who is protected. The third gives that protection actual financial weight. Few consumer protection frameworks in any industry combine all three pieces as directly as Colorado’s insurance statutes do.

Other states are only beginning to catch up. California’s Senate Bill 878 shows lawmakers elsewhere recognizing the same float-driven incentive Colorado addressed years ago, though the remedy under consideration there is narrower and limited to home insurance. Colorado drivers already have a broader tool sitting on the books, and using it starts with something as simple as writing down a date.

What This Means the Next Time Your Repair Stalls

None of this is about assuming bad faith from every adjuster or every insurance company. Plenty of claims move through the process without incident. But the financial incentive behind delay is real. The data behind it is documented. Colorado lawmakers built specific protections because they recognized the same pattern this article describes.

If you’re currently waiting on a claim decision, start your timeline today. Note what has already happened and what has not. That record is what turns you from someone stuck waiting into someone who knows exactly what to do next. It’s the same principle we lean on every time a claim at Nylund’s sits longer than it should.

A repair shouldn’t take longer just because delay pays better than promptness. Colorado wrote a law to correct that imbalance, and it applies whether you’re dealing with your own insurer or someone else’s. Understanding how Colorado insurance claim delays actually work is the first step toward using that law instead of just waiting on it.

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