How to Handle a Collision Caller Going Through Insurance

When a collision caller says “my insurance is sending me somewhere else,” most body shop staff either go silent or get defensive. Neither works. Learning how to handle a collision caller going through insurance comes down to staying calm, capturing their info first, and driving to a free estimate — not quoting a price you can’t stand behind.

To handle a collision caller going through insurance: stay calm, capture their name and number before you hand out any information, let them know they generally have the right to choose their own repair shop, build credibility without quoting a price over the phone, and drive to a free in-person estimate. That’s the whole play — everything below is how to execute it from the first word to the recap.

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Why Is This Call Harder Than It Looks?

A customer calling after an accident is already stressed. They’ve just been through a collision, they’re navigating an unfamiliar claims process, and someone — usually an insurance representative — has already pointed them somewhere else. By the time they reach your phone, they may be calling you as a second option, just to compare, or because a friend told them to.

If your staff sounds flat, uninformed, or pushy, the call ends quickly and the customer goes where the insurance company told them to go.

The good news: most customers don’t know they have the right to choose their own shop. Calmly informing them of that — without making it confrontational — is often all it takes to level the playing field.

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Can an Insurance Company Force a Customer to Use a Specific Shop?

Generally, no. In practice, vehicle owners across the country have the right to select the body shop that repairs their vehicle after a collision. Insurance companies may recommend preferred or direct-repair network shops, but those recommendations aren’t binding — the insurer is obligated to pay the covered claim regardless of which licensed shop does the work.

Your staff needs to communicate this naturally and confidently — not like they’re reading a legal disclaimer, but like a knowledgeable advisor sharing something the customer genuinely needs to know.

How it sounds:

“You actually have the right to choose where your car gets repaired — that’s your call entirely. The insurance company covers the claim regardless of which shop you go with, and we work with all the major carriers.”

Keep it brief, keep it confident, and move on. The goal isn’t to win an argument about preferred networks; it’s to make the customer feel informed and at ease so they’ll come in.

Consumer-protection guidance widely notes that insurers often steer customers toward specific shops — but steering isn’t the same as requiring. Rules vary by state, so keep the message simple and customer-focused rather than turning it into a legal lecture. For a plain-language overview of how repair and claims processes work, resources like the Insurance Information Institute are a solid reference point.

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Get Their Name and Number Before Anything Else

This applies to every inbound call, collision or otherwise: capture contact information before you start handing out information. It’s the same leverage principle we coach across departments — the moment a caller asks you a question is your opening to get their details first.

When a collision caller asks about your process, your pricing, or whether you work with their insurer, your first move is the name and best callback number.

Why it matters: a stressed customer can hang up at any moment. If you’ve given them everything they asked for without capturing their info, they’re gone. If you have their number, you can follow up.

How to work it in:

“I’d be glad to walk you through how we handle that — who do I have the pleasure of speaking with? … And what’s the best number to reach you in case we get disconnected?”

It’s a natural bridge, not an interrogation. Once you have the name and number, you’re in a much stronger position for the rest of the call — and for any follow-up if they don’t book on the first contact.

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Should You Quote Repair Costs Over the Phone?

No. Once you have their contact info, ask questions to understand the situation instead of guessing at a number. What happened? Which vehicle? What insurance company? Has a claim been filed yet?

Asking more questions than the customer does keeps you in control of the call — which means you’re actually doing more listening than talking. That’s exactly where you want to be. A customer who feels heard is far more likely to trust your shop with their repair.

What to ask:

• “What’s the year, make, and model of the vehicle?”
• “Can you describe where the damage is — front end, rear, side?”
• “Has the claim been filed, or are you still in that process?”
• “Has the insurance company already sent an adjuster out, or is that still pending?”

What you’re not doing on this call: estimating damage, quoting repair costs, or committing to a timeline. Without physically seeing the vehicle, any number you give is a guess — and a guess that’s off by even a few hundred dollars can cost you credibility before the customer ever walks in. (For more on this, see our post on how to handle a caller asking for a service repair estimate by phone.)

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Build Credibility Without Overselling

The customer is deciding whether to trust you with their vehicle. Give them reasons to, without laying it on thick.

A few things worth mentioning naturally:

• Your shop works directly with all major insurance carriers — you handle the paperwork on their behalf
• You provide a written estimate at no charge
• You can communicate directly with the adjuster so the customer doesn’t have to play middleman
• Your techs are certified (I-CAR, ASE, OEM certifications — whatever is true of your shop)
• You offer a warranty on your repair work
• You can arrange a rental or loaner while repairs are underway, or coordinate with the carrier’s rental benefit

Don’t dump all of this at once. Drop one or two relevant points where they fit, based on what the customer told you they care about. If they mentioned they can’t be without a car, the loaner point lands. If they sounded worried about the adjuster, the “we handle that” point matters.

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What to Say When They Mention the Insurance’s Preferred Shop

This is the moment many body shop staff mishandle — either by backing down (“Oh, you should probably just go there then”) or by going negative about the other shop, which almost never helps.

The right approach is matter-of-fact confidence:

“Preferred shops work for a lot of people, and that’s completely your call. What I’ll tell you is that with us, you’re in control of the process — we work directly with your insurer, and you’re not locked into anywhere just because it’s on their list. Why don’t you come in for a free estimate and see what you think? It doesn’t cost you anything, and it puts you in a better spot to decide.”

You’re not attacking the preferred network. You’re repositioning around the customer’s right to choose and your shop’s ability to make the process easy for them.

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Drive to the Appointment — That’s the Only Goal of This Call

Everything in the call points toward one outcome: the customer coming in for an estimate. Not a quote over the phone. Not a long back-and-forth about what the repair might involve. A visit.

Once you’ve addressed their questions and built a little rapport, make the ask directly:

“The best thing I can do for you is get eyes on the vehicle so we can give you an accurate written estimate — there’s no charge for that. Are you free to bring it by later today, or would tomorrow work better?”

Give them a choice between two times, not an open-ended “whenever.” An open-ended offer is easy to defer; a specific choice creates a real next step.

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Always Recap the Appointment

Once they agree to come in, recap every detail out loud before you hang up:

• Day and time
• What to ask for when they arrive (your name, or the body shop advisor’s name)
• A helpful landmark or direction tip so they can find you easily
• A quick note on what to bring (insurance claim number, if they have it)

A proper recap reduces no-shows and makes the customer feel like they’re in capable hands before they’ve even walked through the door. It’s a habit worth building across every department. If your team struggles with follow-through on confirmations, a call recording and scoring program can reveal exactly where those breakdowns happen.

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A Note on Tone Throughout

A customer calling after an accident is rarely in a great headspace. Match your energy to where they are — calm, steady, and genuinely helpful. This isn’t the call for high-octane enthusiasm; it’s the call for confidence and care.

Smile anyway. It’s still audible, and it changes how the caller responds. A tip we give reps: keep a small mirror at the workstation as a reminder to smile — even on the tougher calls. A customer who feels like they’re talking to someone who actually wants to help them, not just book them, is far more likely to show up.

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Make Sure Your Team Is Ready for These Calls

Insurance-directed repair calls are not rare. If your body shop staff hasn’t been coached on how to handle a collision caller going through insurance — capturing contact info, educating on repair rights, and driving to the estimate — you’re likely losing repair jobs that should have been yours.

The same phone-handling fundamentals apply in sales, BDC, and service — and they’re the same ones we coach for finance and collections teams, too. If you want to see how your team is actually handling these calls right now, a free mystery shop evaluation is a fast way to find out. We listen, we score, and we tell you exactly what’s working and what needs work.

For broader context on how C&M approaches phone training across the dealership — from the service drive to the collision center — visit our automotive phone training page.