TIL. But there's a vibrant and competitive market for auto repairs in general. In-network shops can't be more expensive than out-of-network shops. There's no "certificate of need" system that can block the starting of new auto shops.[1]

Auto repair costs are capped at the value of the vehicle. There isn't a stream of indigent customers coming in for emergency repair that have to be subsidized by everyone else. There's far more visibility into risks - insurers have access to your driving history and can refuse to offer coverage based on it. You can volunteer even more information to lower your rates - from credit history, marital status, educational level, all the way up to installing a device on your car's OBD port to monitor your driving habits.

In short, auto insurance and repair really isn't anything like healthcare.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_need

> In-network shops can't be more expensive than out-of-network shops.

"My insurance told me to go to X shop, which was 3x as expensive as this other shop and was going to take two weeks to repair my window." -my roommate

It is illegal in the United States for the insurance agency to dictate which shop does the repairs.

Sure, but they can say, this is the shop we will pay ourselves, or you can go somewhere else and we'll cut you a check. If you need the repairs done faster than they cut checks and don't have cash on hand, it's a strong incentive.

Which is why people should have savings and learn some life skills like basic auto repair. Body work and paint I can't do myself, but that's mostly cosmetic (look at the number of beat shitboxes rolling around in the US). But you should be able to get a car into running order or acquire a rental vehicle while you wait for the check. Rental vehicles are usually at preferred rates when associated to an insurer and depending on the policy are covered.

Yep, the only item they can dictate is where the estimate is done.