Can my insurance company require me to use their repair shop in Wisconsin?

No. Wis. Stat. § 632.375(2)(a) provides that an insurer may not condition coverage on repairs being made by a particular contractor or repair facility, and that a consumer has the right to select the motor vehicle repair facility of his or her choice.

Will my claim take longer if I choose my own body shop?

It should not. Wis. Stat. § 632.375(2)(b) provides that no insurer may fail to initiate and conclude with due dispatch an investigation of a repair claim on the basis of whether the repairs will be made by a particular contractor or repair facility.

Does the same rule apply to windscreen and glass claims?

No. Wis. Stat. § 632.375(3) directs that § 632.37 applies instead to the repair or replacement of motor vehicle glass, so glass is governed by a different section.

§ 632.375 — Motor vehicle repair practicesJewelry Collision · Wisconsin

Wis. Stat. § 632.375

The section, set out

Wisconsin’s answer to who chooses your repair shop is four short subsections. Each is set out below. Everything in the serif is the legislature’s wording and carries its section number; everything in this typeface is ours. You never have to take our word for which is which, and there is a link to the source beside every passage.

Call (608) 555-0142 Read it on the state’s own site

No. 1 Applicability

Whose policy this covers

§ 632.375(1)Motor vehicle repair practices[Applicability]

This section applies to every insurer that issues or delivers in this state a motor vehicle insurance policy that covers repairs to a motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state.

Wis. Stat. § 632.375(1) History: 2015 a. 93. Read it at the source

On the telephone

If the car is registered in Wisconsin or normally kept here, this is your section. It applies to the policy, which means it covers you when you are claiming against the other driver’s insurer as well as your own — a point that is worth knowing, because a not-at-fault claimant is usually given less information and has less leverage.

No. 2 No required facility

The sentence that decides it

An adjuster naming a shop is not doing anything improper. Naming one and letting you believe you must use it is a different thing, and this is the sentence that settles it.

§ 632.375(2)(a)Motor vehicle repair practices[No required facility]

For purposes of this section, a consumer has the right to select the motor vehicle repair facility of his or her choice.

Wis. Stat. § 632.375(2)(a) History: 2015 a. 93. Read it at the source

What this means

Your coverage cannot be made conditional on using a particular contractor or repair facility. You may be steered, encouraged, warned about warranties, or told the process is simpler elsewhere — none of that is prohibited. What is prohibited is making the coverage itself depend on it.

How far we have checked this one

Subsection (2)(a) does two things: it states the consumer’s right, and it bars the insurer from conditioning coverage. Only the first is quoted above, because that is the sentence whose exact wording we have. The prohibition is described in our own words in the paragraph above this one and has not been verified clause by clause. It is the claim this whole site leans on hardest, so it is the one we are most careful to label. Read the section at the source and you will have both.

A sentence that usually ends it

“I understand you recommend that shop. I’m choosing my own under § 632.375(2)(a). Please note the file.”

You do not need to be combative and you do not need a lawyer to say that. Asking for it to be noted in the file is the useful half of the sentence.

No. 3 Due dispatch

And it cannot cost you time

The second subsection is the one almost nobody has heard of, and it is the one that answers the thing people are actually afraid of.

§ 632.375(2)(b)Motor vehicle repair practices[No claim delay based on your choice of shop]

No insurer may fail to initiate and conclude with due dispatch an investigation of a claim for repairs to a motor vehicle on the basis of whether the repairs will be made by a particular contractor or repair facility.

Wis. Stat. § 632.375(2)(b) History: 2015 a. 93. Read it at the source

What this means

An insurer may not drag its feet on investigating your claim because of which shop is doing the work. If the claim stalls after you name a shop, write down the dates. A short, dated, factual note of who said what is the single most useful thing a consumer can keep, and it costs nothing.

No. 4 Glass

Glass is genuinely different

§ 632.375(3)Motor vehicle repair practices[Glass is governed by § 632.37 instead]

Section 632.37, rather than this section, applies to the repair or replacement of motor vehicle glass under a motor vehicle insurance policy.

Wis. Stat. § 632.375(3) History: 2015 a. 93. Read it at the source

What this means

Windscreens and windows are carved out of this section and handed to § 632.37. So if somebody tells you the rules for your windscreen are not the same as the rules for your bumper, they are right, and it is not a brush-off. We have put it on this page precisely because it is the part that would be convenient for us to leave out.

Statutory passages on this page are quoted from the Wisconsin Statutes and were last checked in October 2026 against docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Statutes are amended. This is general information about a public law, not legal advice, and it is not a statement about your particular claim. Read the section yourself, or ask a lawyer.

No. 5 Parts

The other two sections worth knowing

Wisconsin also legislated about replacement parts, in 1991. We cite these rather than quote them, because we have not verified their current operative wording against the statute book — and on this site, a passage either appears verbatim with its citation or it does not appear at all.

That distinction is the whole method here. Being told exactly how far somebody has checked is worth more than being told a confident sentence.

Cited, not quoted

Wis. Stat. § 632.38
Nonoriginal manufacturer replacement parts. Created by 1991 Wisconsin Act 176, this is the section about parts that did not come from the vehicle manufacturer.

Wis. Stat. § 100.44
Notice of replacement parts used in motor vehicle repair. The companion notice section, created by the same 1991 act.

Wis. Stat. § 632.37
Motor vehicle glass repair practices. The section that governs glass instead of § 632.375.

All three are readable free at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov.

No. 6 Questions

The three things people ring up and ask

Can my insurance company require me to use their shop?

No. Wis. Stat. § 632.375(2)(a) provides that an insurer may not condition coverage on a particular contractor or repair facility, and that the consumer has the right to select the facility of their choice. The operative sentence is set out with its citation above.

Will it take longer if I use a shop they did not name?

It should not, and § 632.375(2)(b) says so: an insurer may not fail to investigate a repair claim with due dispatch on the basis of which facility is doing the work. If it does start taking longer, keep dates.

What about my windscreen?

Different section. § 632.375(3) sends glass to § 632.37 instead. We are telling you this even though it is the part of the law that helps us least.

All the questions, including the awkward ones.

Print this page and take it with you

It is built to print: the citations survive, the quotations keep their section numbers, and every link prints its address. Or telephone and we will talk you through the call you are about to have.

Call (608) 555-0142

Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–5:30 PM CT