Insurance Claim Repair
You Choose the Body Shop. Macarthur Handles the Insurance Claim.
Under New York Insurance Law section 2610, your insurer cannot require you to use a particular repair shop. Tell the adjuster the car is at Macarthur Auto Body and Towing, 170 East Lincoln Avenue, Valley Stream. From there the shop writes the itemized estimate, hosts the inspection in its own lot, documents and submits supplements, coordinates the rental, and bills the insurer directly. You pay your deductible, if any, at pickup. Call 516-362-5350.
Certifications and reviews
The Certifications an Adjuster Looks For, and What Drivers Say About Macarthur on Google
An insurer approves a repair against documentation, and a certified shop produces the documentation insurers expect: itemized estimates, teardown photographs, measuring printouts, and the manufacturer's procedures. Macarthur is certified by Honda and Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, and Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, is I-CAR Gold Class, and belongs to the MetLife Concierge Repair and Hanover Express Claims programs. Every plaque is photographed on this site.
I got locked out my car on a cold snowy night and Alex came and unlock my car. He was very quick and professional. I would definitely use this towing company again.
Great timing and professionalism. The tow truck driver Carlos was experienced and helpful. I would recommend this company and Carlos to anyone.
Not the usual experience with a towing company. Everyone that I spoke to was polite and respectful and they towed my car with care. Hopefully I never need my car towed again, but if I do, this is who I will be using!
- 16Certifications on the shop wall
- I-CARGold Class training recognition
- 1,800+Google reviews, 5.0 average as of Oct 2026
- LicensedDMV # 7110205 · DCA # 1389419
- 1 ShopTow fleet and body shop, Valley Stream
- 24/7Our own trucks bring the car in
The Google reviews below come from the towing side of the business, where most drivers meet Macarthur first, often on the night of the accident that becomes the claim. The body shop is where many of those cars go next. If the shop has handled your claim, a few words on Google help the next driver who has just been told to use the insurer's shop.
Been told to use the insurer's shop? You have not. Tell them the car is at Macarthur.
- Insurance Claims
- Insurance Repair
- Collision Claim
- Direct Repair
- Direct Billing
- Body Shop
- Collision Repair
- Auto Body
- Certified Shop
- Claim Estimate
- Supplement
- Deductible
Your Right to Choose Under New York Insurance Law Section 2610, in Plain Words and With the Sentence to Say
New York Insurance Law section 2610 says an insurer may not require you to have your car repaired at a particular shop, and may not recommend a shop unless you ask or unless they tell you that you are free to choose. The sentence to say to the adjuster is: "The car is at Macarthur Auto Body and Towing, 170 East Lincoln Avenue, Valley Stream. Please send the assignment there."
The single most common question the office gets is some version of "they said I have to use their shop." Here is what the law says, what the adjuster can and cannot do, and how to answer.
What the law says. The insurer cannot require a shop. It cannot steer you to one without telling you that you may choose your own. It cannot refuse to pay for a repair at a licensed shop of your choice because you did not use theirs. It can recommend a shop if you ask.
What you may hear. "Our network shop will be faster." "We can only guarantee the repair at our shop." "If you go elsewhere you may have to pay the difference." Each of these is a recommendation dressed as a requirement. Ask for it in writing, and then call us. The repair is paid at the rates and the procedures the car requires, wherever it is done.
What to say. Give the shop's name and address, ask that the assignment and the inspection be sent to the shop, and ask for the claim number and the adjuster's direct contact. Write those down and give them to the office.
Why it matters. A network shop answers to the carrier's rates, parts rules, and cycle-time targets. A shop you chose answers to you. On a structural repair or a car with driver-assistance sensors, that difference is invisible until the next crash. The insurance section on the body shop page covers direct repair programs in more detail.
Tell the adjuster the car is at Macarthur in Valley Stream. That is the whole instruction.
Day One of the Claim: Reporting It, Getting the Car to the Shop, and the Three Things to Write Down
Report the accident to your insurer, or to the other driver's insurer if they were at fault, as soon as you can. Give the location of the car as Macarthur in Valley Stream. Get the claim number, the adjuster's name and direct number, and the police report number, and give all three to the office. If the car cannot be driven, call 516-362-5350 and a Macarthur truck brings it to the shop at any hour.
The first day sets up everything after it. Here is the order.
Who to report to
If the other driver was at fault and you have their insurance information, you can file against their liability coverage, which usually means no deductible for you. If fault is unclear or you want the repair started without waiting on the other carrier, file with your own collision coverage, pay your deductible, and your insurer pursues the other carrier. Both are legitimate; the office can explain the trade-offs but the choice is yours.
Getting the car here
If the car was towed from the scene by a company you did not call, it is sitting at their yard accruing storage. Call us; once the yard releases it to you, our truck collects it. If the car is drivable, bring it in during shop hours. If it is not, our accident recovery truck brings it in.
The three things
The claim number, the adjuster's direct contact, and the police report number. The office cannot move the claim without the first two, and the third settles fault questions later. The accident section on the towing page has the full at-the-scene checklist.
The rental
If your policy has rental coverage, or the other driver's carrier is paying, ask the adjuster to set up the rental when you report. The office coordinates the dates with the repair so the rental starts when it should and ends when the car is ready.
Just reported the claim? Give the office the claim number and we take it from there.
The Inspection at Our Shop: Why the Car Does Not Move, What the Adjuster Sees, and What Happens If They Write Low
With the car at Macarthur, the adjuster inspects it in our lot or reviews our estimate and photographs remotely. The car does not go to a drive-in inspection center, and it is not towed twice. If the insurer's first number is lower than ours, the difference is resolved at teardown with photographs and the manufacturer's procedures, which is how supplements work.
Here is what the inspection involves and why a low first estimate is not a problem.
Our estimate first. The shop photographs the car, pulls the build data by VIN, and writes an itemized estimate: each part by number and type, labor by operation, paint by panel. It goes to the adjuster with the photographs. The estimate section on the body shop page explains the write-up.
The adjuster's visit or desk review. Many carriers now review the shop's estimate and photos from a desk; some send an adjuster to the lot. Either way, the car stays where it will be repaired.
The insurer's number. The insurer may issue its own estimate, often lower, often written from photographs. That is a starting point for approval, not the final cost of the repair.
Why photos write low. A photo cannot see a cracked reinforcement bar behind an intact cover, a bent radiator support behind a bent fender, or a kinked rail behind a quarter panel. The difference is documented at teardown.
Rates and procedures. The shop writes at the labor operations and the procedures the manufacturer specifies for the car, with the manual page attached where the adjuster asks. A certified shop has that documentation; it is what the certifications on the wall represent.
Insurer's estimate came in low? That is normal. The teardown and the photos settle it.
Supplements: the Damage Found at Teardown, How It Is Documented, and Why It Is Not a Dispute
A supplement is additional repair cost documented after the damaged parts come off and the hidden damage behind them is exposed. The shop photographs each item, writes it up with the manufacturer's procedure, and submits it to the adjuster, who reviews and approves the covered items. Supplements are a normal step on most repairs beyond a scuffed bumper, and covered damage is covered whether it was visible on day one or not.
The word makes people nervous, so here is exactly what it is and is not.
What triggers one. The bumper cover comes off and the reinforcement bar is cracked. The fender comes off and the apron is pushed. The car is measured and a rail is out of specification. The headlamp bracket is broken. None of it was visible from the outside, and none of it is optional to fix.
How it is documented. Each item is photographed in place, listed with the part and the operation, and where the adjuster needs it, the manufacturer's procedure page is attached. The package goes to the adjuster through the carrier's system.
The review. The adjuster reviews the supplement, sometimes re-inspects, and approves the covered items. Approval can take a day or longer depending on the carrier; the shop follows up, and parts for the supplement are ordered on approval.
Second and third supplements. On a heavy hit there may be more than one, because deeper damage is found as the repair progresses. Each is documented the same way.
What you see. Every supplement is in your file, with the photographs. Ask to see them. The teardown section on the collision repair page explains blueprinting, which is how most supplements are found at once rather than in pieces.
Want to see what was found behind the bumper? The photos are in your file.
Deductibles, Who Pays What, Rental Cars, and the Difference Between Your Claim and Theirs
If your own collision coverage pays, your deductible is your share and is due at pickup. If the other driver's liability coverage pays, there is usually no deductible for you. Rental coverage, if you have it or the other carrier provides it, is arranged by the insurer and the shop coordinates the dates. Macarthur bills the insurer directly for everything else and tells you before the work starts which situation you are in.
The money side of a claim is simpler than it sounds once you know which policy is paying.
Your collision coverage. Pays for the repair minus your deductible, regardless of fault. Your insurer may recover the deductible from the other carrier later if the other driver was at fault, in which case you get it back.
Their liability coverage. Pays for the repair in full if their driver was at fault, with no deductible for you. It can take longer to start because the other carrier has to accept fault first.
Rental. Your policy's rental coverage has a daily limit and a total limit. The other carrier's liability coverage usually provides a rental when their driver was at fault. Either way, the office coordinates the start and end dates with the repair.
Direct billing. The shop bills the insurer for the approved repair and supplements. You are not fronting the money and waiting for a check.
Parts upgrades. If the policy allows aftermarket parts and you want original parts, the difference is on the estimate and is yours to pay or decline. The parts section on the body shop page explains the types.
Betterment. On some items, like tires or a battery, an insurer may charge you a share for wear on the old part. The office tells you when that applies before the work.
Not sure which policy is paying? Bring the claim number and we sort it with the adjuster.
Original, Aftermarket, and Recycled Parts on an Insurance Repair, and the Disclosure New York Requires
Insurance policies often allow aftermarket or recycled parts for cosmetic items on cars past a certain age, and New York requires the estimate to disclose in writing when a non-original part is used. The manufacturer's procedure overrides the policy on structural and safety parts. Macarthur lists every part by type on the estimate, explains each before ordering, and documents any aftermarket part that does not fit or meet the standard.
Parts are where the insurer's rules and the manufacturer's rules meet, and you have a say.
What the policy says. Many policies specify that cosmetic parts, covers, lamps, fenders, on a car beyond a certain age may be aftermarket or recycled. That is in the policy you bought, and the estimate follows it unless you choose otherwise.
What the manufacturer says. Structural parts, airbags, sensors, and anything the manufacturer's procedure requires as original are written as original. The procedure, not the policy, decides those.
Disclosure. New York requires that non-original parts be identified on the estimate, and they are. You see the type of every part before it is ordered.
Fit and quality. If an aftermarket part arrives and does not fit or does not meet the standard, the shop photographs it and documents it for the adjuster, and an original is requested.
Your choice. If you want original parts where the policy allows aftermarket, you can usually pay the difference. The estimate shows the number and you decide. The collision repair page covers how parts fit into the rest of the repair.
Want original parts on your car? Say so at the estimate and the difference is on the paper.
When the Insurer Says Total Loss: How the Number Is Built, How to Challenge It, and Keeping the Car
An insurer declares a total loss when the repair cost plus the salvage value approaches the car's actual cash value. The repair estimate and the valuation are both inputs you can look at. The valuation can be challenged with comparable listings and receipts, and in some cases you can accept the settlement minus salvage, keep the car, and have it repaired. Macarthur's estimate is written to the procedure with nothing padded, so it holds up either way.
The call you do not want, explained.
The math. The insurer compares the cost to repair, including an allowance for supplements, against the car's market value in your area. When repair gets close to value, the car is totaled, the insurer pays the value minus your deductible if your policy is paying, and takes the car.
The valuation. Built from comparable cars for sale in your area, adjusted for mileage, condition, and options. If it looks low, send the adjuster listings for comparable cars at higher prices and receipts for recent work, tires, brakes, a timing belt. That often moves it.
The estimate. Ours is itemized to the manufacturer's procedure, nothing padded and nothing skipped. If the car is repairable and you want it repaired, that is the number the insurer sees.
Keeping the car. In some cases you can take the settlement minus the salvage value, keep the car, and have it repaired. The title is branded, which affects resale and insurance, and the shop will tell you honestly whether it makes sense for the car you have. The total loss section on the collision repair page goes further.
Storage during the decision. A car that came in on our truck waits in our lot while the valuation is settled, not at a yard charging by the day.
Told the car is a total loss and not sure? Bring the valuation and we walk through it with you.
Direct Repair Programs: What MetLife and Hanover Membership Means, and What It Does Not Change
Macarthur is a member of the MetLife Concierge Repair and Hanover Express Claims programs, which means a faster approval path for those policyholders and a documentation standard that other carriers recognize. It does not change who the shop answers to: on every repair, the car's owner. The shop works with every carrier that writes policies in New York, member or not.
Direct repair programs get a mixed reputation, and here is an honest account of what the two on our wall mean for you.
What a program is. An arrangement where the shop agrees to the carrier's documentation and process standards and the carrier streamlines approvals for its policyholders at that shop. For a MetLife or Hanover policyholder, that means the estimate and photos go straight in and approvals come back faster.
What it does not mean. It does not mean the carrier dictates parts or procedures that conflict with the manufacturer's. On a Honda, the Honda procedure governs. It does not mean you are steered here; you chose the shop, and the program applies because you did.
For everyone else. If your carrier is not one of the two, nothing changes except the approval path. The shop writes the same estimate, documents the same way, and bills the carrier directly. The certifications page shows both program plaques alongside the manufacturer certifications.
Why the standard matters. A shop that already works at a program's documentation level produces the photographs, measurements, and procedure pages that any adjuster needs to approve a repair quickly. That is the practical benefit for every customer.
MetLife or Hanover policyholder? Your claim has a faster path here. Everyone else, same shop, same standard.
Insurance Claim Repair for Drivers Across Nassau County and the Queens Line, at One Shop in Valley Stream
Every claim is handled from 170 East Lincoln Avenue in Valley Stream, where the car is inspected, repaired, and picked up. Cars come to the shop from all of Nassau County, the Queens neighborhoods along the county line, and the Suffolk towns just across it, driven in during shop hours or carried in on a Macarthur tow truck at any hour. Every town has its own insurance claim repair page.
A claim from Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Hempstead, Malverne, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Baldwin, Freeport, Roosevelt, Long Beach, or the Five Towns around Cedarhurst, Lawrence, Woodmere, and Hewlett is a short tow to the shop, and so is one across the line in Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Queens Village, Jamaica, or Far Rockaway.
From central and eastern Nassau, Garden City, Mineola, Williston Park, Westbury, Uniondale, East Meadow, Levittown, Hicksville, Plainview, Bethpage, Seaford, Wantagh, and Massapequa, from the north shore towns of Great Neck, Manhasset, Roslyn, Glen Cove, Syosset, and Jericho, and from Amityville, Melville, and Huntington on the Suffolk side, the car comes in on its own wheels or on the flatbed. The full list is on the locations page.
Find your town and its insurance claim repair page.
More Body Shop Services From the Same Shop
Collision Repair
From fender benders to major damage, repaired to pre-accident condition.
Auto Body Repair
Dents, scrapes, rust, and panel replacement.
Auto Painting
Spot repair to full repaints, matched to the factory color.
Frame Repair
Frames pulled back to straight and true.
Auto Glass Replacement
Windshields, door glass, and back glass replaced.
Bumper Repair
Cracked, scraped, or pushed-in bumpers repaired or replaced.
One shop covers every repair on the list.
Questions Drivers Ask About Insurance Claim Repair
- Do I have to use the body shop my insurance company recommends?
- No. Under New York Insurance Law section 2610 the insurer cannot require a particular shop. Tell the adjuster the car is at Macarthur Auto Body and Towing, 170 East Lincoln Avenue, Valley Stream.
- What should I say to the adjuster?
- "The car is at Macarthur Auto Body and Towing, 170 East Lincoln Avenue, Valley Stream. Please send the assignment there." Then ask for the claim number and the adjuster's direct contact and give them to the office.
- The adjuster said their network shop would be faster or the only one guaranteed. Is that true?
- It is a recommendation, not a requirement. Ask for it in writing, then call us. The repair is paid at the procedures the car requires wherever it is done.
- Should I file with my insurer or the other driver's?
- Either is legitimate. Their liability coverage means no deductible for you but can take longer to start. Your collision coverage starts the repair now, you pay the deductible, and your insurer may recover it later. The office can explain the trade-offs; the choice is yours.
- Does the car have to go to an inspection center?
- No. The adjuster inspects the car in our lot or reviews our estimate and photographs remotely. The car stays where it will be repaired.
- The insurer's estimate is lower than yours. What happens?
- Their first estimate is usually written from photographs. The difference is documented at teardown with photographs and the manufacturer's procedures and submitted as a supplement. Covered damage is covered.
- What is a supplement?
- Additional repair cost for damage found after the damaged parts come off. It is photographed, written up, and approved by the adjuster. It is a normal step on most repairs beyond a scuffed bumper.
- Do I have to pay my deductible?
- If your own collision coverage is paying, yes, at pickup. If the other driver's liability coverage is paying, usually no.
- Will you coordinate my rental car?
- Yes. The insurer arranges the rental under your coverage or the other carrier's, and the office coordinates the start and end dates with the repair.
- Do you bill the insurance company directly?
- Yes. You are not fronting the money and waiting for a check. You pay your deductible, if any, at pickup.
- Will aftermarket parts be used on my car?
- Only where the policy allows them and the manufacturer's procedure does not require original. New York requires the estimate to disclose non-original parts, and it does. If you want original parts, the difference is on the estimate.
- What does MetLife and Hanover membership mean?
- A faster approval path for those policyholders and a documentation standard other carriers recognize. It does not change who the shop answers to, which is you.
- Do you work with every insurance company?
- Yes, every carrier that writes policies in New York.
- What if the insurer says the car is a total loss?
- You can challenge the valuation with comparable listings and receipts, and in some cases keep the car and have it repaired. Our estimate supports either conversation.
- Can you tow the car in and keep it while the claim is settled?
- Yes. Our truck brings it in 24 hours a day, and the car waits in our lot, not at a storage yard, while the estimate, inspection, and approvals are done.
- Where is the shop?
- 170 East Lincoln Avenue, Valley Stream, NY 11580. Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 12 PM.
Did not see your question? Ask the office. We have heard it before.
Call Macarthur and Tell the Adjuster Where the Car Is
You choose the shop. We write the estimate, host the inspection, handle the supplements, and bill the insurer.
Call 516-362-5350