What 111 estimates show
- typical cuts per estimate
- $256
- typical when a line was removed
- $146
- typical when hours were cut
- $134
These are estimate pairs shops ran through QUICKCompare between March and November 2026: the shop’s estimate and the insurer’s, mostly CCC ONE on the shop side and Mitchell on the insurer side. We counted the 111 pairs where every cut was accounted for to the cent, and 105 of them had at least one cut. Typical means the middle estimate: half lost more and half lost less.
PDR prices are dent-repair prices on PDR estimates. The rest is sales tax on the cut amounts and groups too small to show.
Fewer hours on a line that stayed was the most common cut and the largest share of the dollars. A removed line cost the most when it happened. Paint and materials and part prices were cut often but in small amounts, typically $25 and $32; part prices were lowered on half the estimates (55 of 111).
Shops chose which estimates to check, so these lean toward estimates a shop already suspected. They show which cuts happen and how big they run, not how often an average claim gets cut.
Find every line an insurer cut on your last estimate.
See what insurance cutThe six cuts at a glance
Every example on this page is a real line from a shop estimate and the insurer’s estimate, run through QUICKCompare. Shop, vehicle, and insurer details are left out, except in the BMW X3 example, which is already published on the QUICKCompare page.
| Cut type | What changes | Where you see it | What answers it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removed line | The operation is gone | A line on yours with no match on theirs | OEM procedure, P-pages, photos |
| Fewer hours | Same line, lower hours | The labor or paint column on a shared line | Database time, DEG inquiry, OEM procedure |
| Labor-rate cut | Lower dollars per hour | The rates block, not the lines | Your posted rate and how you set it |
| Paint and materials | Lower materials rate, or fewer refinish hours | Materials rate or the materials total | Your materials rate, restored refinish hours |
| Part swap or reprice | Different part type or lower price | Part number, part-type marker, price | OEM position statement, invoice |
| Hidden cut | A cut offset by an addition elsewhere | Nowhere, if you only check the total | Line-by-line cuts, counted on their own |
Removed lines
The line is on your estimate and missing from theirs. It’s the easiest cut to see once you read line by line, and the easiest to miss if you only watch the total. A supplement that adds new lines can still come back with old ones gone.
| Shop estimate | Static calibration, lane keep assist | $400.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer estimate | Listed at first, deleted in a later supplement | $0.00 |
| Cut | −$400.00 | |
Another real one: finish sand and buff on a complete panel, 1.5 refinish hours, $97.50 of paint labor and $67.50 of materials, with no matching line on the insurer’s estimate.
Both are separate operations that no other line’s labor time covers. When the line goes, every dollar on it goes too.
What answers it: The OEM repair procedure or position statement that calls for the operation (calibrations and scans), the estimating system’s P-pages for not-included refinish steps, and photos of the work. For calibrations, know which ADAS systems the car was built with before you write the line. VINReveal reads them from the VIN.
Fewer hours on a line that stayed
The line survives, so a quick read says it was paid. The hours on it changed.
| Shop estimate | Front bumper overhaul, 4.7 hr at $60 | $282.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer estimate | Front bumper overhaul, 2.0 hr at $60 | $120.00 |
| Cut | −$162.00 | |
On the same estimate, front bumper paint to match was written at 2.5 refinish hours and came back at 1.8. That’s $42 of refinish labor, plus $28 of materials that follow the refinish hours.
Check the hours on every line both estimates share. A line that’s still there can still be cut.
What answers it: The database labor time for the operation, a DEG inquiry when the database time itself is wrong, and the OEM procedure when the job needs steps the time doesn’t cover.
Labor-rate cuts
The rate sits at the estimate level, so a rate cut changes every hour in that labor category even though no line looks different.
| Rate | Shop | Insurer | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body labor | $54 | $50 | −$4 |
| Refinish labor | $86 | $68 | −$18 |
| Paint materials | $55 | $45 | −$10 |
On the body-rate estimate, $4 less across 6.0 body hours came to $24. The refinish rate was 21% lower, on every refinish hour the insurer kept.
These look small on one estimate. Multiply them by every estimate written at the lower rate. Shops at the November 2025 Collision Industry Conference described insurers lowering the rates they pay (Repairer Driven News).
Keep the rate cut apart from the hours. If the insurer also cut hours on a line, those lost hours are their own cut at your rate. The rate cut then applies to the hours that survived. Counting both on the same hours overstates the cut; netting one against the other understates it.
What answers it: Your posted door rate and the cost basis behind it. Rate rules differ by state, so check your state insurance department before you cite one.
Paint and materials
Materials get cut two ways. The insurer lowers the materials rate, or it cuts refinish hours and the materials that are calculated from them go with the hours.
- The paint materials rate in the table above: $55 on the shop’s estimate, $45 per refinish hour on the insurer’s.
- The bumper refinish above: 0.7 refinish hours cut took $28 of materials with them.
If your estimate prints paint materials as one total with no rate, the cut only shows as a smaller total. Work back to the refinish hours on each side before you call it a rate cut.
What answers it: Your materials rate or your invoice-based materials calculation. Restoring the refinish hours restores the materials tied to them.
Part-type swaps and part-price changes
The part line stays, but the part changes. An OEM part becomes aftermarket, recycled (LKQ), or reconditioned, or the same part comes back at a lower price. In a swap, the part number changes or drops off the line, so read the part type and the description too: they usually carry a marker such as A/M or LKQ. A reprice can keep the part number and type and change only the price.
| Shop estimate | Headlamp assembly, OEM, with part number | $1,097.27 |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer estimate | Headlamp, aftermarket, no part number | $691.27 |
| Cut | −$406.00 | |
| Shop estimate | Front bumper cover, same part number | $498.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer estimate | Front bumper cover, same part number | $458.00 |
| Cut | −$40.00 | |
Check the part number, the part-type marker, and the price on every part line both estimates share. Then check the labor and refinish on the same line, because a different part can come with different hours.
What answers it: The automaker’s position statement on non-OEM and recycled parts (OEM1Stop collects them), and your parts invoice for a price cut. Rules on non-OEM parts differ by state.
How to check an estimate pair for cuts
- Line up the two estimates by operation and part. Line order and wording differ between CCC ONE, Mitchell, and Audatex, so match on the work, the panel, and the part number.
- On every shared line, check the operation, labor type, hours, part number, part type, and price.
- List the lines on yours with no match on theirs. Those are removed lines.
- Check the rates block: body, refinish, mechanical, frame, and paint materials.
- Add up the cuts by themselves. Never net them against additions.
- Match each cut to the documentation in the table above.
QUICKCompare runs that check in under a minute across CCC ONE, Mitchell, and Audatex, and names each cut by type and dollar amount.
Questions shops ask
- Why is the insurer’s estimate lower than mine?
- Look for the six cut types above, line by line. Don’t stop at the totals, because the gap between the totals understates the cuts whenever the insurer also added something.
- If the totals are close, was anything cut?
- Possibly a lot. In the BMW X3 example, totals $2.30 apart held $693.70 in cuts. Close totals only mean the cuts and additions came out near even.
- Is a labor-rate cut a line-item dispute?
- No. The rate applies to the whole estimate, so dispute it once at the estimate level, on the hours that survived. An hour cut on a line is a separate dispute at your rate.
- What documentation should I send back?
- Match it to the cut. OEM procedures and position statements answer removed operations and part swaps. Database times and DEG inquiries answer reduced hours. Your posted rate answers a rate cut. Your materials rate and the restored refinish hours answer a materials cut.