Repair estimate approval

How do we check a repair shop's estimate against the claim and the approval limits, approve it or send it to an appraiser, and write the result to the claims system?

Treat the estimate as a submission with checks and an authority. When a shop submits an estimate, Callvu matches it to the claim and the vehicle or property, reads the line items against the damage photos, the labor rates and the parts rules in the shop agreement, flags the items outside the guidelines (an unrelated prior damage, a rate above the agreed, a part type the policy does not cover, a supplement without photos), compares the total with the adjuster's and the system's approval limits, approves within authority by rule, routes an estimate above authority or with flags to the adjuster or an appraiser in the Decision Desk with only the allowed outcomes, and writes the approval, the agreed amount and the authorization to proceed to the claims system with the shop notified. Live at Phoenix Insurance, under national rules outside the US.

Live at PhoenixComplex: multi-party handoffsCallvu moves: chase and verify, decide, write back

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Last updated November 7, 2026.

The problem today

The estimate was approved by email, the supplement was approved by phone, and nobody could say what the agreed amount was when the invoice arrived.

Today, without Callvu

A repair shop sends an estimate. The adjuster, with a hundred open claims, approves it from the total, or sits on it until the shop calls. A supplement follows with no photos. The customer waits for the car. At invoice time the agreed amount, the approved supplements and the shop's rate are reconstructed from emails. The shop's relationship and the cycle time both suffer.

An estimate is checkable: the vehicle and the claim match, the damage lines correspond to the photos, the labor rates and the parts (new, used, aftermarket) follow the shop agreement and the policy, the total sits inside or outside the adjuster's authority, and the approval is a decision the claims system should hold. The state's claim handling rules add the periods and, in some states, the customer's right to choose the shop and the disclosure rules on parts.

An estimate approved by rule inside authority, and decided by a person outside it, is an estimate the invoice can match.

How it runs

From the requestto the system of record.

A repair shop submits an estimate or a supplement through its link or the estimating platform's feed on an open claim. Callvu matches it and opens the approval.

Repair shop: Submits the estimate, the photos and any supplement through its link, and receives the approval and the agreed amount.
Adjuster or appraiser: Decides estimates above authority or with flags in the Decision Desk.
Customer: Is told the approval, the timing and any parts choice the state requires them to make.
Callvu: Matches, reads and checks the line items, compares with authority, approves by rule, routes and writes.

Match and chase what is missing
The estimate is matched to the claim, the vehicle (the identification number) or the property and the shop; a mismatch or a missing element (photos for the lines, the shop's rate sheet, the supplement's cause) is chased from the shop through its link with the specifics.
Chase and verify the line items
Each line is read and checked: the damage lines against the photos and the first notice description, the labor hours against the estimating platform's standard, the rates against the shop agreement, the parts type against the policy and the state's disclosure rules, the betterment and the deductible applied, prior or unrelated damage identified; the total is compared with the adjuster's and the system's authority limits.
Decide
An estimate inside authority with no flags is approved by rule; an estimate above authority, with flagged lines, with a supplement above the threshold, or on a vehicle near the total loss threshold goes to the adjuster or an appraiser in the Decision Desk with the checks and the photos and only the allowed outcomes: approve, approve with adjustments line by line, order an inspection, or refer to total loss.
Write back
The approval, the agreed amount, the adjustments, the authorization to proceed and the expected completion are written to the claims system, the shop is notified with the agreed estimate, the customer is told the timing (and the rental process is updated where it applies), and the agreed amount is the figure the invoice approval process will match.

Where it ends: The estimate was matched, checked line by line, approved inside authority by rule or decided by a person outside it, and the claims system holds the agreed amount the invoice will be matched against. The Decision Trace shows the checks, the authority comparison and any decision; the Audit Trace shows the submission, the chases and the approval with time.

Runtime enforcement

What is enforcedwhile the work runs.

The regulations preloaded in Callvu Studio and the bank's own policies, applied as steps that run, not lines in a binder. A step that breaks a rule does not run, so a completed run was compliant.

Regulations

US requirements shown. Phoenix runs this process under national rules outside the US; Callvu loads each market's rules as policies the same way.

State auto repair and parts disclosure rules (aftermarket parts disclosure statutes, the customer's right to choose the repair shop, anti-steering rules): Many states require disclosure to the customer when non-original equipment parts are specified and the customer's consent in some, prohibit requiring a particular shop, and regulate the insurer's communications with the shop; the parts check and the customer notice apply the state's rule.
State unfair claims settlement practices acts: The insurer must not compel a claimant to accept less than the amount due, must base repair estimates on reasonable local costs, and must respond within the period; a supplement that is unanswered is a complaint in waiting, so the clock applies to it.
Shop agreements, the estimating platform standards and the insurer's authority matrix: The direct repair agreements set labor rates, parts rules and photo requirements; the estimating platform supplies the standard hours; the insurer's authority matrix sets what the system, the adjuster and the appraiser may each approve, which the comparison applies.

Company policies

Every estimate is matched and checked line by line before approval; the total alone is never the basis.
Approval inside authority is by rule; outside it, a person decides with the checks and the photos.
The customer is told the parts choice and the timing where the state requires.
The claims system is the system of record for the agreed amount, which the invoice must match.

Controls

Claim, vehicle and shop matching.
Line item reading and checks against photos, rates and parts rules.
Authority comparison.
Rule-based approval inside authority.
Decision Desk for exceptions and appraiser referrals.
Claims system write and shop and customer notices.

Clocks and deadlines

Estimate response: The insurer's service level within the state's response period, shown to the shop.
Supplement: The same clock from submission; a supplement waits for no call.
Completion: The shop's expected date on the claim for the customer and the rental.

Documents and checks

The estimate and the photos as submitted
The line item checks and flags
The authority comparison
The decision
The agreed amount in the claims system and the notices

In the Decision Trace

Each line's check.
The authority comparison.
The decision and the person.

In the Audit Trace

The submission with time.
Each chase and response.
The approval, the write and the notices.

The handoff

Between the front doorand the back office.

The front door

The shop through its link or the estimating platform's feed; the customer is told on their phone.

The back office

The adjuster and the appraiser see only estimates outside authority or with flags, with the checks done.

The Decision Desk

An estimate above authority, with flagged lines, a supplement above the threshold or a vehicle near the total loss threshold goes to the adjuster or an appraiser in the Decision Desk with the checks and the photos and only approve, adjust line by line, inspect, or refer to total loss.

Proof

Live at Phoenix.Published results only.

Each result is a published claim, with its code on agents.callvu.com, where its status, source and last verified date are kept.

Phoenix Insurance reaches more than 90% completion without human help.

INS-06 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05

Phoenix Insurance put more than 100 processes live in under three months.

INS-01 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-02

Phoenix Insurance has 40% fewer agent-led calls.

INS-02 · Self-asserted · verified 2026-11-05

Questions

What buyers ask next,answered plainly.

What is checked on an estimate?

The match to the claim and the vehicle, each damage line against the photos, the labor hours against the standard, the rates and the parts against the shop agreement and the policy, prior damage, and the total against the authority limits.

Who approves it?

The process, by rule, inside the authority limits with no flags; the adjuster or an appraiser in the Decision Desk above them or with flags.

What about supplements?

A supplement is a submission on the same clock, with its cause and photos, checked and approved the same way, and added to the agreed amount.

Related processes

Claims documentation Supplier invoice approval Auto total loss settlement Rental car authorization Try it in the sandbox All insurance processes

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