Auto Insurance Claims: How does an adjustor determine value?, car repair shop, improper repairs

Question
My daughters 4oth anniversary edition mustang was backed into by another student while my daughter was in the driving lane leaving her high school parking lot(taking out the passenger door, quarter panel, and back bumper). The student admitted fault to everyone including the police officer who wrote up the report. I talked to the student's insurance company(Nationwide) who took the information I had. They said that I didn't have to get any repair quotes and that they had a method to determine the value of repairing my car. Is this true and should I go ahead and check a car repair shop to make sure this insurance company pays enough to do the job right.

Answer
All major insurance company have staff estimators who write repair estimates all day long using industry standard estimating software.  The softwar calculates standard labor times and costs of replacement parts.  You can choose any repair shop.  If the shop finds additional damage, they will request a supplemental estimate and Nationwide will authorize it if reasonable.  This is not at all unusual and the shops know the drill.

If you choose a shop that participates in Nationwide's direct repair program, the process will be smoother and faster because Nationwide will just pay the bill without inspecting the car.  They will only allow reputable shops in their program, because they do not want to deal with complaints about improper repairs.