This subject of photo estimating was the focus of a US show call Inside Edition which describes itself as 'television's longest-running, top-rated, and most-honored syndicated newsmagazine.' See video below. The repairers in the video say that photo estimating undervalues the repair each time.
Mid-Island Collision owner Robert Jesberger argues that photo estimating is “cheating and undervaluing,”. There is footage of him shouting at an Allstate State adjuster (we're thinking mabye they don't have a code of conduct there) for 'cheating' a customer.
The story is also about 85-year-old Muriel Agostini, who received a $1,700 photo estimate for what Allstate agreed, in the end, was a $11,667 repair.
Another customer example for a photo estimate was $1,290 which was issued in less than an hour for a repair which cost $7,396.