The whole point is Allstate will drag it out even with the insurance company fighting it.

I had a long response, however the short one will suffice.  Had you let your insurance company deal with it you would have spent 0 extra time to be made whole.  Fighiting it yourself took time, which you already paid your provider for in the form of premiums.  You can't get that time back, and they did not reimburse you for it either so you went backwards.

The biggest problem is them setting the local pay rates for shops
Which is bull crap
The shop I use accepts the insurance rate and takes care of getting everything the insurance needs for documentation to them.  They are a prefered repairer for the one company, so don't even need an estimate to get it fixed.  I asked about the insurance rate and shop guy says we always get paid timely and  in full and that is worth something.

If enough people turn it into the Ins division then you can get things changed.
If you let the insurance company handle it, nothing will ever change.
Perhaps, but there is also the possibility both insurance companies operate more efficiently because they know what to expect and place a value on their time so they will arrive at a fair settlement quickly saving lots of labor dollars.  Insurance is just a numbers game and often they will settle merely to save money even when they know they can win since they will be further ahead than fighting it; people on the otherhand are not as wise.