Choosing Your Own Contractor
Yes, you choose who repairs your home. The insurer only needs the estimate to match the damage it approved.
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Insurers sometimes suggest a contractor from a preferred list, but that list is a convenience, not a requirement. You can hire anyone licensed to do the work, including the contractor who already quoted your roof or your plumbing. The catch is the money. The insurer pays based on its own estimate of what the repair should cost, written by the adjuster. If your contractor charges more, you cover the difference unless you can get the adjuster to revise the estimate, usually by submitting your contractor's itemized bid as supporting documentation.
The policy that pays what your contractor actually charges
Some policies settle closer to your contractor's bid, others stick closer to the adjuster's number no matter what you submit. Comparing policies now shows which insurers leave less of the repair bill on you.
What if the adjuster's estimate and my contractor's bid don't match
A gap between the two numbers is normal, not a sign that someone made a mistake. The adjuster's estimate is built from a pricing database covering materials and labor rates for your area, generated by software most insurers use. Your contractor is pricing the actual job, with their own labor rates, their own suppliers, and sometimes a different approach to the repair. A few hundred dollars apart is common. A few thousand means it's worth figuring out why before work starts.
Start by asking your contractor to itemize the bid the same way the adjuster's estimate is itemized, line by line, material by material. A bid that just says "roof repair, $14,000" gives the adjuster nothing to compare against. A bid that breaks out shingles, underlayment, flashing, and labor hours lets them see exactly where the numbers diverge and why. If the difference comes down to your contractor using a higher-grade material or doing additional work the adjuster didn't account for, that's something to flag specifically, not bury in a lump sum.
Send the itemized bid to the adjuster and ask for a review. This happens often enough that most adjusters have a process for it, sometimes called a supplement. They may revise the estimate to match, partly or in full, especially if your contractor identified damage the adjuster missed on the initial inspection, which happens more than people expect with roof and water damage. They may also hold their ground and explain why their number reflects a reasonable cost for the repair. You're allowed to push back once with documentation. You're not obligated to accept the first answer as final.
If the gap doesn't close and you believe the adjuster's estimate is genuinely too low, most policies have an appraisal process for exactly this disagreement. Each side names an appraiser, the two appraisers agree on a neutral third, and that panel settles the dollar amount. It's slower than a phone call but faster and cheaper than a lawsuit, and it exists because this situation, a contractor's bid running higher than the insurer's estimate, is one of the most common disputes in a claim. Your policy's declarations page or the claim paperwork will say whether appraisal is available and how to invoke it.
Can I start repairs before the claim is settled
Sometimes. It depends on what kind of damage you have and what your insurer expects to see first. Emergency repairs are usually fine to start right away. If a storm takes out part of your roof, tarping it or boarding up a broken window to stop more water from getting in is something your policy likely requires you to do anyway, not something you need permission for. Keep the receipts and take photos of the damage before you cover it up.
Full repairs are a different matter. Once the adjuster has inspected the damage and you have an estimate, you can usually start work without waiting for every detail to be finalized. Check first whether your insurer wants a chance to re-inspect before walls get closed up or debris gets hauled away. This matters most with water and fire damage, where the extent of what's affected isn't always obvious until a contractor opens things up. If your contractor finds additional damage once work is underway, like mold behind drywall or wiring damage not visible at the first inspection, document it with photos before repairing it and send that to the adjuster. It's much harder to get paid for damage no one can see anymore.
Payment timing is the other piece of this. Most insurers pay in two parts on larger claims. There's an initial payment based on the adjuster's estimate, then a second payment once the work is finished and verified, sometimes called recoverable depreciation. If you start repairs before the first payment arrives, you're fronting the cost yourself until it does. Ask your adjuster directly when you can expect each payment and whether starting work now affects that schedule. There's no universal rule here, and it's worth getting the answer in writing rather than assuming.
One more thing worth checking before any work begins. Find out whether your policy or your state requires you to get the insurer's sign-off on the contractor or the scope of work first. Most don't, but some claims come with extra steps, particularly ones involving a mortgage lender who holds part of the payout in escrow. Your adjuster or your claim paperwork will say what applies to you.
Before your contractor starts
Get the itemized bid in writing and compare it line by line against the adjuster's estimate before work begins. Catching a gap early is easier than disputing it after the drywall's closed up.
