We lost our home to a fire in 2005.
We were given 3 options:
1. They will build our home back exactly as it was, with original materials. Since our home had plaster walls and a roof structure made of Dade County Pine, this was going to be very expensive for State Farm.
2. They will give us X amount and we can rebuild it ourselves.
3. They will give us X amount and we can sell the land and buy something else.
We took option 3.
After we agreed to it, State Farm started hedging and saying that they had overstated the amount they could give us. Since we had the amount in writing, we just threatened to show it all to the Insurance Commissioner and let them straighten it out.
Soon after State Farm coughed up all they had originally promised, plus a bit more.
The problem was the adjuster. He was either incompetent or crooked.
In the land of weirdness...6 months later close friends of ours had a house fire as well. They got the same adjuster. He tried to pull the same crap. My friend actually worked in the health insurance industry and reported him to the Insurance Commissioner. Everything went fine after that.
Option 3 was the wise choice.
You do not want to get involved in the complexities of construction—particularly after that kind of tragedy.
You just want a place to live—as soon as possible.
He was looking for a bribe, apparently.