Insurance company would not agree to an estimate - anything i can do?

[Dmitri K.]

So i had some roof damage and opened a claim with my insurance. I asked my contractor to give me an estimate and submitted that to the insurance. I trust this guy's work and would really prefer to have this done by him. With that said, i understand that anytime you mention insurance, estimates get bigger then what it might have cost otherwise. However insurance company came up with a cost that is 3 times lower then the contractor's estimate. (when i told him he just laughed).  I asked another contractor that i've dealt with before and he was in the same ballpark with my contractor's price. 

With that said, do you guys know if there is a "universal" insurance rule that allows me to pick my own contractor. Again, i am not trying to golden-plate my roof, but looks like that gap is so big that i can't even start the work. And i still have holes in the roof and it's raining...