Insurance Claim and working with a General Contractor

[PAul Kazak]

We have suffered a substantial fire at one of our rentals, and the insurance company has written us a check for the damages and lost rent, and we are now in the process of selecting a General Contractor for the repair.

The General Contractor we have been working with to date, who is also a preferred vendor of the insurance company, wants the insurance proceeds placed into an escrow account at their bank to insure the money is there when they have met certain thresholds. While it makes some sense that they wish to protect their interests, they are saying it is also to my benefit to have the escrow account established. Any input to how this protects me, and if it's a good idea to move forward with this arrangement? The claim is at 130k and rising....