Hi Guys Maybe one of you has the expertise or knowledge to answer this question:

I live in Northern California,  recently a pipe broke in my house and it damaged top floor and basement of my house.  lots of damage. 

Insurance sent their adjustor ,  he came one day , took measurements , then they sent me a check saying that's what they were going to give me based on what he estimated. 

Any way I can submit my own estimates?  any of you know the law for this in california? 

Do you know the best way to negotiate with an insurance? .   The amount of money he estimated is too low for the work needed. 

Help.

First don't cash the check, that would be considered accepting the offer. You'll probably have to hire a lawyer and sue the insurance company (which costs money, so I guess it depends on how low the offer was as to whether its worth it to go through the process of going to court and paying for the lawyer).

Get at least 2 estimates from 2 different contractors. This happened at my mothers house in the middle of the night. We had to call a 24 hour plumber and restoration place. We put that bill together with a few estimates from a few other contractors. The adjuster came out and verified the estimates and cut a check for a fair amount. 

Thank you for the suggestions.

Just as an update. My case went from bad to worse.  Short story long, the insurance company is not renewing my policy because they said I had " a claim in the first year of having their insurance"  

Now I'm looking at alternatives now which all charge more and are more picky and want to run inspections.  My house is 1930's.  sends shivers down my spine just to think about an inspection in such an old home. 

Oh and I'm also having trouble finding an insurance because the house is not fully restored yet.. and they keep asking me about my fuse box outside. (yes I still have  fuse boxes as opposed to a switch box. )

This is bad.