Large House Fire - insurance falling ~$200k short of costs to repair. Do I have any options?
My 1930s house in the Midwest had a large kitchen fire late last year with mostly smoke damage to the house and heat damage to appliances. Per the insurance-approved restoration company, they gutted my house down to the studs and removed all 2.5 bathrooms. The payout seemed to be a lot, but my insurance company reimburses at a rate far below going rates for reputable work and materials costs are sky high. The restoration company's current employees hadn't done such a large rebuild ever, and I had zero confidence in their ability to make it work.
Now I have another estimate that is ~$250k above the insurance payout. How do I appeal and get more money? I have been told that my insurance policy covered upgrading to current building codes. New contractor wants to review the estimate file to look for items that are underfunded, but my insurance adjuster and the original restoration company won't release the computer file.
What is my next step? Do I need a lawyer? Is there some individual to hire that can improve that gap - fortunately with a HELOC and savings, I can cover $100k without too much strain and still be able to furnish the house well enough.
Do Insurance companies review and revise reimbursement rates based upon inflation? I expect that they are forced to do so at some point, but there is an obvious disincentive to do so...
EDIT: Thank you for input. The stress of the whole situation was worsened by the ambulance chasers that offered great services, including to rehab me very smoky cloth sofa and public insurance adjusters from hundreds of miles away. They are reimbursing ~$250k below my coverage limit. The insurance company (SF) uses Xactimate (developed by Verisk Analytics) and they won't share the Xactimate file for review. Estimated house value ~$550k and it was insured for that amount.