Insurance-referred Contractor Destroyed My House. What Are My Options??

Location: California

I’m honestly at a loss and furious, and I need advice.

We filed a homeowners insurance claim because we had a roof leak dripping into our upstairs bathroom. After the inspection, the insurance company referred a “preferred” contractor, and we trusted that recommendation.

That was a huge mistake.

Within two hours of being in our home, they failed to shut off the main water supply while removing the vanity and blew a pipe, causing high-pressure water to explode through our house.

They did not tell us for FIVE MINUTES while our home was actively flooding.

When we finally realized what was happening, their own crew didn’t know how to shut off the main water line and didn’t have the proper tools to stop it. Water poured through our home for 30 minutes until my neighbor (thank goodness for him!!) came over with his own tools and shut it off. Meanwhile, we were putting towels down on the floor and trying to contain the water with buckets!

Let that sink in: a professional company flooded my house and couldn’t even stop it.

Now the damage is catastrophic. Walls, floors, cabinets — everything is soaked. Our home is not livable, and we’ve had to pack up our entire lives and move out on short notice.

What makes this even worse? My insurance company has gone almost completely hands-off because the contractor “accepted responsibility.” But the contractor dragged their feet for days before even filing with their liability insurance (and they lied about when they actually filed it), and now everything is stalled while my family is displaced.

Has anyone dealt with something like this?

Should I force my insurance to step back in and subrogate the claim, or push on the contractor’s liability insurance? And what do I do when both sides seem to be moving at a snail’s pace while my family is stuck in limbo?

Any real advice from people who’ve been through this would help. I feel completely abandoned in a situation I did nothing to cause.