My house was flooded and the work is complete but cant get final bill

Construction law tends to be state specific, so hopefully you'll get some Texas answers. Bu in general, here are my thoughts. From your description, it appears that the contractor is working for you, as opposed to being hired by the insurance company. Obviously that makes a difference; if you hire him, you're entitled to a contract, appropriate billings and statements, etc etc. If the insurance company actually hired him, then its up to them to get the billing straitened out. If you hired him, getting satisfaction on the job is your responsibility; if the insurance company hired him, you can call them and have them deal with the contractor.

In my view, the contractor is being less than honest, both with you and the insurance company. You should have had a contract, either for a fixed price, or time and material. Either way, it should have been in writing and clarified much of what you are asking about. Construction contracts aren't supposed to be haggled out like the price of a used car once the project is started; once you have a contract, its supposed to be for a set price, or billed out with specific invoices for labor and materials.

As for what to do now, I'd certainly keep the check for the moment. I'd do the final walk through and make sure you are satisfied with the end result. I would then ask him for a list of his subcontractors and major suppliers. I'd also ask him for lien releases from each. The lien releases can be conditional, meaning they are not effective until the sub is paid, but you'll at least get a complete list of who worked on the project and should be able to call and verify that he's paid his bills.

Its not a bad idea to do this in writing, either email or postal. If there is some dispute, you want to be able to document what you've done to be sure your property is not liened.

Good Luck.