I'm following what Cholla has stated & it shouldn't make any difference if it was 1 in 100 or 1 in 10,000. The same rules should apply, right?
Not really.
What it comes down to is what I said earlier. By taking out a policy, you are already agreeing to their zillions of fine-print terms. If you accept/cash/deposit their check, you are legally agreeing to their terms and it is pretty much over for that transaction. So they certainly will take ownership of the totaled vehicle if that is their policy and you agree to it. Your only recourse:
1) Not accept the deal and negotiation with them.
2) Not accept the deal and sue them in court.
I would hope that most good insurance companies are willing to hear you and possibly negotiate. What they care about is the total net transaction cost. But if you are a great customer with few or no claims, and a good case, they very well might even be willing to alter their policies or amounts to:
1) Keep you happy
2) Keep you from badmouthing them to others
3) Keep you as a good, paying customer into the future
4) Avert expensive and time consuming arbitration, or worse, court action
(strike 1 and 3 if they are not your insurance company but someone else's paying you).