My car is worth $3500. Recent hail damage is over $4000. It has low mileage and is still a great car. I meet with an adjuster on Monday and If they total it, can I buy it back and insure it? I don't care about the hail damage, so I'm considering cashing out, fixing the windshield and putting the rest into repairs, maintenance and insurance. I'm also concerned that the two body shops I got estimates from said "don't worry if All State's quote is $1000 less than ours, almost 90% of adjustments require us to go back to them for more." This means that they're going to hold back at least $1000 from my cash out option. How do I avoid this rip-off as a loyal premium payer for 15 yrs?

if it's totaled, you will probably get a salvage title for it, so yes you CAN keep the car, but they will not allow you to carry full coverage (comp & collision) on it anymore, since the full book value was already paid out on it once.