if someone's car is totaled what can they retrieve...?

[Jeffblue]

If someone's car is totaled i've heard stories where the insurance company cuts them a check and keeps the car (most common). however i've also heard stories where they are allowed to keep the car and still recieve a check. What i'm confused about is, if your car is totaled, there are those who say that whatever is left of it belongs to the insurance company. This makes sense, but from a certain standpoint, it doesn't. If you got into an accident and had aftermarket wheels on (and they werent damaged), with your stock wheels in the garage, shouldn't you be able to remove the aftermarket wheels, since technically thats what they were insuring. even further, if you have sound system, sub woofer, shift knob, things like that, can you take those back or do they arbitrarily belong to the insurance company? i lets get real here, the insurance company isn't going to write you a bigger check because you have high end wheels and coilovers, much less a sound system or a shift knob. and obviously, if you left your ipod in the car, it doesn't belong to the insurance company if you forgot to take it out or were rushed to the hospital. understand that you shouldn't be able to go and strip your car down for parts if the insurance company gives you a check for the value of the car, but at the same time, if you have undamaged modifications, i believe you should be able to get those back. so my question is what can you actually get?