when the insurance company tows it away it instantly becomes their property
I had a boat taken by the storm, and rescued by a neighbour of us, the boat did for sure get some heavy beating. To me the damages didn't look that bad, but the surveyor hired by the insurance company considered it to be a total write-off. Well, I was given an option - I could keep the boat, try to fix it myself and get some money for the work, or I could just accept a full payout from the insurance company, and they would keep the boat itself - but only the boat. Anything that wasn't attached I could keep - as luck would have it, I had not attached the solar panels, they were actually worth something and I was allowed to keep them. I also kept the auto pilot, which also wasn't attached to the boat.
Perhaps it makes a difference weather the inventory also would be covered by the insurance.