Unfortunately if your car is totaled and the amount of the settlement is the same as what is owed on the car you can pay off the car and start over. The insurance company is obliged to 'make you whole' but that usually means leaving you in about the same financial position as you were before the incident. The making you whole is thus done by paying for the actual cash value of your vehicle at the time of the accident.

If there is an upside to this let it be that at least the car will be paid off. It would be worse if you were upside down on the car payments (meaning you owed more than the car was worth) and even after the settlement had to continue to pay off the vehicle.

If you get a new car you might want to take out GAP insurance to make sure the difference between actual cash value and the outstanding balance of your loan will be covered.