Total Loss Auto Geico / Progressive

Hi everyone, and thanks in advance for your assistance!

The basic facts:

Locale: Southern CA
Our car: 2007 Prius, 140,000 mi, had a new catalytic converter and guard installed 1 year ago
Our insurance: Geico – Comprehensive with rental car coverage, $500 deductable

Their car: Newer Jeep
Their Ins: Progressive

The story up to this point: My daughter was rear-ended about a month ago. She and her dad decided to go through Progressive, the other driver's insurance. Two weeks ago, Progressive quickly determined the other driver was at fault and arranged for her to take it to one of their preferred body shops, and they have provided a rental, which she is still driving.

By the way, the car is still totally driveable, she just can't open and close the hatch door.

The repair estimate came in at $4,800. The Progressive adjuster for this claim says the Prius is a total loss. He wants us to "release" the car to Progressive, so they can take it to their total loss yard some 40 miles away and inspect it in order to come up with a valuation.

I am very uncomfortable with that and told him so. He said as an alternative, that he could come to where the vehicle is to do it, but it would take another 16 days.

Everything about how Progressive is handling it seems sketchy to me. Especially so after reading about all the Progressive total loss nightmares and lawsuits in this forum.

So we called Geico today and asked if we could still choose to go through them, using our Comprehensive ins. The claims rep on the phone initially said we could, but then kind of walked that back once he learned my daughter has had a rental provided by Progressive for 2 weeks.

What are our options here? We can't afford a misstep, but it seems like we're being forced into a direction that isn't in our best interests. Bottom line: My kid's car was ultra reliable and I'm afraid we're going to get stuck in a position where we can't replace what she had. We live about 400 miles away from her, and so making sure she has solid, reliable transportation is of prime importance to us.

Can we switch over to our insurance? Would we have to pay out of pocket for the rental she's had two weeks if we switched?

I hope I explained our situation clearly enough. I'm happy to provide more details if needed. And thanks again for any advice you may have.