Not 100% true, FWIW. I've had scenarios, even recently, where our insurance offered two options: 1) Take it to an approved shop for a full repair 2) They send

Not 100% true, FWIW. I've had scenarios, even recently, where our insurance offered two options: 1) Take it to an approved shop for a full repair 2) They send a check for the estimated repair value to me, and I do whatever I want, which could including pocketing the money and living with the damage. Granted, "living with the damage" would probably not be feasible in a meteor impact scenario, but for lesser damage it can work.