We always ask for separate checks when we go to lunch or dinner with friends or family. I have never felt insulted at all.
I do not drink and if my friends do, we tell the wait staff up front so as not to have any confusion.
I would find it too confusing to try to search over the check figuring out who had what and how much they owe. And some may want to pay with a credit card and some may pay with cash.
“I heard the sound I had to follow”
In Your Wildest Dreams by Justin Hayward