So, on my way to work today, I hit a deer. Luckily I managed to slow down to about 30 mph. The deer popped up and ran away (lucky for him). And thank GOD I was driving the Suzuki tonight. I hit it front left, but some how got some dents on the front wing. The car drove fine the rest of the way to work.
Would this be covered by warranty, or insurance? It's not too bad, only a small spot flaked off. I'm pissed, and now have an urge to hunt deer. Just wanted you to know.
I'm glad everyone is fine.
I read that title and thought "Couldn't have waited until they were done, huh?"
I'll go to the corner now.
Warranty wont cover any collision damage. This would be an insurance claim.
Terribly sorry to hear that.
It shoud be a comprehensive insurance claim, and it shouldn't affect your rates. I hit a deer with a rental while on vacation a few years ago. I have USAA for my insurance and they covered the whole thing.
As a side note, I was taught not to slow down and let the crumple zones handle the impact. Slowing down will make the nose of the car dive and is more likely to send the deer into the windshield.
Fact or fiction? It seemed to work well for me.
Yup. Comprehensive claim.
My brother totaled his mint 2004 Malibu on a deer one night several months ago. Damage wasn't really all that bad. The reason they totaled it was the air bags went off. That was a pretty expensive deer hit, to the tune of nearly $20,000. Insurance paid $7k for his car. He paid $26k for a new Nissan. I'm surprised he didn't go hunting this season. If it was me, I'd want some payback.
I once totaled a truck by hitting a cow. I ate steak a lot for a while.
Brett_Murphy wrote: As a side note, I was taught not to slow down and let the crumple zones handle the impact. Slowing down will make the nose of the car dive and is more likely to send the deer into the windshield.
Also, if you avoid the deer but hit something else (fence, bank, guardrail, another car...) then it is no longer a comprehensive claim, but a "chargeable accident" since you failed to maintain control of the vehicle.
In NY at least a claim under your comprehensive coverage is still chargeable in that it will raise your rates - I got nailed for a small rate increase because of 2 windshield replacements and some damage several years ago when the shiny happy person across the street didn't secure his trampoline and it flew over his 3' fence, across the street, and into the wife's minivan and the garage door. shiny happy person wouldn't even pay my deductible and Bob Costas insurance company lawyer couldn't convince an arbitrator that this wasn't an "act of god" as State Farm claimed but rather negligence in not tying down your berkeleying trampoline. Yes, I'm still bitter and don't talk to shiny happy person neighbor anymore.
Killed a deer with a Volvo going about 65 a few years ago. He (or she) hit the front of the car, slid up the hood and then up the windshield. The Guy driving behind me said the deer went flying up into the air after i hit it and landed some where in the creek I was driving past. None if this was funny at the time.
Thanks guys. Nothing else hit, just the deer. Guess I'll call USAA monday. The damage seems really minor, so hopefully it won't take long to repair, or mess with my rates. Guess I'll just have to find out.
And I did try to get revenge. At first I thought I had broken it's spine with how I hit it. So I stopped my car and got out to put a .45 in its head. By the time I got out though it was gone. Probably for the best anyways.
I hate to say it... but don't wash the car yet. Friend of mine killed a deer.. the insurance company wanted to see fur on the car to prove it
Brett_Murphy wrote: As a side note, I was taught not to slow down and let the crumple zones handle the impact. Slowing down will make the nose of the car dive and is more likely to send the deer into the windshield.
Having hit a deer, you don't likely have time to make a decision like that. Its a right now situation, and while I would have hit the brakes, I didn't have a chance.
I didn't know whether to E36 M3 or wind my watch for about 10 minutes.
Sorry, dude..collision with an animal is still a collision to the insurance company. If you have full coverage, they'll fix it, since they can't accuse you of fraud (since there's not another human involved). Their behavior afterwards might not be what you'd like, though.
During me DE licensing classes the instructor was from the Pacific Northwest. He said not to hit the brakes if crossed by a caribou but accelerate to lift the nose otherwise the body of the animal gets tossed into the window. Here in Vermont with the moose it wouldn't matter. They stand so damn tall that any collision typically results with them laying out onto the windshield and the roof. Never a pretty sight and usually deadly.
Ever see the clip of Pastrana hitting a deer and screaming like a little kid?
When a suicidal doe jumped in front of my car, I had no time to brake, accelerate, steer, or do much of anything. I didn't know she was there until she was THERE.
Hair was still imbedded in the bumper cover the day I sold the car.
I smoked one with a E350 several years ago. $6500 in damages to the van. Her body took out the grill, hood, a/c condenser, radiator, headlights and fan. Her head took out the drivers side fender. It wasn't a good day. Condolences to you and the deer.
In reply to mad_machine:
True, that. I took pictures of the car and sent them to the insurance company once it was daylight out, and took it back to the rental company still dirty.
Here is one of the ones I sent:
In reply to friedgreencorrado:
In GA & with Progressive, a deer strike is comprehensive. I had a $2200 hit last year on my 95 Accord. They paid with no rate increase and reminded me of my loyalty discount on the deductible. So, a month after that strikes I had a $3500 deer strike on the same car. I decided not to push my luck and fixed it myself.
Totalled a Toyota about 20 years ago. Managed to brake hard enough to avoid one last year. Sometimes I wonder how they survive in the wild they're so damned stupid...
SillyImportRacer wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: In GA & with Progressive, a deer strike is comprehensive. I had a $2200 hit last year on my 95 Accord. They paid with no rate increase and reminded me of my loyalty discount on the deductible. So, a month after that strikes I had a $3500 deer strike on the same car. I decided not to push my luck and fixed it myself.
That's actually pretty good to hear, since I'm with Progressive..except that I don't have a comprehensive policy. I'm liability & uninsured only (only way to own three drivers & still have insurance without going into the insolvency pool back when I was paying child support). Now that things are better, I guess I need to revisit my coverage. 
I can give some industry insight into this one.
Hitting a deer is comprehensive under pretty much all circumstances if you carry that coverage. If you carry collision only (which wouldn't make sense, as comp coverage is dirt cheap), your specific policy lanuage will dictate if it can be handled under collision.
From my experience, hard braking isn't going to cause your car to dive so much as to make the deer go through your windshield. If that were to happen, decent chance your car was low enough to the ground to cause that before you hit the brakes. Just to many variables there...I've seen them go through windshields of Ford Expeditions.
Yes, the appraiser will look for signs of deer hair, blood, etc..animal hits also leave different damages than car/wall/etc.. hits. Several reasons why....deductible for collision may be different than comprehensive...person may be trying to hide a hit and run (heaven forbid hitting a person and running), maybe trying to hide a DUI (i.e. hit a wall, got arrested, but don't want to tell the insurance company about it).
I feel your pain.
I grew up in the woods, and I considering how many deer got hit, I'm not sure how there remained a population for the hunters to go after.
I've only hit two myself, and that's a low score.
Bambi's cute 'til he's up in your grill, screwing up your radiator.
So...you ganna eat him?
Just remember, if you see one, there's another one fairly close to the first one. They get nailed with a degree of regularity here in central Ct. Mainly at night. And they somehow have that ability to "poof" here I am, Hit Me Ability. I nicked one once...But had a buddy who had not one but TWO deer run into the side of his car on two seperate occasions. The second time, he drove directly to the insurance co, blood and all still on the car. They thought he was some kind of dead beat/fraud.
Klayfish wrote: I can give some industry insight into this one. Hitting a deer is comprehensive under pretty much all circumstances if you carry that coverage. If you carry collision only (which wouldn't make sense, as comp coverage is dirt cheap), your specific policy lanuage will dictate if it can be handled under collision. From my experience, hard braking isn't going to cause your car to dive so much as to make the deer go through your windshield. If that were to happen, decent chance your car was low enough to the ground to cause that before you hit the brakes. Just to many variables there...I've seen them go through windshields of Ford Expeditions. Yes, the appraiser will look for signs of deer hair, blood, etc..animal hits also leave different damages than car/wall/etc.. hits. Several reasons why....deductible for collision may be different than comprehensive...person may be trying to hide a hit and run (heaven forbid hitting a person and running), maybe trying to hide a DUI (i.e. hit a wall, got arrested, but don't want to tell the insurance company about it).
Klayfish, thanks for the input. It's good to hear that some of the Ins. Co. folks are actually car people. And to be honest, I think I consider the insurance people as "the enemy" much more often than I should. That being said, with the mandatory insurance laws here in Georgia, I think the fees here for additional coverage from private companies here are a little higher than they would be otherwise. Adding comprehensive to all three of mine here would raise the fees to something I couldn't pay.
In the spirit of fairness, I have to admit that driving in Atlanta Metro is more hazardous than elsewhere, and in an environment where it's more likely for an accident to happen in the first place, it's entirely legitimate for companies to ask for a little more cash here, even though I bitch about it so much. I think that if I lived in some little rural Southern town where there's not so much traffic, my premiums would not be so high..but OTOH, this is where the job is. If I'd stayed in the little rural towns where I grew up, even paying for those smaller premiums would still be a struggle on a much lower salary.
I really wish that the major insurance companies would offer some policies that consider the situation of the enthusiast, instead of throwing us into the pot of "appliance users" that constitute most of the US public. Why increase my premiums just because I have more than one car? If I don't add another driver to my policy (in my case, I don't need "emergency driver" coverage either, I don't need it, since SHMBO/our roomate/my daughter can't drive a manual tx in the first place..sigh), it's impossible for me to drive more than one of them at a time! I really don't understand why an insurance company won't just set my premium for my accident record and the distance I drive to work every day. Again, IMO...the rates I pay for insurance should be based upon my history as a driver, and not upon my history as an owner.
If I could insure myself, rather than having to insure my cars individually, I'd consider it fair that the company set a rate for the most expensive car that I own, and then apply it regardless of which car I'm driving. IMO, such a thing would be much more economical for the consumer than having to pay individual premiums on each car (again, the two that I'm not driving as I drive the third). As I hope I previously mentioned, if I don't add "emergency usage" to my policy, I can't drive three cars at the same time..
And yes, I've thought about simply buying insurance from someplace like Hagarty or something, but my cars are not technically "antiques" yet. Also, I've been rotating mine around as daily drivers, and would probably fail their requirements for "occasional use". My commute is 35mi. one-way a day, and using any of my cars for 6mos. at at time seems like it would violate the "occasional use" requirement.
You'll need to log in to post.
