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Deer Accident + Insurance

E

ErikCLDR

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 14, 2007
1,795
0
Scroll to post 8 to see pics

So yesterday I was involved with a collision with a deer. I was driving down the road, going roughly 45 miles an hour, and out of nowhere I deer jumps right in front of my car. This happened so quickly I had already hit the beast before I could slam on the brakes. While it was in mid air my car slammed into it and threw it across the road in the air. I think it lived.

I am fine, aside from some minor bruising from the seat belt. The airbags did not deploy however it did make my car automatically turn on the hazard lights and unlock the doors (how clever). Not to start a debate here but I can honestly say if I was not driving an SUV that deer would have been through my windshield and probably could have hurt me. The high height of the front of the car took the beating instead of the windshield.

The damage to my car is extensive includes a curled up hood, two smashed quarter panels, all the front lights are smashed except for the fogs, the grill is ruined, the brush guard is broken and smooshed into my car, the bumper is creased, the radiator was pouring out fluid, the mount for it is mangled, and the air conditioning system components are demolished.

It's pretty much totaled, the estimated repair costs = $10k

The car did not have collision insurance, but it does have comprehensive which from what I have read in most cases covers deer accidents. So assuming this is covered, my question is in that this is an "act of god/nature" does that enable the insurance company to up my rates? My parents don't want to report the accident and get coverage if its going to up my rates which are already enormous- 17 year old BOY driving a luxury SUV



I will post pics tomorrow when I go to the morgue to get my personal belongings out of it.

Edit:
Comprehensive includes fire, flood, theft, etc
Collision is for, well, collisions

I read an article that said collision does not cover deer, its comprehensive that does, so a lot of people get screwed, but in this case, I suppose I am lucky.

Also, my dad doesn't want to "cause suspicion" by calling hahah.
 
****, glad you're ok. That would've totally destroyed me in my car.

Comprehensive but not collision damage.:confused:

If it is an act of god/nature in my limited experience that has meant no rise in the rates as it is not your fault.

Can't you phone the car insurance company and ask them what would happen to the rates given the scenario.
 
Read the policy. It will say if a collision with a deer is covered under comprehensive or collision.
 
Your best bet is to get insrance with a new company. When I was in an accident, I just walked away from my old insurance and signed up with the one I have now, the thing was in this case though, was that my accident didn't show up on my record right away and the insurance company prenteded that I didn't tell them about the accident.

Now it's on my record and I just barely renewed my insurance, I drive a luxury sedan and my insurance is 400.00 a month! On top of my car payments and gas for that big ol V8.

Good luck. Sometimes I just feel like giving up driving for a few months so I can save up a lot of money, but now that it's winter, I cant!
 
Ok, good news everyone.

The insurance company will cover my car and will not up my rates. All I have to pay is a $250 deductable.

Assuming they are unable to attain used parts, the damage is over $10,000. Its likely totaled but its still up in the air.

Here's a pic of the damage.
 

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    wreck.jpg
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It definitely looks bad enough for an insurance company to write the car off. Aside from the body damage (which is expensive) there's probably quite a lot of stuff inside the engine bay that's been broken.
 
Yea there's the exterior cosmetic parts, the AC system is ruined, the radiator, and radiator mounting bracket too. They can't get a full look inside because the hood is stuck shut but in the general vicinity of most of the damage there is also the cruise control components, ABS pump, power steering pump, as well as plumbing and wiring for these systems.

Keep in mind that this is a British car. The parts are extremely expensive for them. Also, the amount of labor of replacing, repairing, and repainting is extensive.
 
Wow.. that's a ******** of damage.

I'd just buy a new car. $10,000 seems like a ton of money to repair a car.
 
Ouch. If its written off..What are you gonna do? Well at least it'll be a good excuse for car shopping!:)
 
The insurance company called like 3 minutes ago.

She's totaled. :(

They're going to call back next week with a how much I am going to get (good thing this isn't my only car...)

Does anyone know what they use to determine the value of the car?
- Retail Value/Blue Book Value?
- Average selling price?

Is there a way I can get an estimate. KBB and NADA said $7300-$7800 but do they go by a formula like they use or is it what ever they want to pay?
 
Chrismcfall said:
Are you getting a Courtesy car at all?
Click to expand...

Well I suppose I could get one if I wanted to. Its more of a hassle then its worth. We now are down to 4 cars and 4 drivers, but my sister is away at college so her Grand Cherokee is here and my dad rarely drives his Discovery during the week (he has a commuter car).
 
Time for a new Disco, Erik!

Anyway, I do think the fact you were in an SUV helped lots. I'd hate to see what happens to a Corolla or Focus under these same exact circumstances.
 
xUKHCx said:
Or my trusty Renault 5 (not actually mine, mine is red)

renault%205.jpg


:eek:
Click to expand...

Heh, a friend of mine who used to drive BMW's and the like got into a lot of money problems (probably from driving BMW's :D) and he's now driving around in one of them. We have to say prayers before we set off :eek:
 
Plymouthbreezer said:
Time for a new Disco, Erik!

Anyway, I do think the fact you were in an SUV helped lots. I'd hate to see what happens to a Corolla or Focus under these same exact circumstances.
Click to expand...

When colliding with things, bigger is almost always better, but small cars survive pretty well in deer collisions. We have tons of suicidal deer here and my business was to repair cars. Very few come thru the windshield.

I understand that in areas with moose that collisions are pretty serious.

Sure looks like $10K worth of damage. An expensive car to repair, although they all are now. They want to make a profit now and maybe a couple of times more during the life of the car.

Check out some of the front end designs. Don't tell me that, for example, those VW/Audi front end designs aren't designed for maximum repair cost. Even a tiny hit will make them thousands. Car companies never stayed with the spirit of the 5mph bumper laws in the US as they do not want to shut down a big profit area. This has also decreased the number of body shops that can actually fix these things. Country Joe's Redneck Autobody and Catfish Restaurant had better hope the fish are selling because they are going out of the car repair business as soon as they try to fix an expensive new car. Even with the best intentions, they just can't do it.

Comprehensive claims, as deer hits are, do not raise your rates. Comprehensive covers fire, theft, vandalism, broken glass and the like. If you have tons of claims for the same thing, then they may get the idea that you are a bad risk.

There is a good argument to have insurance thru an agent, rather than on the internet because you can ask an actual person questions like this. They have a personal interest in not having you switch and will tell you off the record what you need to know.
 
ErikCLDR said:
The insurance company called like 3 minutes ago.

She's totaled. :(

They're going to call back next week with a how much I am going to get (good thing this isn't my only car...)

Does anyone know what they use to determine the value of the car?
- Retail Value/Blue Book Value?
- Average selling price?

Is there a way I can get an estimate. KBB and NADA said $7300-$7800 but do they go by a formula like they use or is it what ever they want to pay?
Click to expand...

In California at least, most insurance companies search DMV records to see what the selling prices of various used vehicles have been. Be prepared; they don't sell for much.

The result is that they pay off based on street value, which is not unfair, but is likely well below what you think it should be.

Blue Book prices are for lending purposes and rarely reflect the price you would get selling it. Low Blue Book is about the upper limit for most cars.

It is so easy to finance new cars, get leases and such that many used cars simply don't sell unless they are practically given away. Insurance companies know this and pay off accordingly. Of course, they don't lower your rates as the value of your vehicle plummets! That is why insurance company stock has gone up over the years and their buildings are more imposing than ever.

Your best hope is to find as many ads for cars like yours as you can. Newspapers (big city ones have more ads), internet, dealers, car shoppers, etc. and try to get your own "average price" data. Make sort of a scrapbook of ads, etc. If you can show that your model is going for between $6K and $7K everywhere you look, then you would expect to recieve something in that range, depending on mileage, etc.

The key term is "replacement value". Try to convince them that it would take X dollars to replace your car based on similar ones that are for sale. That is fair and often gets you at least something close to reasonable.
 
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