[Diablo]

So, unfortunately tonight a deer ran into my car while my wife was driving it. Hit it pretty hard, the deer is stone cold and probably being prepared for freezing as I write this, by a tow truck driver who claimed it at the scene.

As for my car, the door is totaled along with the mirror. theres a big dent in the front fender as well. no airbag deployment fortunately.
should I file a claim or eat the cost personally? I have a $500 deductible.
Car is older, 2010 but an Audi (invitation to get raped on parts).
will my insurance rates hike up even more as the result of this claim, and will it impact rates for the summer/weekend sports car I bought this winter that I plan to put on the road in April?

I'm sure the accident will appear on Carfax, but as I said, its an older car so not as likely to really impact resale once it gets to 200k kms, when id be most likely to sell it.

 

[Sid_V]

Some insurance companies won't raise your rates after one claim, if you have a clean claims history (6+ years). My wife and I both had to use that over the past decade or so. Hitting a deer is not really an at-fault incident either.

In my case, I had an accident (my fault) that required a new driver-side door and fender on my sports sedan, and the estimate was about $4000. I figured it was time to cash in on all the insurance premiums I had paid over the years.

 

[Bubb]

You didn't hit the deer,the deer hit you.report it as such..it can make a difference.(this is from my insurance buddy)
A deer ran into my FIL when he was driving our jeep...insurance didn't go up.
Ask your adjuster/agent just to be sure.
$500 wouldn't come close to paying for the damage,use the deductible.

 

[BGood]

You didn't hit the deer,the deer hit you.

HA HA ... good one. Like the telephone post hit my car. Can't be proven. Won't make a difference when you claim.

I don't know about Ontario, but hitting a deer is considered an act of god here in QC, no fault, no deductible. One car accident out of 5 is due to dear in the Eastern Townships. Been here 20 years, got 4 up to now. Nothing you can do about it. One second you're cruising along fine, the next there's a deer on your hood.

Claim it.

 

[Diablo]

HA HA ... good one. Like the telephone post hit my car. Can't be proven. Won't make a difference when you claim.

I don't know about Ontario, but hitting a deer is considered an act of god here in QC, no fault, no deductible. One car accident out of 5 is due to dear in the Eastern Townships. Been here 20 years, got 4 up to now. Nothing you can do about it. One second you're cruising along fine, the next there's a deer on your hood.

Claim it.

He's right though...in this case, the deer ran directly into the middle of the side of the car. No damage on the front. My wife would have to be an expert at drifting to have hit the deer in this way lol.

 

[Bubb]

HA HA ... good one. Like the telephone post hit my car. Can't be proven. Won't make a difference when you claim.

Two different things an animal and a pole.
You can absolutely prove you hit the telephone pole, and to the insurance company ,there was a good chance you were at fault...reckless driving ,maybe distracted,too fast for road conditions etc.
One thing for sure,the pole didn't run out of the ditch .
It can make a difference,and again this is from an insurance broker,albeit a few years ago now .

I don't know about Ontario, but hitting a deer is considered an act of god here in QC, no fault, no deductible. One car accident out of 5 is due to dear in the Eastern Townships. Been here 20 years, got 4 up to now. Nothing you can do about it. One second you're cruising along fine, the next there's a deer on your hood.

Claim it.

I do agree with claiming it as I posted above.

btw @BGood ,love your website !

 

[marcos]

I was told a long time ago by my insurance company that you must declare any collisions.

 

[Guitar101]

I've heard that before about 'the deer hit you'. I think it has something to do with absolving yourself of any blame. I would hope my insurance company would tell me how to handle this situation if it ever comes up. I've been with them for 45 years.

 

[bw66]

If you have a broker, ask them about it. With a broker, you can ask questions without having to file a claim. A couple of years ago, I was hit by a lump of ice that rolled down from a snowbank and shattered my front bumper. Because it hit me, my deductible was considerably less and there was no hit on my premiums. It all comes down to the fine print in your policy.

 

[mhammer]

In theory, insurance rates are supposed to be about risk. Higher risk, higher rates. If an accident results from something a driver could have avoided, then the insurance company assumes risk is now elevated, and the accident is evidence of that. If you live somewhere that is so inundated with deer, you hit one every week, then the rates will be higher because of that risk, not because you hit one. Not really any different than when rates are higher because you drive a car that gets stolen a lot.

But hitting a deer has got to be in the same ball park as having a big hunk of frozen crap fall from an airplane and bash your roof, or the hailstorm of the century; i.e., not an indication of "risk" on the part of the driver. So your rates should NOT be affected by a deer impulsively jumping onto the road. Whether the insurance company views it that way is, of course, a whole other thing, but the reason we have insurance is not to cover lapses in judgment that we could have reasonably anticipated. It is to cover stuff we couldn't have done anything about no matter how hard we tried.

I hope they see it that way.

 

[Diablo]

Spoke with insurance, they said it is considered a no-fault comprehensive loss, so smaller deductible,$250, but due to several factors, may not be worth repairing. Yikes.
Couldn't say if it will effect my rates....she only handles claims.

Here's some pics.

 

[Wardo]

That'll buff right out.

 

[mhammer]

That'll buff right out.

That's not what the deer said.

 

[Electraglide]

Spoke with insurance, they said it is considered a no-fault comprehensive loss, so smaller deductible,$250, but due to several factors, may not be worth repairing. Yikes.
Couldn't say if it will effect my rates....she only handles claims.

Here's some pics.

Does your wife need the car? If the window still works and she'll drive it the way it is then you could leave it for now and just hope nothing else happens to the door. It's going to cost more than $250 to fix that privately so if it was me I'd have it fixed through insurance.

 

[dmc69]

What factors are they talking about that make it not worth repairing? Something tells me they're trying to dissuade you so they won't have to pay for it.

I know, it's a different car, but mine is older and is presumably cheaper to repair than yours - 2008 RDX. The body shop billed insurance a few thousand for a new door and fender when my car got hit by a reckless drier. I'm saying it's worth it to do the repair.

 

[Budda]

Shops always charge more when they know it's an insurance claim :/

 

[High/Deaf]

What factors are they talking about that make it not worth repairing? Something tells me they're trying to dissuade you so they won't have to pay for it.

I know, it's a different car, but mine is older and is presumably cheaper to repair than yours - 2008 RDX. The body shop billed insurance a few thousand for a new door and fender when my car got hit by a reckless drier. I'm saying it's worth it to do the repair.

You guys live crazy lives. Deer run amok and ramming cars*. Reckless appliances, perhaps like those Transformers, but with very long extension cords. Shiite, all's I gotsta worry about is dumbasses texting while they drive.


*Truth be told, I know this actually happens. Deer run in packs and often, when one runs out of the ditch and in front of you and you drive past, the next deer following it will slam right into you. When I lived in the Kootenays, locals warned me not to stare at the first deer (as tempting as it is), watch out for the second and/or third ones. That was very good advice.

 

[dmc69]

The laundry machine tried to hit my car too. Luckily, it was a Maytag and broke down before doing any damage.

 

[Diablo]

You guys live crazy lives. Deer run amok and ramming cars*. Reckless appliances, perhaps like those Transformers, but with very long extension cords. Shiite, all's I gotsta worry about is dumbasses texting while they drive.


*Truth be told, I know this actually happens. Deer run in packs and often, when one runs out of the ditch and in front of you and you drive past, the next deer following it will slam right into you. When I lived in the Kootenays, locals warned me not to stare at the first deer (as tempting as it is), watch out for the second and/or third ones. That was very good advice.

lol
my wife had all her bases covered...photo of the deer, police report, etc.
otherwise I may have raised a Spock-ian eyebrow upon hearing the story as well lol.

So, an update, I went to the body shop yesterday so they could take a look at it. They said that they had authorization from the insurer to go ahead with it so I could leave it there...the car rental company was called (they had been hounding me relentlessly since the day the claim was filed), and they set me up with a loaner.

 

[Diablo]

What factors are they talking about that make it not worth repairing? Something tells me they're trying to dissuade you so they won't have to pay for it.

I know, it's a different car, but mine is older and is presumably cheaper to repair than yours - 2008 RDX. The body shop billed insurance a few thousand for a new door and fender when my car got hit by a reckless drier. I'm saying it's worth it to do the repair.

I don't think they were trying to dodge a claim, I think insurers are just quick to write-off cars these days. they know they'll get gouged on parts, and they also have the risk of other expenses coming up "while they're in there". in some cases, I think customers prefer it that way...the old "a car is never the same after an accident" saying.
I'm less worried about it in this case as theres nothing structural that's been damaged. But it does mean I'm essentially stuck with the car till the bitter end as the accident on the car fax will hit its value at resale.
if they would have written it off, I would have been tempted to buy back the car and fix it myself...I priced out a door at the junkyard- $1200...plus paint, install and fender repair...problem is, it will have a salvage title at that point which may be a bigger headache than its worth after paying for salvage rights...and then an even worse problem at resale. anyway you look at it, if you have an accident, youre kind of fucked. a good insurance experience just gives you a bit more lube.