Deer collisions costly, insurance experts say

Listen to this article

Maryland residents have a 1 in 134 chance of hitting a deer, according to State Farm’s 2015 deer collision data. The Free State ranks 22nd in the nation with West Virginia taking the top spot, Pennsylvania at No. 4, Virginia at No. 10, Delaware at No. 23 and the District of Columbia at No. 47. The ranking is an improvement from last year’s data which ranked Maryland 17th, with a 1 in 121 chance of hitting a deer. Nationally, the average remains the same as last year with a 1 in 169 chance.

“The main thing you really have to make sure is on your auto policy, you have to have comprehensive coverage,” said Dave Phillips, State Farm spokesman. “That is what covers an animal hit and a deer hit. If you only have collision or if you only have liability, there is no coverage for the deer. It has to fall under the comprehensive section of the policy and most folks do carry comprehensive and collision combined. The difference is that a collision is flat out an accident. The vehicle crashes into another vehicle. Comprehensive covers pretty much everything else. Animals hitting it. Hail hitting it. Vandalism. Theft. That’s where that portion is covered.”

Hitting a deer can be costly. From 2004 to 2013, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute found the average cost of a deer or animal hit claim under comprehensive coverage for 2001 to 2014 models was $2,730.

Cars tend to have the most expensive animal-strike losses while SUVs and pickup trucks suffered the least overall, according to the study. When looking at 2011-13 vehicle models, the Jeep Wrangler two- and four-door, four-wheel drive models had the least expensive overall losses after an animal strike, while the Hyundai Elantra GT and Toyota Prius C Hybrid had the highest, the study states.

The study also found that 78 percent of the claims were for front end damage with the driver’s side coming in at 7 percent and the passenger side at 5 percent.

The findings, released in 2014, are IIHS HLDI’s most up-to-date study on claims involving deer collisions, according to Russ Rader, senior vice president of communications.

November is the month with the highest number of deer hit claims, according to State Farm data, with October and December rounding out the top three.

Very minor damage like a small dent that would not meet your deductible might not need a claim filed but be careful. “You may not notice immediate damage especially if you ran it over,” Phillips said. “There could be undercarriage damage. There could be slow leaks that could have occurred from it. …All of which were caused by the accident which may possibly be covered by insurance.”

When you see a deer in the headlights, your first natural instinct is to swerve the vehicle to avoid the strike but that may not be the safest option.

“This is a difficult thing for folks to comprehend but you are actually better off hitting the deer head on than swerving,” Phillips said. “…If you swerve, you stand the risk of flipping the car, running off the road or running into another vehicle. A lot of times in that reflex judgement you see deer collisions catapult into a more intensified crash because of that.”