Oh Deer! A Clever Way to Bambi up on your Comprehensive Auto Insurance Coverage

​While fall may be the most beautiful season of the year, things get real ugly when it comes to vehicle and deer collisions in regards to auto insurance claims. Although the driver faces the risk of hitting a deer throughout the entire year, far more collisions occur in the fall (more about that later).


     When it comes to auto insurance policies, drivers are under the impression that to increase their auto insurance coverage to better protect them against deer collisions is going to cost them a fortune. But the reality is, a driver can get protection against deer collisions, or increase the protection that they already have, for less money than what many would think. For those of you who are on a tight budget, but still feel the need for better protect yourself against deer collisions, this article will help you become more aware of some options that you may not of known existed.


    Before we get into all of that, let me give you some broad statistics about vehicle and deer collisions. You'll notice that I'm only using rounded off approximate numbers. That's because different sources vary in the numbers. But overall, they're fairly consistent and in the same ballpark of one another.

​6 key facts about deer and vehicle collisions as it relates to auto insurance.

• The annual cost on deer related auto insurance claims is over $4 billion a year.

• The average cost of a deer claim continues to grow. The  average cost per claim is approaching $4000.

• In the months of October and December,  the number of deer crash claims double. And in the month of November, they nearly triple. This is because of the fact that mating season and hunting season both occur in the fall.

• Although this statistic varies from state to state, many states report that the two biggest days for deer vehicle crashes are the first day of deer hunting season and the first Saturday of deer hunting season.

• Nationally, deer related crashes amount to an average of 200 deaths per year (those numbers are even far worse for the deer!). While many of those fatalities involved motorcycles, a lot other fatalities occurred with regular vehicles as well. The danger is not so much regarding the impact of a deer collision, but rather the driver's reaction to seeing the deer. For example: swerving into another lane of traffic.

• Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia are all high-risk states for the probability of deer related crashes. The only state in my territory that is not high risk high risk is Indiana, which is in the moderate risk category.

A clever way to maximize your auto insurance coverage for deer protection without spending a fortune.


  Keep in mind the following things:

• The only part of auto insurance coverage that protects your vehicle from hitting deer is comprehensive coverage (also known as "other than collision" coverage in some states). Besides covering your vehicle hitting deer, comprehensive covers your vehicle in the event of theft, fire, damage from weather, etc. 

 

• Having both comprehensive and collision coverage together is often referred to as having "full coverage". Many people mistakenly believe that comprehensive coverage and collision coverage must be sold together. This is not true! An insured can decide to have comprehensive coverage without collision coverage (they just can't have collision coverage without comprehensive coverage). For those who can't afford collision coverage, just having comprehensive coverage will at least protect you from losses from deer.

 

• The average extra cost to adding just comprehensive coverage is usually only around $10 per month. And of course, it doesn't cost you a dime to simply ask your agent how much extra it would cost. You can get an exact price and decide for yourself whether or not it's worth it.

 

• Coverages can be added at anytime during your policy period. It can also easily be changed back to where it was before. Because of this many people feel it's a good idea to carry comprehensive coverage only in the fall months, and then remove the coverage again in January, when the risk of hitting deer goes back down. This strategy plays the odds while minimizing costs.

 

• For those who already have comprehensive coverage, that's great! But most all policies have a deductible. You can also benefit from having extra coverage against deer simply by lowering your deductible during the fall months. The extra cost is usually minimal, and it will cut down on your out of pocket expense if you do hit a deer.

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