car insurance question - first ever potential claim

[Redrig]

Hello all ,

I have some basic questions about car insurance .

Lat night a deer pranced right into the side of our car , we didnt hit it , it ran straight into the side - drivers side rear door .

we are financing this car and have full coverage , there isnt a ton of damage but there is a nice little ripple / dent and paint knocked off .

what happens if I run this claim through insurance ? are my premiums going to go up ? or should I just look at fixing this without insurance ? even if I do that , I am assuming I have an obligation to tell them since this is a financed car ?

any experts in here that can give me some guidance ? I have never filed an insurance claim on anything ever .

thanks much

 

[aspeck]

Insurance company policy varies from company to company and state to state. So, this can be a hard one to tell. Several companies have "accident forgiveness" where your first accident does not effect your policy. All have a threshold where it will effect. My insurance company does not consider it an accident if the payout is less than $2500. Since I had a $1000 deductible, that meant I can have $3499.99 in damages and it not go against my record. Check your policy and ask your agent, but as soon as you call claims, whether you make a claim or not, they have record of the call/accident.

Also, a deer should go against your comprehensive, not collision, insurance.

 

[aspeck]

The bigger question is, if the deer ran into you, it shouldn't be too bruised up ... did you get the meat?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Just call your insurance company and ask them. Our agent usually will tell us if we'd be better off financing it ourselves.

If you have a good driving record and haven't filed claims before, I bet your rates don't change. If they do jack up your rates, it may be time to find a new insurance company...

 

[tpenfield]

Drag the deer into court and sue for damages

 

[Scott Danforth]

what is your comprehensive deductible?

generally comprehensive claims do not affect your policy premiums.

 

[BWR1953]

Drag the deer into court and sue for damages

^^^^This****

:lol: :llama:

 

[Redrig]

thanks for all of the responses , I am ignorant on this stuff because I have never used it . And personally on my drivers I just have liability cause i drove old beaters . of course , this was the wifeys nice new car , and not my Bronco that the stupid deer probably would have just bounced off of with minimal damage.

I beleive I set me deductbiles at 1k , not positive but I am pretty sure thats where I set em.

Is this considered an act of god ? I thought I read somewhere they dont cover those anyways .

I wish we at least would get some venison out of this deal , but it was just stunned and walked away with probably just a headache.

 

[aspeck]

Your collision insurance probably would not cover it, but your comprehensive will. Most people set their deductible the same for comp and collision. I do not. If it is my fault, I don't mind paying, so I have a $1,000 collision deductible. But if it is a deer, or a tree falls on the car, or ... I hate paying for what I had nothing to do, so my Comp deductible is set lower, usually $100 - $250.

 

[Redrig]

Your collision insurance probably would not cover it, but your comprehensive will. Most people set their deductible the same for comp and collision. I do not. If it is my fault, I don't mind paying, so I have a $1,000 collision deductible. But if it is a deer, or a tree falls on the car, or ... I hate paying for what I had nothing to do, so my Comp deductible is set lower, usually $100 - $250.

That makes good sense

 

[dingbat]

Two claims for the exact same event over the past 4 years. Covered under our comp coverage. No increase in rate

 

[bassman284]

That makes good sense

Except that lower comp deductible raises your premium.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the difference with my insurance between a $250 deductible and a $1000 deductible is under $5 per month. for $60 a year, I went with $250 deductible

 

[aspeck]

Deductible on collision makes a bigger difference than deductible on comprehensive. At least that is what I have found to be true with my insurance carrier and in my state. Your performance may vary.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

You have to ask your agent not here. Each policy may be different. It has happened to my wife 3 times in the last 10 years. A Turkey and 2 Racoons. Ours is under Comprehensive and doesn't effect rates. $500.00 deductible. My buddies policy is under collision and rates may increase, he pays less for the policy than we do.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

You can get an estimate to see what it will cost for the repair and then decide if you want to go thru insurance or not.

 

[Redrig]

Just to wrap this thread up , turns out that my deductible was 100 bucks for comprehensive and car is now fixed !

And the deer walked away has a story to tell her friends.

Thanks all for the help

 

[garbageguy]

did (will) your premium go up?

 

[Redrig]

Havent heard anything in that regard (Novembers or Decembers did not)

So I dont think this hurt me other than the hundred bucks .

I would assume I would get a nasty letter ahead of them going up .

 

[dingbat]

Havent heard anything in that regard (Novembers or Decembers did not)

So I dont think this hurt me other than the hundred bucks .

I would assume I would get a nasty letter ahead of them going up .

Don't count on it...I found out by accident that our insurance company paid a $1,250 claim we where never notified about.

Stop and go accident in traffic. Both parties agreed no damage done (wife took pictures) and both went on their way. That was that until the mandatory notification of the insurance company. The insurance company took upon themselves to pay the kid $1,250 for scratch on the hood emblem of his 15 year old car.

The insurance didn't want to hear we had pictures that showed no damage to his car.