Hitting deer can be costly without right auto coverage

Comprehensive insurance needed to pay for damage

By GETAHN WARD
Staff Writer

Jeff DeLaney was driving home to Medina, Tenn., over the holidays, when his truck struck a herd of deer, causing what he estimates to be up to $1,600 of damage to his truck.

DeLaney considers himself fortunate to have a comprehensive insurance policy with Farm Bureau Insurance. "I had enough notice that I could slow down, but not enough that I could stop," said the owner of Advantage Lock & Key near Jackson, Tenn.

As many as 40 percent of Tennessee's 4.5 million drivers would have had to pay for the repairs themselves because they don't have comprehensive coverage, under which car insurers pay for such crashes. Some drivers drop comprehensive because they decide their vehicles are too old or of too little value to justify the added cost.

"Many people are not aware that the collision coverage under an automobile insurance policy does not cover you if you hit a deer," Jorge Gomez, Wisconsin's Commissioner of Insurance, said in an article published in USA Today last week.

But Chuck Bidek, executive director of the insurance agents trade group Insurors of Tennessee, said there are more important considerations than the possibility of hitting a deer when deciding whether to get comprehensive insurance coverage.

For consumers who own an older car, the money that they would receive if their car sustained physical damage in an incident might not be worth the premiums, he said.

Statewide, there were 5,109 deer-related vehicle crashes in 2005, including 4,858 that involved property damage, according to the state Department of Safety. That was up 12 percent from 4,553 crashes in 2003, including 4,387 that involved damage.

November, when deer mating and deer hunting seasons start, is the biggest month for incidents.

Urban growth into rural areas plays a role in the increase in incidents, said Mike Browning, a safety department spokesman.

Insurers Allstate and State Farm, two of the biggest car insurers in Tennessee, report a rise in animal-related claims. Last year, State Farm saw 4,190 deer collision claims statewide, up from 3,825 in 2005. Through November 2006, Allstate had seen about 1,014 animal-related claims, up from 800 claims received during all of 2005.

Comprehensive policies statewide rose by 111,077 to 2.7 million between 2001 and 2003, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners 2003/2004 Auto Insurance Database Report.

Roughly 80 percent of Allstate's Tennessee auto customers have comprehensive coverage, a percentage unchanged from 2005, said April M. Eaton, its spokeswoman.

source: tennessean.com