Hit a deer, claim on insurance or just pay? (2024)

ilikewatch2 Posts: 152 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 10:23AM

Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 10:34AM

Lizmoretti said:

I hit a deer last night. Damage looks pretty bad, but I think it’s really just the plastic bumper and grille that needs replacing. I guess there might be more damage beneath but it wasn’t a particularly hard bang so it’s unlikely.

See Also

Advice on becoming a Body Shop ConsultantServicing Stop Still at it.Who Does/Does Not Accept Amex?Admiral insurance - non-fault claim

If I go through my insurance, I assume my premium will increase but having never claimed before I have no idea by how much.

If the claim is £1,000, will my premiums increase in a way that ensures the insurance co. claws back all the money?

Given you are free to switch insurer at renewal a strategy of trying to claw it all back is just going to cause people to move elsewhere.

The decision trees behind the pricing tools are increasingly complex and compound and so if you were high risk before this then the premiums will go up a lot, if you were very low risk before this then the premiums will go up a modest amount. You then have to consider your NCD as this will be a fault claim and so will result in a loss of NCD if you didn't buy NCDP. If you had 1-2 years NCD before you'll drop to 0 and so that may have a meaningful impact whereas if you had 3+ years you'll still retain some NCD and so the drop wont be as painful.

You could always do two quotes online for a new policy using false details (another name, dob 1 or 2 days different to yours, neighbourhood address etc) one with a fault claim and the reduced NCD and one with an incident but no claim and your current NCD + 1 and see what the differences are likely to be. Its not anywhere close to a guarantee as pricing changes frequently and some insurers do ID checks and given your fake person wont be IDed they may decline to quote or increase the premiums. What you are really looking at is the proportional increase and then apply that percentage to your own premiums to give you an idea.

born_again Posts: 17,217 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 10:48AM

RichardD1970 Posts: 3,795 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 12:18PM edited 26 July 2022 at 12:19PM

I hit a bollard a couple of years ago in the snow (slow impact 10-15mph). Damaged front bumper, structure behind and aircon rad. Took it to a local body shop and he wouldn't quote as he knew he couldn't get the parts at a decent price and 3rd party replacement wasn't available.

Went through insurance, total costs just over £2000. Slight increase in premiums at renewal but I still got a cheaper quote switching.

Lizmoretti Posts: 41 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 12:42PM

RichardD1970 said:

I hit a bollard a couple of years ago in the snow (slow impact 10-15mph). Damaged front bumper, structure behind and aircon rad. Took it to a local body shop and he wouldn't quote as he knew he couldn't get the parts at a decent price and 3rd party replacement wasn't available.

Went through insurance, total costs just over £2000. Slight increase in premiums at renewal but I still got a cheaper quote switching.

I guess the other positive is that the insurance company deal with everything for you? No phoning around for quotes etc.

I’ve had another look and, apart from a dodgy fog light and front parking sensor, it really does appear to be nothing more than cracked plastic. The only other concerning thing is the vehicle is saying there’s a fault with the SOS system.

I’ll mull it over…

Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 12:59PM

Lizmoretti said:

RichardD1970 said:

I hit a bollard a couple of years ago in the snow (slow impact 10-15mph). Damaged front bumper, structure behind and aircon rad. Took it to a local body shop and he wouldn't quote as he knew he couldn't get the parts at a decent price and 3rd party replacement wasn't available.

Went through insurance, total costs just over £2000. Slight increase in premiums at renewal but I still got a cheaper quote switching.

I guess the other positive is that the insurance company deal with everything for you? No phoning around for quotes etc.

I’ve had another look and, apart from a dodgy fog light and front parking sensor, it really does appear to be nothing more than cracked plastic. The only other concerning thing is the vehicle is saying there’s a fault with the SOS system.

I’ll mull it over…

For an insurer that is probably a whole new bumper and blending in with the adjacent panels and so not a cheap repair (assuming body coloured bumper). Clearly self funded you can go for some more basic fixes which may be more cost effective.

born_again Posts: 17,217 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 1:05PM

henry24 Posts: 357 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 1:14PM

26 July 2022 at 1:20PM

How big was the deer? Full size white tail male? Or a young monkjac? And how big/sturdy is your vehicle? The damage a monkjac could do to my tiddly toy car would probably be worse than the OH hitting a mature stag with the family monster truck. Mine would have more body work damage. Granted it also has less bells and whistles and OH would be looking at replacing sensors and light wipers etc.

Does one need to report to an insurance company when it's a car/deer accident? Or only when it's car/car???

And how as the deer afterward? As I recall if you have hit a deer you are not allowed to retrieve it (assuming it was killed) but the car behind you could. The difference being that the next driver isn't responsible and as far as anyone might know you aimed for it to get some cheap meals. (not suggesting you did but know that it does happen)

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ontheroad1970 Posts: 1,657 Forumite

26 July 2022 at 4:46PM

Brie said:

How big was the deer? Full size white tail male? Or a young monkjac? And how big/sturdy is your vehicle? The damage a monkjac could do to my tiddly toy car would probably be worse than the OH hitting a mature stag with the family monster truck. Mine would have more body work damage. Granted it also has less bells and whistles and OH would be looking at replacing sensors and light wipers etc.

Does one need to report to an insurance company when it's a car/deer accident? Or only when it's car/car???

And how as the deer afterward? As I recall if you have hit a deer you are not allowed to retrieve it (assuming it was killed) but the car behind you could. The difference being that the next driver isn't responsible and as far as anyone might know you aimed for it to get some cheap meals. (not suggesting you did but know that it does happen)

Urban myth. It belongs to the landowner. Even though the road is public access, the road still belongs to someone. So strictly, the carcass belongs to the landowner.