I hit a deer which caused significant damage to my car - is this classed as a non fault accident?
I am 70, have a clean licence and no claim discount of 15 years. A deer ran out of a forest causing £5000 worth of damage to the front offside of my car. I phoned the insurance company to report the incident and arrange for repair. However, I was told that although the accident was not my fault, as the deer is a wild animal the insurers are unable to claim from the deer’s owner. Had a cow or horse caused the accident then blame would be attributed to the farmer/ owner. If this is the case when I apply to renew my car insurance will I be classified as to blame? It was clearly not my fault?
Asked on 24 April 2019 by Tom Burnett
Answered by
Tim Kelly
Unfortunately for you, that is the law. Deer are not livestock. Do not get latched on the words blame or fault. The question is, have you insured your vehicle to protect you against loss or damage? The answer is yes. Do you wish to make use of the provision of the contract in place? The answer is yes. Then it will go down as you have made a claim. Your other choice is not to claim and then you will be £5k down. This is the reason why you have insurance, to protect you against a loss that was not foreseeable.
Tags:
no fault accident
insurance
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