Insurance Implications of Wildlife Collisions

Summary

This article will discuss the application of some insurance coverages to collisions with animals—especially large animals such as deer. Events like these are common. While they can occur at any time of the year, they may be more seasonally prevalent, such as during the hunting season. During these times, there is likely to be more vehicle traffic in areas inhabited by deer. Frightened by the traffic, human voices, or the sound of gunshots, deer may dart into the road and into the path of oncoming vehicles resulting in an impact between the two. Although you may not have considered it, this seemingly simple dynamic can have broad and often complex insurance implications that this article will address.