podunklander

A few years back...a friend of mine had 2 vehicle deer/mishaps within days. 1st...she hit a deer, it went atop the hood of the car (the injured deer took off). A few days later...a deer hit her car. It ran smack into the driver's side door (injured, took off).

She did have collision insurance ..but chose to incur the repair costs so as to not affect her insurance rate. She found a used hood (it did have to be painted) and the total cost was about $200. Her brother-in-law was able to pop out the dent to her door.

Another thing to keep in mind when filing a claim....I believe the insurance co. is required to report the damage/repair to the motor vehicle dept., (I think) and this would then be documented in your motor vehicle history report. Even if there wasn't a police report.

No need to file a police report to sustantiate an insurance claim if you chose that route. If you caused property damage other than your own (private, city, state-owned, utility pole, etc) as a result of the accident, you could be cited for leaving (and not reporting) the damage.

I've never hit a pet or any wildlife other than maybe an opposum...but a pet or a larger mammal, I'd call to report (anonymously, at least).

Well, I did once hit a 'farm animal' which ended up being an unexpected fiasco of sorts...I'll post about this in a few!