I hit a deer which caused significant damage to my car - is this classed as a non fault accident? | Ask Honest John

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 25 April 2019 by Tom Burnett

Answered by Honest John

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: insurance no fault accident

Similar questions

Our car was hit in traffic but we had forgotten to renew the insurance - will the other insurer still pay for repairs?

My wife was hit from behind and shunted into the car in front, which shunted into a car in front of it. The impact was low and everybody stated they had no injuries. The driver who hit my wife admitted...

Do I have to pay my excess in the event of a no-fault accident?

I was hit by a car whose driver did not give way to right on a roundabout. I was told this is a ‘no-fault’ incident but have £150 excess + £150 voluntary excess on a fully comp policy with 19 yrs NCB....

How do I recover my uninsured losses following a no fault car accident?