Animal-collision claims bunch up at the end of the year. In State Farm’s data from its 2025 report, October, November, and December accounted for about 41% of claims, and deer were the animal drivers struck most often.
The insurer’s latest report, covering July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, estimates more than 1.6 million claims nationwide, and State Farm paid $1.9 billion in animal-collision claim costs over that period.
The odds of a collision averaged 1 in 145. West Virginia drivers faced the worst at 1 in 46, followed by Montana (1 in 54), Wisconsin (1 in 62), Pennsylvania (1 in 64) and Michigan (1 in 68).
Whether a driver sees any of that money depends on a coverage line that is optional unless a lender requires it.
Liability-only drivers are on their own
Comprehensive coverage pays for damage from hitting a deer or another animal, and Progressive says a driver who carries only liability likely will not be covered. Liability pays for damage a driver does to other people and their property, not to the driver’s own car.
Even with comprehensive, the deductible comes first. Progressive puts typical comprehensive deductibles at $100 to $2,000. If the car is totaled, comprehensive pays its actual cash value minus the deductible.
Swerving changes the claim
Comprehensive applies when the car makes contact with the animal. A driver who swerves and hits a tree, a guardrail or another vehicle, or rolls the car, files under collision coverage instead.
Comprehensive and collision are separate coverages, and sliding into a ditch and having a branch land on the hood fall under different ones, so having one does not guarantee the other.
Swerving into another lane can also make a driver responsible for what happens next. Neither coverage pays medical bills. Those go to medical payments or personal injury protection, if the policy includes either.
What a claim does to the rate
Progressive says the effect depends on the state and the insurer. In some states, a rate may not rise because a driver is typically not considered at fault for hitting a wild animal, though that is no guarantee.
A deer strike does not appear on a driving record unless another vehicle or property was damaged, but the claim does go into the claims history.
Claims history can matter at renewal, and a renewal bill can rise even when national prices fall.
Check the policy during the peak
The declarations page lists each coverage and its deductible. Look for a comprehensive line, then compare the deductible with what your household could pay on short notice. If the line is missing, the agent or insurer can confirm it. Ask whether the policy includes comprehensive coverage.
If you find no comprehensive coverage or have a deductible higher than you want, see what a change would cost by comparing quotes with the coverage and deductible you choose. Quotes for the same coverage can differ from one insurer to the next, and it’s easier to compare numbers side by side.
Pennsylvania had the most claims in State Farm’s latest report, at about 141,000 industry-wide. A $1,000 deductible looks different on a rural road at dusk in early November than it does on a spreadsheet in August.
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