Are You Insured For Hitting A Farm Animal?

Question: Early in the morning on my way to work I hit a horse that came running across the road.  It caused considerable damage to my car, but no injury to me. The police came and took hair samples and were able to locate the horse's owner. Will my car insurance policy cover this? Will a deductible be due?  Will my insurance company claim against the horse owner? How does this work?

Answer:  It's great to hear that you were uninjured -- and that the responding officer went the extra mile to take hair samples from the horse and locate its owner.  We hardly hear of that being done.  Even with the owner's name in hand, it'll likely be much easier to place a claim through your own auto insurance policy than dealing with the horse owner or his insurance company.

To file an auto insurance claim for this incident, you need to have comprehensive coverage as part of your policy.  If you only have liability insurance, then you won't be able to make a claim since this coverage doesn't cover your vehicle in any way.

Comprehensive covers your vehicle when it hits, or is hit by, common animals, such as dogs or deer, or other wildlife, such as horses, cows, elk or birds.

The deductible associated with your comprehensive coverage will be due, but if the horse owner is found liable then there is a chance your car insurance company will be able to recover this cost during its subrogation with the owner.

We say if the horse owner is liable, because depending upon your state's negligence laws and open range rules, he may not be.

The horse is out of the barn

If the owner knowingly let the horse out into the roadway, then it's possible he will be held responsible for it crossing your path and being hit.  If the owner were unaware that the horse was set loose, such as someone vandalized his fence and it escaped, then the owner may not be found liable. 

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