TD MM and animal-related accidents | GTAMotorcycle.com

TD MM and animal-related accidents

conundrum

conundrum

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Just a quick question that someone might be able to answer. From what I understand, if an animal runs out in front of a car or bike, gets hit, and causes damage to a vehicle, this comes out of comprehensive and therefore does not cause an insurance increase...does anyone know if this is in fact correct, specifically with TD Meloche Monnex?

Also wondering how it ties into at fault vs not at fault, and if hitting an animal (and sustaining minimal damage eg. plastics) would also wipe out/use up 'accident forgiveness' if you had it on your policy.

Anyhow just wondering if anyone can confirm/answer the above, and if anyone has had to deal with TD MM on something similar in the past.

Thanks in advance
 
conundrum said:
Just a quick question that someone might be able to answer. From what I understand, if an animal runs out in front of a car or bike, gets hit, and causes damage to a vehicle, this comes out of comprehensive and therefore does not cause an insurance increase...does anyone know if this is in fact correct, specifically with TD Meloche Monnex?

Also wondering how it ties into at fault vs not at fault, and if hitting an animal (and sustaining minimal damage eg. plastics) would also wipe out/use up 'accident forgiveness' if you had it on your policy.

Anyhow just wondering if anyone can confirm/answer the above, and if anyone has had to deal with TD MM on something similar in the past.

Thanks in advance
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I hit a deer a number of years ago, while with TD. I don't believe I had to pay deductible, but I'm positive my rates did not go up.

re: accident forgiveness - can't help you with that, the sucker did $8000 of damage, so certainly wasn't minimal damage.
 
Accident forgiveness allows an at fault accident without rates going up...pretty sure hitting an animal is not an at fault.

What did you hit?:p
 
Raccoon with a car...decided to walk in front of me point blank while on a 401 off-ramp. Estimate was around $1000 damage or more once they get in and start taking parts off (car is still 100% functional though). Deductible is $300 if i have to pay it.

Reason for the worry about accident forgiveness is largely due to using that card on such a minor thing. I've never been in an at fault before in my life, but watch something happen especially going into winter...so I'd like to have that protection in the off chance something big ever does happen.
 
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Have you called them and notified them already of the situation?

No matter what they classify it as now, it's a done deal as there's no way to undo a report once you've notified your insurance company. Don't ask me how I know.

But I concur with others, I don't believe that an accident with wildlife goes against your claims history. As for the accident forgiveness, hard to say - really depends on their policy on that. It's it a claim based system (so any claim counts as consuming it?) or an "at fault" based system where only an actual accident consumes it? Probably only they can answer that. I know with BelAir our forgiveness only kicks in for an actual at-fault accident - we had a small hit and run claim a few years ago and it didn't count against us at all.
 
My wife hit a fatass raccoon doing like 90 and it cracked the bumper, broke the fog light, bent the rad support to hell. Luckily the car was already a POS so I just zip tied everything back together:)
 
PrivatePilot said:
Have you called them and notified them already of the situation?

No matter what they classify it as now, it's a done deal as there's no way to undo a report once you've notified your insurance company. Don't ask me how I know.

But I concur with others, I don't believe that an accident with wildlife goes against your claims history. As for the accident forgiveness, hard to say - really depends on their policy on that. It's it a claim based system (so any claim counts as consuming it?) or an "at fault" based system where only an actual accident consumes it? Probably only they can answer that. I know with BelAir our forgiveness only kicks in for an actual at-fault accident - we had a small hit and run claim a few years ago and it didn't count against us at all.
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Haven't called yet...been too busy with both a certification course and work...probably calling tomorrow though as I want things to get fixed next week (hopefully).

Here is what it says on TD's site...looks like it would only come into play if it was an at-fault...but then they say partially at-fault, who know what that really means.

Accident Forgiveness SolutionTM
What it means:
With this coverage, your insurance premium will not be increased upon renewal solely because you had an at-fault or partially at-fault accident.
More info:
If you've been accident-free for the last 6 years, we'll "forgive" you for your first at-fault or partially at-fault accident. This means that when you renew your policy, your premiums won't be adjusted based on that accident. It's a great way to reward yourself for an excellent driving record.
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"[h=3]Collision Or Comp? Which One Applies When You Hit An Animal And There’s Damage?[/h]That depends. Was the animal moving and alive when you hit it, or was it already dead on the road (killed by another driver)? If the animal was alive-and suddenly appeared on the road-then typically your comprehensive coverage would apply; if the animal was dead from a previous collision, then it would usually be your collision coverage. Why the difference? In the latter scenario, because the animal is dead and laying on the roadway, there’s an expectation that you should have seen it in time to make a reasonable-and safe-effort to avoid the collision."

Provided by Kanetix Insurance to http://www.ilstv.com/what-happens-if-you-hit-wildlife-while-driving/
 
Not TD MM but I filed a claim with SF some years back for hitting a live deer and it was covered under comprehensive.
 
griff2 said:
"Collision Or Comp? Which One Applies When You Hit An Animal And There’s Damage?

That depends. Was the animal moving and alive when you hit it, or was it already dead on the road (killed by another driver)? If the animal was alive-and suddenly appeared on the road-then typically your comprehensive coverage would apply; if the animal was dead from a previous collision, then it would usually be your collision coverage. Why the difference? In the latter scenario, because the animal is dead and laying on the roadway, there’s an expectation that you should have seen it in time to make a reasonable-and safe-effort to avoid the collision."

Provided by Kanetix Insurance to http://www.ilstv.com/what-happens-if-you-hit-wildlife-while-driving/
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It was very much alive when it decided to cross the road 10 feet or less from me....every other animal I've seen has bolted at the sight of a car closing at speed...This stupid thing just kept walking into the edge of my bumper (hit pretty much where a foglight would be).

Arguably though, the alive vs dead is kind of stupid depending on the situation...if I am out on a country road and come around a bend with a deer or moose sitting in the lane, I might not be able to react in time (or safely) to miss it. Makes sense if on a straight road on a clear day, but not in every possible scenario.
 
conundrum said:
Arguably though, the alive vs dead is kind of stupid depending on the situation...if I am out on a country road and come around a bend with a deer or moose sitting in the lane, I might not be able to react in time (or safely) to miss it. Makes sense if on a straight road on a clear day, but not in every possible scenario.
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Makes perfect sense. You shouldn't overdrive past your available sight lines to the road ahead of you.
 
I think that is why it says " theres an expectation that you SHOULD have seen it, in time and make a REASONABLE and SAFE effort to avoid the collision". Now unfortunately, what "should" and "reasonable and safe" will be their call to make.

conundrum said:
It was very much alive when it decided to cross the road 10 feet or less from me....every other animal I've seen has bolted at the sight of a car closing at speed...This stupid thing just kept walking into the edge of my bumper (hit pretty much where a foglight would be).

Arguably though, the alive vs dead is kind of stupid depending on the situation...if I am out on a country road and come around a bend with a deer or moose sitting in the lane, I might not be able to react in time (or safely) to miss it. Makes sense if on a straight road on a clear day, but not in every possible scenario.
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I hit a deer a few years back on my bike. I was with SF and it went under comprehensive but I had to pay the deductible. I did not suffer a rate hike.
 
conundrum said:
It was very much alive when it decided to cross the road 10 feet or less from me....every other animal I've seen has bolted at the sight of a car closing at speed...This stupid thing just kept walking into the edge of my bumper (hit pretty much where a foglight would be).

Arguably though, the alive vs dead is kind of stupid depending on the situation...if I am out on a country road and come around a bend with a deer or moose sitting in the lane, I might not be able to react in time (or safely) to miss it. Makes sense if on a straight road on a clear day, but not in every possible scenario.
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That is why you would never tell them it was dead on the road.
 
To update, so the car was fixed just before Christmas by Howden Collision. Total damages were well over $1000 as apparently not only the bumper was damaged (AC took a hit as well as a few other things). Also they did a good job painting the new bumper, but I can tell the difference in some lights (car is a metallic so chances are in some lights it will never look 100%). Dead on in regular light it looks pretty close.

Also TD assured me that my rates will not go up, although we'll see policy time (March for me). Betting it has gone up, but probably not due to this but for some other reason (eg. 2 cats farted the note of C# at the same time, therefore a insurance hike is justified by them).
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