Oh deer

[oryx3dr]

So unfortunately just had an incident with a deer, sadly it jumped out almost immediately in front of me with no chance to avoid it. Car dropped all of its coolant and destroyed most of the lower part of the front bumper.  Might be a silly question but is it worth claiming for the repair on insurance or paying for it myself? Never been in any kind of situation like this so slightly unsure on the best course of action.

[Watts]

That's a real shame for both you and the deer. I'd go straight down the insurance route as it could be a sizeable bill.

[P6GTD]

If you have “protected” no claim bonus, I agree you prob want to go straight to insurance.
If not, it’s difficult to calculate the financial effect which will stretch over a few years premium wise.
Without “protected” you will drop back two years bonus and if you are not currently on maximum bonus at the moment, the step- back will cost you over a few years until you build back up.
No such thing as a low cost repair these days.
It’s very galling when it is “no fault” but without another party to recover from it’s just rotten luck.
Hope all goes well whatever your final choice.
Oh, and remember you will probably have a reasonably chunky excess on your policy. Mine is £500.
By the way, I am an insurance broker of (too) many years standing.

[willni]

I'd honestly pay for it yourself depending on the damage. Could just be a coolant hose got clipped by the bumper, and then the bumper itself isn't bad and the plastics trims are actually very cheap, £20 x 2 + £60 for the middle one.

With insurance going up I'd definitely look into the price yourself first. Just depends on your current situation as you have just purchased the car as well and your excess as you could potentially get away with a £1k repair bill. By no means cheap but better than affecting your premiums.

[oryx3dr]

I'd honestly pay for it yourself depending on the damage. Could just be a coolant hose got clipped by the bumper, and then the bumper itself isn't bad and the plastics trims are actually very cheap, £20 x 2 + £60 for the middle one.

With insurance going up I'd definitely look into the price yourself first. Just depends on your current situation as you have just purchased the car as well and your excess as you could potentially get away with a £1k repair bill. By no means cheap but better than affecting your premiums.

Yeah I've been thinking about doing this, I know it might seem like it's more upfront but it could potentially be cheaper in the long run.

[oryx3dr]

If you have “protected” no claim bonus, I agree you prob want to go straight to insurance.
If not, it’s difficult to calculate the financial effect which will stretch over a few years premium wise.
Without “protected” you will drop back two years bonus and if you are not currently on maximum bonus at the moment, the step- back will cost you over a few years until you build back up.
No such thing as a low cost repair these days.
It’s very galling when it is “no fault” but without another party to recover from it’s just rotten luck.
Hope all goes well whatever your final choice.
Oh, and remember you will probably have a reasonably chunky excess on your policy. Mine is £500.
By the way, I am an insurance broker of (too) many years standing.

Sadly I do not have protected NCB. I don't know why as I was always under the assumption that I did. Definitely something I will be doing next time!

My excess is £450 so say it is a £1k bill to pay then it may work out better just to pay it myself. Time will tell but we'll wait and see what happens.

[oryx3dr]

Thanks all really great advice all around. Annoying situation but certainly could've been a whole lot worse.

[willni]

I meant to ask, how's the actual condition of the bumper? It doesn't look to have any cracks in it, a heat gun could get the lower section straight again and would save you having to replace and spray the bumper.

[oryx3dr]

I meant to ask, how's the actual condition of the bumper? It doesn't look to have any cracks in it, a heat gun could get the lower section straight again and would save you having to replace and spray the bumper.

I can't really say as I didn't take any other pictures to be honest. I think from looking at that image though the bulk of the damage is definitely on the grills so hopefully it shouldn't be too expensive. Radiator did look somewhat bent however so could be pricey to replace that. Although without looking at parts online I wouldn't know.

[P6GTD]

Catching up with thread, without protected bonus, insurance is just the solution of last resort I think.
Take hold of the situation and manage it yourself.
If you report to your insurer it is difficult to reverse and you lose control of the repair costs and more importantly the cost of insurance for some time to come.
Happy to give you more advice any time you need.