Deer vs. Taco

Hit an adult female doe (probably around 120 to 140 lbs.) on Monitor Pass (Highway 89 in the California Sierras) at 0700. This deer came up an embankment and ran right in front of me while I was going around 50 mph, I did not see it until it was directly in front of me and did not even get a chance to hit the brakes until after impact. It was surreal to see the doe sliding down the side of the highway at the same speed the Taco was traveling. I did not stop as there was no place to pull off the highway. I looked for the deer on the way back through the area in the afternoon but could not find it. Can't imagine the deer was not dead from the impact, it was a solid hit and there is still deer hair on the stock bumper skin between the license plate and left fog light. I had seen several other bunches of deer along the highway earlier and managed to slow down before any of them decided to run out in the road.
Got several estimates from body shops and they were all around 1k to replace the bumper skin. The estimators were surprised that the only visible damage was the cracked bumper skin.
Should I have the insurance co. pay me the 1k minus my 100.00 deductible and use that to get an ARB bumper or have another stock Taco skin installed? I managed to drive all over the mountains for 40 years without hitting a deer.

 

Congratulations, Bambi just bought you an ARB

Or if you add some coin in you could go aluminum, and not have to worry about suspension sag.

 

If it were me in your shoes, I wouldn't claim it on the insurance.... it's a small one and they could punish you and raise your rate.

 

Congrats! I did the same last summer and went with the ARB. Was great besides the 2 weeks with no truck while they fixed the rest of the damage

 

As someone else stated, I wouldn't bother with insurance for $1K in damage. And I'd raise your deductible while you are at it (check out the difference in rates for a 100 vs 1000 deductible - it is usually rather significant).

As others suggested I'd go aluminum plate. Steel is just too heavy for these trucks.

Of course you are now getting the standard TW advice of "open up your wallet, turn it upside down and shake vigorously"

 

I asked my insurance agent and she said any damage to vehicle from an animal is covered under comprehensive which does nothing to the insurance rates.
I could find another used factory bumper skin for 150.00 or so and slap it on myself if I could find one.
The Aluminess is 70 lbs. as per their website, what does the ARB weigh?

 

If it does nothing to your insurance rates I'd go for the new plate bumper.

 

I just finished replacing my bumper cover and the aluminum bumper reinforcement that sits behind it. I bought OEM stuff off craigslist from someone who had purchased an aftermarket bumper. He sold it to me for 150$ and the thing looked brand new! I'd recommend searching Craigslist for a while (if you're not in a rush to replace the bumper) and maybe find a deal. It's really easy to replace the bumper yourself, there's a DIY write up somewhere on TW. But I would be very thorough when looking for damage. There're a lot of little metal bumper pieces that could've warped slightly (and might throw off the bumper alignment). If there is more extensive damage, a body shop might charge upwards of 1K... Estimates can easily be doubled by the time you swipe your card.

 

I'd be having an aluminum bummer pronto! Glad no humans were injured!

 

I was always under the impression that comprehensive claims didn't raise insurance rates? Why should the insured be punished for something out of their control? Makes sense to me at least.

 

I don't know if that's true or not. But we have insurance to use it. I'd pay the 100 dollars and get my truck fixed. 1000 dollar deductibles are stupid. You don't save that much in the long run. On mine 1000 for 100 was a savings of 100 dollars a year. Not worth it.

 

Of course its worth it. Financial savy people have higher deductibles. ZEro reason to have a $100 deductible, especially considering most auto-bodies can work the deductible into the cost and for the most part you wont even be out of pocket. You post says you would save a hundred over a year. So how exactly are you not saving money in the long run? And for me to go from $1k to $100, the savings is closer to $400 a year, and my agent said she cant remember a time someone went with a $100 deductible.

Because the insured lie. The insurance company has no clue how this damage was caused. For all they know the guy could have been drunk and hit a tree ( though I know this isnt the case with the OP). Just playing devils advocate here. Those saying it wont raise rates are probably correct, but its not because it falls under comprehensive.