Or what really happens when your rental car and a deer collide....
Well it wasn't pretty. The family was with me (all 7 of us) and we were on our way to dinner via a beautiful evening drive.
An Unexpected Hit
Just a few moments before we had been admiring the beauty of Maumee State Park - and watching out for the many deer on the right of us - when, wham. A deer hit our vehicle from the left.
I immediately pulled over to the side of the road and attempted to get out to assess the damage only to find out my door won't open. The collision with the front fender and side hadn't damaged the door but managed to jam it somehow.
Our First Steps
Knowing we needed to document things for insurance, we all started to make calls. I called the car rental agency (#alamo) , my brother called the #OregonOhioPolice, my daughter called the credit card (#AmericanAadvantage - we'll discuss credit cards another time!) I had used to purchase the car rental insurance.
Seriously Mom?
My mother, in the meantime, was most concerned about being late for our restaurant reservation at #OregonInnatBayshore.
All of them, by the way, were most concerned with our well being, asking several times if anyone was hurt. I assured them that everyone was fine. The police officer gave me the number of the report that he filed and we were on our way to the restaurant (the car was damaged but drivable).
The Process Was In Motion
Dropping off the car the next day was simple and quick due to my calls earlier and all information had been recorded. Now I have to wait for the emails and how to proceed from here.
So now - jump to the present of January 2019.
I have heard from Alamo and MasterCard in a very seamless, well done process. It turns out MasterCard was a strictly secondary insurance and just paid the deductible. Our insurance (more on that in a minute) was responsible for the damage.
On the insurance part, I personally decided not to ask my insurance company because Alamo's charges for the damage were actually very reasonable so I paid cash rather than add an incident. BUT, this whole incident has made me rethink what I should do in the event of a actual major accident. I'm thinking I will pick up the car rental company's insurance from now on so I can hand them the keys when I leave. We'll say our goodbyes and they'll take care of everything - even if, God forbid, it was another car rather than a solo accident with a deer. What do you think?
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