The insurer has released data based on the claims it has received from drivers in every state.
According to State Farm auto insurance claims, November is the month in which a driver is most likely to be in a collision with an animal, and there are some states in which that risk is notably higher than others.
The insurer has compiled a list of the states where drivers hit the most animals while on the road.
According to State Farm’s auto insurance claims and industry data, there will be an estimated 297,000 collisions with animals in November alone this year. The insurer’s new data shows that drivers in the US have one in 127 odds of hitting an animal this year. That said, the odds are not consistent throughout the country. Some states have far less favorable odds than others.
State Farm’s data shows that West Virginia drivers have the greatest likelihood of being in a collision with an animal, with odds of one in 38 drivers being likely to hit an animal while behind the wheel. In second place is Montana, where the odds are one in 53, followed by Pennsylvania (one in 59), Michigan (one in 60), which is tied with Wisconsin (one in 60).
From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, State Farm received 1.8 million auto insurance claims involving animal collisions.
In that span of time, Pennsylvania was the state in which the largest number of such claims were made, with an estimated 153,397 claims made with the insurer during that 12-month period. In second place was Michigan with 133,636 claims. This was followed by Texas with 96,000 claims, North Carolina with 88,770 claims, and Ohio with 82,395 claims.
Among collisions with animals, deer topped the list as the animal struck the most. This was followed by rodents, dogs, raccoons, and coyotes.
While November was the most dangerous month for collisions with animals, it was followed by October and December as the second and third most dangerous months.
The auto insurance company reported that drivers on paved, rural roads without a lot of traffic, at times when the sky isn’t entirely dark, the odds are the greatest that a collision with an animal will occur.
