Wild animals on French roads: does insurance cover you for accidents?
Find out what to do and where to turn to for help, dependent on your policy
Driving at night may seem like a good idea to avoid traffic but it can make collisions with wild animals more likely
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There is a recommended process to follow when trying to claim insurance for vehicle damage - and compensation for injury to yourself and passengers - should you hit a wild animal while driving in France.
In summer, more people are tempted to make trips at night to avoid traffic - but this can make collisions with an animal (such as a boar or deer) more likely, particularly on roads in rural or farming areas. Many roads in France, including motorways, lie close to farmland or wild areas.
This is the procedure to follow if you are involved in a crash with an animal, as outlined on the official Service Public website:
Check what animals are covered. The French authorities define this situation as “an accident…in which your vehicle collides with a wild animal, an animal without an identified owner or an animal whose owner is not insured”.
Once this has been identified, gather as much evidence as possible and go to the gendarmerie or a police station to have the damage recorded.
You must report the claim to your car insurer within five working days. "You must provide evidence (witness statements from passengers or third parties, photos, videos, police or gendarmerie reports, etc.)".
Does my car insurance cover collisions with wild animals?
This depends on your policy. It will only cover it if you have taken out ‘material damage cover (garantie dégâts matériels)’ or ‘all-accident cover (garantie tous accidents)’.
Again, whether or not you receive compensation for any injuries - and consequences of them, such as not being able to work for a time - depends on your policy.
If it covers ‘personal injury (dommage corporels)’, then you will likely be able to claim.
Read also: What should you expect to pay for car insurance in France?
What if my insurance does not cover me for injuries?
If your insurance does not cover the driver’s personal injury, you may be able to claim from the victims’ fund le Fonds de garantie des victimes for additional compensation.
Your insurer can help you put this file together (including your reasoning for the claim, and your current coverage), but you can also submit your claim directly to the fund. You must do this within three years of the accident.
You can also make a claim to the Fonds de garantie des assurances obligatoires de dommages (FGAO). Again, the claim must be submitted within three years of the accident.
If you need more advice, you can contact the FGAO to ask more questions before you claim.
Read also: Why car insurance prices are likely to keep rising in France
What about passenger injuries?
Passenger injuries are covered by your compulsory third-party liability car insurance.
You must make a claim to the insurer within the time limit set out in the contract and provide the insurer with all the information it needs to process the claim.
Does claiming for a collision like this affect my premium?
No, if the accident was not your fault, you were driving normally and safely, and the animal jumped in front of your car in a way that you could not avoid. If so, this comes under the force majeure (catastrophic and/or unforeseen events) definition.
Whether or not you receive compensation, your insurer must not apply a penalty to you as a result of this accident “if you can prove that it was a force majeure event”.
