Oh Deer!
/One recent morning, I was driving to work on I-465 when quite unexpectedly, a large deer (who had somehow already made it safely across another four lanes of traffic during rush hour), jumped across the concrete median on the interstate and right in front of my car. Although I slammed on the brakes, it was too late. As a lover of animals, my heart was shattered because the poor thing didn’t make it. Neither did the front end of my car. In shock, I turned on my hazard lights, parked on the shoulder, and started making the necessary phone calls.
After calling for an officer to take an accident report, I called my insurance company. I have roadside assistance included in my policy, and I knew I was going to need a tow. The agent I spoke with was compassionate and helped me set up the tow truck, begin the claim process, and contact the collision repair shop. Then, I called my husband to come collect me and drive me home.
All of this made me think about how thankful I am for good auto insurance. I’ve been telling clients for the last year or so about how much the cost to rent a car has skyrocketed, not to mention the ongoing labor shortages and supply chain issues with car parts. All of these things add up to increased costs and a lengthy timeline for car repairs. It took over a week before the collision repair shop could take apart my car for the estimate, which came back at about $14,000 and another 4 to 6 weeks to complete.
While insurance premiums sometimes feel like an unnecessary expense, they’re not. Insurance is there for the big, unexpected life events like this one that pop up out of nowhere - like a deer over an interstate median. It’s meant to build a protective wall around our financial health, so we can continue focusing on long-term financial goals after getting through the emotional shake-up. If you have not reviewed your insurance coverage recently, I encourage you to do so to be sure you’re adequately covered.
- Margaret Gooley, CFP®, CDFA®, Worley Erhart-Graves Financial Advisors
