Brake, don't swerve. Michigan State Police tell drivers "Do not swerve!" and to "Brake firmly and try to stay in your lane." Swerving for a deer can also change your claim: hitting the deer is normally comprehensive, but swerving into a tree, ditch or guardrail, or rolling over, is normally collision. If you're found more than 50% at fault, at-fault surcharges and points can apply, and limited collision pays nothing. Always tell your adjuster the truth.
A deer steps out of the tree line at dusk on a two-lane road, and you have a second, maybe less, to choose: swerve or brake. Most drivers' hands want to swerve. Michigan State Police say the opposite, and the reason isn't only safety. That one-second choice can decide whether you file a comprehensive claim or an at-fault collision claim, and which deductible comes out of your pocket.
What Does Michigan State Police Say to Do When a Deer Is in Your Path?
MSP's instruction for an unavoidable deer crash is blunt: "Do not swerve!" Instead, "Brake firmly and try to stay in your lane," with both hands on the wheel until the car comes to a controlled stop.
MSP's deer-crash page gives the reason: "trying to avoid a deer may cause a loss of control of the vehicle and a more serious traffic crash." If a deer stops and stays on the road, MSP adds, "do not try to go around it." Source: Michigan State Police.
MSP Lt. Rene Gonzalez told WILX in October 2025, "Put both hands on the wheel, apply that brake and drive straight," noting that many secondary crashes come from drivers who swerve into another vehicle, run off the road or hit a tree. Source: WILX. AAA The Auto Club Group ("AAA Reminds Motorists: Don't Veer for Deer," October 2024), State Farm and Farmers say the same. Sources: AAA, State Farm, Farmers.
Why braking straight beats swerving
A 2005 IIHS study of fatal vehicle-animal crashes, published in Traffic Injury Prevention, found that "a majority of fatalities occurred from subsequent collisions with other vehicles or objects, not from animal contacts." Source: IIHS.
MSP also says about 80 percent of Michigan's 2024 deer crashes were on two-lane roads. There, a hard swerve left aims you at oncoming traffic; a hard swerve right aims you at the ditch, a pole or the tree line.
MSP gives motorcyclists separate advice: "Use both brakes progressively and come to a quick complete stop," and only "If stopping is not an option, then without using brakes, swerve in the opposite direction the deer was heading." That exception is for two wheels only; for cars and trucks, it's still "Do not swerve!" Riders were 7 of the 14 people killed in Michigan deer crashes in 2024, per Michigan Traffic Crash Facts.
Why Does Swerving Turn a Deer Claim Into a Collision Claim?
Because coverage follows what your car actually hit: striking the deer is normally comprehensive, while missing it and hitting a tree, ditch or guardrail, or rolling over, is normally collision.
DIFS Director Anita Fox calls "Coverage for collision with things other than another vehicle, such as a deer" optional coverage, the comprehensive side of a policy. The collision statute agrees: under MCL 500.3037(8)(a), "collision damage" doesn't include "losses customarily insured under comprehensive coverages." Sources: DIFS, MCL 500.3037.
Carriers draw the line at contact. Progressive says that if you swerve and hit another vehicle or object, or overturn, "you'd need collision coverage to cover damage to your vehicle," and State Farm expects a swerve into another object to be handled as a collision loss. Sources: Progressive, State Farm, CarInsurance.com.
| What happened | Usual coverage for your car | At-fault exposure | Claim risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braked, stayed in lane, hit the deer | Comprehensive | Outside Michigan's at-fault surcharge plan | Lower |
| Swerved, missed the deer, hit a tree or guardrail | Collision | DIFS's own more-than-50% example | High |
| Swerved into the ditch or rolled over | Collision | Can be ruled more than 50% your fault | High |
| Swerved into another car | Collision, plus their mini-tort and injury claims | Likely yours if you left your lane | High |
| Swerved into a mailbox, fence or parked car | Collision for your car; PPI pays the owner | Can be ruled more than 50% your fault | Moderate |
| Swerved and still hit the deer | The adjuster decides based on what happened | Depends on the facts | Unclear |
That switch moves money: comprehensive and collision carry separate deductibles, and with no collision on the policy, nothing pays to fix your car. Our guide to comprehensive vs. collision after a Michigan deer hit covers both coverages and deductible choices in full.
Can Swerving for a Deer Make You At Fault in Michigan?
Yes: if your insurer finds your action was more than 50% of the cause of the crash, Michigan law calls you "substantially at fault," and a swerve into a tree is DIFS's own textbook example.
MCL 500.2104(4) sets the test: a driver is substantially at fault when their "action or inaction was more than 50% of the cause of an accident." A deer can't be at fault, and the tree didn't move, so an insurer may conclude the steering caused the damage. Source: MCL 500.2104.
DIFS's 2019 collision chart (FIS-PUB 0202) makes the point, and the fault rules it shows still match MCL 500.3037 today: its more-than-50% column opens with "you hit a tree, a person, another vehicle, etc.," while the 50%-or-less column uses examples like being rear-ended. Source: DIFS FIS-PUB 0202. FindLaw, discussing a swerve into another vehicle, puts it this way: "Unless the other driver did something to cause the crash, you will likely be the at-fault party." Source: FindLaw.
An at-fault finding triggers two rules. Insurers must surcharge "Substantially at-fault accidents" under a merit rating plan that expressly excludes comprehensive coverage (MCL 500.2111(3)), and the points above are added under MCL 500.2103(4)(b). More than 6 points in three years means you're no longer an "eligible person" under MCL 500.2103(1)(h), outside the limits MCL 500.2118 puts on refusing to insure. Sources: MCL 500.2111, MCL 500.2103.
A plain deer strike sits outside that surcharge plan, though premiums can still change at renewal for other reasons.
Not every swerve is ruled at fault. The insurer weighs what happened, and facts such as another driver's actions can change the split. Nobody can promise how a claim will be classified.
What Is the Limited Collision Trap After a Deer Swerve?
Limited collision pays only when you're 50% or less at fault, so a single-car swerve into a tree ruled more than 50% your fault can leave a limited-collision driver paying the entire repair bill.
Michigan collision comes in three types: limited, standard and broad form. DIFS's chart shows how each responds to fault, and your declarations page shows which one you carry. Source: DIFS collision chart.
| Collision type | More than 50% at fault (e.g., you hit a tree) | 50% or less at fault |
|---|---|---|
| Limited | Pays nothing You pay for repairs | Pays above any deductible you chose |
| Standard | Pays minus your deductible | Pays minus your deductible |
| Broad form | Pays minus your deductible | Pays deductible waived |
Broad form's deductible waiver applies only at 50% or less fault. In a swerve ruled more than 50% your fault, broad form and standard both pay after your deductible, and limited pays nothing. Limited can be a fair trade for some drivers, but a deer swerve is where that trade comes due.
If a swerve into a tree, ditch or guardrail is ruled more than 50% your fault, limited collision pays nothing toward your repairs. Check your collision type before the late-October rush.
Six things that decide how a deer swerve claim pays
Deer contact points to comprehensive; anything else points to collision.
More than 50% your doing is "substantially at fault" under MCL 500.2104.
Limited pays nothing when you're substantially at fault.
Comprehensive and collision deductibles are set separately.
Another car brings mini-tort and liability into the claim.
The truth, backed by photos and a report, is what gets classified.
What Happens If You Swerve for a Deer and Hit Another Car or a Person?
The crash stops being a single-car problem: your liability coverages now answer for the other people involved, and the other driver can pursue you for up to $3,000 of uncovered damage through mini-tort.
Your car is a collision claim; theirs goes to their own collision coverage, since PPI doesn't pay for vehicles in motion (MCL 500.3123(1)(a)). Then comes mini-tort: they can recover up to $3,000 of uncovered damage, typically their deductible, from the at-fault driver, as long as they weren't more than 50% at fault themselves (MCL 500.3135(3)(e), (4)(a)), and optional mini-tort coverage pays that for you. Sources: MCL 500.3123, MCL 500.3135. Our Michigan mini-tort explainer covers how those claims work.
Everyone hurt turns first to personal injury protection, which pays "without regard to fault" under MCL 500.3105. Michigan still lets injured people sue an at-fault driver in some cases, and then your bodily injury liability defends you and pays, up to your limits: 250/500 by default, with a 50/100 floor only through a signed selection form under MCL 500.3009(5). Sources: MCL 500.3105, MCL 500.3009.
DIFS lists "a person" beside the tree and the other vehicle: a swerve onto a shoulder where someone is walking is the worst version of this choice.
If the swerve ends in a fence, mailbox, building or properly parked car instead, PPI pays the owner, up to $1 million per accident and without regard to fault, under MCL 500.3121. Your own car is still a collision claim. Source: MCL 500.3121.
What If You Swerve and Still Hit the Deer?
No published Michigan rule covers that mixed crash, so the honest answer is that the adjuster decides how the claim is classified based on what happened.
A driver steers a little, clips the deer and slides into the ditch, or swerves around one deer and hits the next; MSP warns that deer "typically follow one another in single file." We found no regulator or carrier source on splitting a crash like that between comprehensive and collision, or on whether one deductible or two applies.
Contact with the deer normally points to comprehensive; impact with something else normally points to collision. Where both happen, the adjuster weighs the damage, the scene and your account.
What Should You Tell Your Adjuster After Swerving for a Deer?
Tell your adjuster exactly what happened, the swerve included, even if you think it will cost you; never shade, trim or change the story to steer the claim toward comprehensive.
Saying you hit the deer when you didn't, or leaving a swerve out, to get comprehensive instead of collision is misrepresenting a claim. Under MCL 500.2103(1)(c), a driver successfully denied payment of a claim over $1,000 where there's evidence of fraud or intent to defraud is not an "eligible person."
The truth is also the most useful thing you can give an adjuster, told in order: where you were, roughly how fast, where the deer came from, whether you braked or steered, and what the car hit first. If you don't know whether you touched the deer, say so.
Photos, the police report number (MSP notes you may need one to start a claim) and witness details let the adjuster classify the claim on evidence. Our step-by-step checklist for the minutes after a deer hit covers the scene in order. Disagree with the classification? Ask for the facts behind it and call us.
How Should You Prepare Your Policy Before Deer Season Peaks?
Check three things before the late-October and November peak: the collision type you carry, your comprehensive and collision deductibles, and whether your liability limits and mini-tort coverage fit a swerve gone wrong.
Crash Facts counted 58,324 Michigan deer crashes in 2024, with November (10,017) and October (9,428) the worst months and the 6–9 a.m. and 6–9 p.m. windows together about 48%. Source: Michigan Traffic Crash Facts. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on November 1, 2026, pushing the evening commute into darkness. Source: timeanddate.com. Our Calhoun County deer crash season breakdown maps the when and where.
- Collision type. If it's limited, a swerve ruled more than 50% your fault pays nothing toward your car.
- Both deductibles. Comprehensive for the deer, collision for the tree. Pick amounts you could pay in November.
- Comprehensive itself. DIFS calls deer coverage "an optional coverage that won't be part of your standard policy unless you select it."
- Mini-tort coverage, so your policy, not your savings, answers a $3,000 claim from a driver you swerved into.
- Bodily injury limits, especially if you elected the 50/100 floor.
Our Michigan deer coverage guide compares those choices. Call our Battle Creek office at (269) 404-4049, or have Terry review your collision and comprehensive choices.
What Changed for Michigan Deer Claims This Season?
As of October 2026, DIFS has reissued its deer-season coverage reminder, State Farm's newest data ranks Michigan fifth for animal-collision claims, and the November 1 clock change lands right in the peak.
DIFS's October 15, 2026 release repeats that deer coverage is optional; it doesn't address swerving. Source: DIFS.
State Farm's 2026 report (July 2025 to June 2026 data, released September 15, 2026) puts Michigan fifth at 1 in 68; its 2025 report had Michigan fourth at 1 in 61. We cite it as industry data; we aren't appointed with State Farm. Source: State Farm. Farmers' own claims data puts animal collisions at 72% of its Michigan comprehensive losses, second only to Montana. Source: Farmers.
MCL 500.3037, the statute behind the three collision types, was last amended by 2024 PA 224, effective October 17, 2025; DIFS's chart dates from 2019. Michigan's 2025 total was 58,271 deer crashes and 13 deaths, per WGRD citing Crash Facts.
Relationships: Terry Smith Agency is independent, with direct appointments at Farmers, Progressive, Bristol West (auto only) and Foremost, and other carriers through the Kraft Lake brokerage. Claims: classification and payment depend on the carrier, the policy and the facts; nothing here is a guarantee.
What Else Do Michigan Drivers Ask About Swerving for Deer?
Five swerve situations drivers ask us about most.
Does my car have to touch the deer for the damage to count as comprehensive?
Generally, yes. CarInsurance.com puts it plainly: "it isn't a comprehensive claim if your vehicle didn't contact the animal." A swerve that misses the deer and ends in a ditch is normally a collision claim, even though the deer started it.
When the car touched both the deer and something else, no published Michigan rule splits the damage, so the adjuster decides how the claim is classified based on what happened. If you aren't sure you made contact, say so rather than guessing.
If I swerve for a deer and take out a neighbor's mailbox or fence, who pays for it?
Your property protection insurance, or PPI, normally pays the owner. Michigan PPI covers damage your car does to other people's tangible property, up to $1 million per accident and without regard to fault, under MCL 500.3121. A properly parked car can qualify too, under the parked-vehicle exception in MCL 500.3123.
PPI won't repair your own vehicle, though. That damage is a collision claim, subject to your collision deductible and, under limited collision, to the fault rules. Without collision coverage, the repair bill is yours.
Can a driver I swerved into collect mini-tort from me?
Very possibly. Michigan's mini-tort lets a driver recover up to $3,000 of vehicle damage their own insurance didn't pay, usually their deductible, from the at-fault driver, as long as they weren't more than 50% at fault themselves, under MCL 500.3135(3)(e) and (4)(a). If you left your lane and hit them, you're the likely at-fault driver.
Optional mini-tort coverage on your policy pays that claim for you; without it, the money comes out of your pocket. The other driver's injuries are a separate matter, handled first by PIP and, if a lawsuit follows, by your bodily injury liability.
Should I mention the swerve if the deer ran off and nobody saw it?
Yes. Tell your adjuster everything, the swerve included, whether or not anyone saw it. Leaving out a swerve, or claiming contact with a deer that never happened, to get comprehensive instead of collision is misrepresenting the loss. Under MCL 500.2103(1)(c), a driver successfully denied a claim over $1,000 with evidence of fraud or intent to defraud is no longer an "eligible person."
The damage, the scene and the police report usually tell the story anyway. An honest account, with "I'm not sure" wherever you genuinely aren't, protects you best.
Will broad form collision cover my deductible if I swerve for a deer and hit a tree?
Probably not. Broad form's deductible waiver applies only when you're 50% or less at fault, and DIFS's collision chart uses "you hit a tree" as its example of being more than 50% at fault. In that column, broad form pays your repairs minus the deductible, just like standard collision, and limited pays nothing.
Broad form still helps when another driver is mostly to blame; it just won't rescue a single-car swerve. Fault is the insurer's call, and your policy wording controls.
The Bottom Line on Swerving vs. Braking for a Deer
Brake firmly and stay in your lane: it's MSP's advice, it usually keeps a deer strike a comprehensive claim, and it avoids the at-fault, limited-collision and liability problems a swerve can create.
No one can promise how a claim will be classified, and premiums can change at renewal. What you control is the coverage you carry before the season and the full, true account you give after a crash. For a second look, call our Battle Creek office at (269) 404-4049 or see our Michigan auto insurance coverage page.
Related Questions
Do high beams help me see deer sooner? MSP recommends them where it's safe: "Use high-beam headlights and additional driving lights to see the road better," and look for the reflection of headlights in a deer's eyes and for silhouettes on the shoulder. Spotting a deer earlier gives you more room to brake in a straight line. Dim them for oncoming traffic.
If one deer crosses, should I expect another? Yes. MSP says deer "typically follow one another in single file, so if you see one deer, there are likely more nearby." Slow down after the first one crosses and keep scanning. Steering around the first deer can put you in the path of the second.
Is a swerve crash covered if I only carry liability? Your own car isn't. A liability-only policy has no collision coverage to repair it after a swerve and no comprehensive for a deer strike. PPI still pays for other people's property you damage, PIP still covers injuries, and bodily injury liability still protects you if someone sues.
Who pays my medical bills if I swerve and crash? Your own personal injury protection, in most cases. Michigan PIP pays for injuries from an auto crash "without regard to fault" under MCL 500.3105, so a swerve ruled your fault doesn't cut off your medical benefits. How much it pays depends on the medical coverage level you chose under MCL 500.3107c.
Written by Terry Smith, a licensed Michigan insurance agent, for Terry Smith Agency, 153 Columbia Ave E, Battle Creek, MI 49015. As of October 2026, safety advice comes from Michigan State Police, coverage rules from DIFS and Michigan statutes, and crash data from Michigan Traffic Crash Facts.
Coverage varies by policy and carrier, and fault decisions belong to your insurer. General information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed by Terry Smith on October 26, 2026.