The growing problem of deer-vehicle collisions
This has apparently been a good season for deer, number-wise at least. Luck-wise I am not so sure. According to Andy Overbay, Smyth County's resident extension agent, the deer population appears to be up.
"I have heard lots of people having hit deer with their vehicles. I am also hearing farmers saying the damage from deer is up. This increase in population is part of the problem," Overbay said. "Deer are similar to cattle; they are herd animals. And as they say, deer, like cattle, will run to the light. Now what that means is if they are out in the dark roaming around and are scared, then see a light, such as a car's headlights, it is their nature to run toward it. It is most animal's, including humans, to head to the light. That is why we see so many collisions where deer run into the path of a car or truck. The fact that the population is up some makes it more crowded for the deer. This makes it harder on the deer. They have nowhere to run to so they run toward the light source. They pop out of the dark at such a short distance it is almost impossible to stop in time to avoid a collision."
Overbay also explained that deer seem to be gathering in larger herds or groups. This is called clustering. "They tend to cluster in places like cattle farms where there is less movement. Life is easier for them there as far as food source. In that respect, they are like us humans. Humans tend to want to go and live where they feel life is easiest. Deer want the same. They cluster around these farms because life is easier for them there."
Overbay explained that many of these cattle farms naturally have roads through or near them. "This makes it more dangerous for the deer clusters. Deer are prey animals. While cattle are used to herd dogs and don't pay much attention to them, deer are not. As prey animals, deer have the instinct to run or they are dead. Being frightened by dogs or other animals cause them to run and at night they run to the light. This light often comes from a passing car or truck. That frequently results in a collision that is fatal to the deer.
State Farm Auto Insurance Claim Adjuster - News
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company appeals from a final judgment in William Swindoll's favor on his uninsured motorist (UM) benefits claim. Because Swindoll was permitted to make the payment of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits and
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Insurance Claim Delays Deliver Massive Profits To Industry By ...
First Posted: 12/13/11 05:24 PM ET Updated: 12/13/11 05:52 PM ET
WASHINGTON — Unlike many other businesses, the insurance industry is bound by law to act in good faith with its customers. Because of their protective role in the lives of ordinary citizens, insurers have long operated as semi-public trusts. But since the mid-1990s, a new profit-hungry model, combined with weak regulation, has upended that ancient social contract.
“Claims has been converted into a money-making process,” said Russ Roberts, a New Mexico-based management consultant and former business professor at Northwestern University who has studied the insurance industry’s evolution from a service business to a profit-driven machine.
The change started when consulting giant McKinsey & Company sold Allstate and other leading insurance companies on a new system to boost the bottom line: Rather than adjusting claims the traditional way, which gave claims managers wide latitude to serve customers, insurers embraced a computer-driven method that produced purposefully low offers to claimants.
Those who took the low-ball offers received prompt service, while those who didn’t had their claims delayed and potentially were reduced to bringing expensive lawsuits to fight for their benefits. As former Allstate agent Shannon Kmatz told the American Association for Justice , the trial lawyers’ lobby, the strategy was to make claims “so expensive and so time-consuming that lawyers would start refusing to help clients.” The strategy was dubbed “Good Hands or Boxing Gloves” by the consultants, riffing on Allstate’s advertising slogan.
McKinsey, which was reportedly hired by Allstate in 1992, prepared about 12,500 PowerPoint slides to present its plan. The slides were introduced in litigation in 2005, when the insurer turned them over under a temporary protective order. David Berardinelli, a New Mexico-based trial lawyer who was working on the case, detailed the slides in his 2008 book, “From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance.