WAGONER, Okla. — A Wagoner woman is out of thousands of dollars after her insurance company denied her claim following a deer collision, and the reason why could affect drivers across Oklahoma.
Elizabeth Hall thought she was covered. When a deer ran in front of her handicapped accessible van, she expected to pay her $250 deductible and have the thousands of dollars in damage repaired. Instead, her insurance company denied the claim entirely.
"Denying the claim because of the fact that my friend happened to live underneath our roof," Hall said.
The issue: a friend living in Hall's home was driving the van at the time of the accident and was not listed on her insurance policy.
"This was my first time I hit a deer," Lawrence Reeve, who was driving when the deer struck the vehicle, said.
The front of Hall's handicapped accessible van was demolished in the collision. The damage left the vehicle inoperable, and the costs have added up quickly.
"Right now, it's going to cost me $3,500 to try to get the van fixed. It's already cost me $800 to have it towed. It cost me $1000 to have it put into a wrecker service and get out of storage," Hall said.
Hall works as a substitute teacher, but without her van, she cannot get to the jobs she depends on for income. This leaves her without the money needed to make the repairs.
The Oklahoma State Insurance Department confirmed that "the policy language 'usually' requires household members to be listed. Some Carriers will require household members to be added or excluded from auto policies."
"Now I'm up a creek without a paddle," Hall said.
Despite her situation, Hall wants other drivers to learn from her experience before it is too late.
"Even though it is unfortunate for my situation, I don't want the public to end up going through the same thing. I want the citizens to be aware, to know what is in your policy," Hall said.
Drivers should also know whether anyone they allow to drive will be covered by their insurance if an accident occurs.
Hall has a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the repairs.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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