While it did not fall in the top 10 states where motorists are most likely to strike a deer in the next year, Maryland was still classified as a “high risk state,” according to new data by State Farm.

Analyzing its claims data, State Farm estimates that 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the U.S. from July 1, 2007, to June 30. The insurer said that tally, 100,000 collisions per month, is 18.3% more than five years earlier.

In Maryland, 1 in every 141 motorists will have a collision with a deer in the next 12 months, State Farm indicated.

For the third year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of states where a collision is most likely to occur in the next 12 months at 1 in 39. Michigan (1 in 78) is second, Pennsylvania (1 in 94) third, Iowa (1 in 104) fourth and Montana (1 in 104) rounds out the top five. Arkansas, South Dakota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Virginia round out the top 10.

From the period of July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2004 to July 1, 2007 – June 30, Maryland has seen a 27% increase in deer-vehicle collisions, State Farm said.

The fall, when deer are mating and in many rural areas drawn out of their habitat by hunters, is the time of year when the most deer-vehicle incidents are reported.

This story originally appeared in the November 2009 print edition of Insurance & Financial Advisor.