Farmers Insurance has compiled a list of the 15 states most likely to see animal-related auto accidents.

Deer, specifically, are one of the most common causes of auto accidents. Minnesota, according to Farmers Insurance, ranks 6th most likely state to hit a deer.

Farmers Insurance

The top 15 states where drivers are most likely to hit a deer are:

1. West Virginia
2. Iowa
3. Montana
4. Wisconsin
5. Pennsylvania
6. Minnesota
7. Michigan
8. Wyoming
9. Ohio
10. Arkansas
11. New Jersey
12. South Dakota
13. Missouri
14. Virginia
15. Idaho

Jim Taylor, head of claims customer experience for Farmers Insurance, offers advice for drivers who may face potential collisions with deer or other animals: "...do your best to stay the course. It may sound counterintuitive but staying the course may be safer for you and other vehicles on the road than swerving at high speeds in an attempt to avoid the animal."

Farmers Insurance also suggests drivers consider comprehensive insurance coverage which covers damage to a vehicle not caused by a collision (ie. animals of various shapes and sizes).

Speaking personally, I'm surprised not to see my home state Illinois on the list. My family grew up in the farm country of northern IL; my parents still live in a small subdivision out in the country surrounded by cornfields. Deer are plenty there, as evidenced by the unlucky string of accidents -- and repair bills -- my dad suffered over the span of just a couple years. I saw many more deer in Illinois growing up than I think I'm yet to see in Minnesota.

Read the full report from Farmers Insurance here.

LOOK: Stunning animal photos from around the world

From grazing Tibetan antelope to migrating monarch butterflies, these 50 photos of wildlife around the world capture the staggering grace of the animal kingdom. The forthcoming gallery runs sequentially from air to land to water, and focuses on birds, land mammals, aquatic life, and insects as they work in pairs or groups, or sometimes all on their own.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.