I live in MA.
If I was driving down the street at 2AM and a deer ran into the side of my car, was there anything I could have or should have done? It got up and ran away btw. It ruined all the side panels on my car and took out my mirror.
A lot of people claim I could have invoked that it was an act of God, but I guess in certain parts of MA you cannot do that with deer. Basically it came down to paying $500 in deductibles to fix everything, or just take it and leave it. I took it and left it.
Just for reference, I'm an insurance agent licensed in Missouri and kansas.
There is no "act of god" clause or anything of that sort. Every possible type of damage to your car either falls under comprehensive or collision, and none of it waives/excuses your deductible. The only way to ever get your car fixed without being out your deductible is to file the claim against another parties insurance if someone else is at fault. If you use your own insurance, you are paying your deductible. The only exception I know is some glass-only claims, some companies offer no deductible by default on window/windshield damage, if that is all that got damaged.
You're actually almost always better off hitting that deer/animal, than trying to swerve and miss it. You put your car in a ditch, hit a guard rail, or hit any stationary object and you have to file a collision claim which is considered an at-fault, chargeable accident by almost every insurance company on Earth. You hit an animal and it's a comprehensive claim(similar to storm damage or vandalism) and it doesn't count against you.
Natural reaction is to swerve to try to miss something that jumps out in front of you, but do not do it.
But just to reiterate, I've never seen an insurance policy that ever specifically mentioned "acts of god" as a covered peril. Maybe it was something that was common 50 years ago, but not anymore. Policies spell out specific perils(things that cause damage) that are covered, and that is what your policy covers. I'm sure "act of god", if it was ever used, is just way too general and vague, it would cause all sorts of problems, lawsuits, etc. since god is something that could be interpreted in a ton of different ways. Insurance companies like dealing in absolutes, they want to be as specific as possible.