In theory . . .
Life doesn’t always work out that way 
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It depends on other traffic around, front, to the sides, and how close following traffic is.
A few years ago I blew out the front struts on the Impala I had at the time. I was in the right lane of an interstate following well behind a semi with another semi on my tail and one coming up fast from behind in the left lane. The truck in front had a section of paving on a short bridge break going over it leaving the front edge of that slab suddenly sticking up a good four to six inches or more. I couldn’t swerve left without being hit by a semi. I couldn’t swerve right due to not enough shoulder and the semi behind. My choice was hit the road hazard head on at 60 mph and pray.
I had a very similar situation a few years ago
I was on the freeway, in the middle lane
The guy in front of me ran over something . . . turned out to be a Werner fiberglass ladder
I couldn’t go left or right, because there were cars directly next to me
I also couldn’t slam on the brakes, because the guy behind me would have hit me 100%
So I had no choice, but to drive over it . . . fortunately it was lying “lengthwise”
It pretty much slipped right under my car, completely avoiding brake lines, suspension, steering, and so forth. My plastic splash pans were very slightly scraped, but that was the extent of it
If it had been anywhere but the freeway . . . I would have pulled over on the side, picked up the ladder and taken it home 
I was not tailgating the guy in front of me . . . I had absolutely no warning that there would be a ladder lying on the freeway in my lane
That last comment was meant more for @It_s_Me 
That’s awful, but those are the things are constantly occurring on this highway I-75. It was dark, the highways are not well lit and the object was laying on the ground. You could not see it from a distance and at 70 miles and hour and cars on either side of you who probably just moved out of the way. You are the unlucky victim. I was paying attention, driving within the speed limit. I was not texting, drinking or anything else other than driving home from work.
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I’m glad your situation turned out better than mine! Yes, theories are great about what you should be able to do, but life isn’t like that. No one can predict every situation, and sometimes you have to choose the lesser of 2 evils. What makes it worse it to be criticized for taking the hit rather than hit someone else or cause a major accident or fatality.
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Thanks for your input. I am torn about what to do for your exact reasons. I have to continue on this highway for work and for most of where I do my shopping etc…I am worried about what else may fall out of some truck etc…in the future! But being such a new car… I really wanted to take great care of it.
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The closer somebody is behind you, the more room you need in front of you.
If you would have been farther behind the semi in front of you, you could have slowly slowed down and not have to make a panic type stop, giving the semi on your tail time to also slow down instead of running you over.
If you are being tailgated, you need to leave even more room in front of you.
With more room in front of you, you wouldn’t have had to slam on the brakes.
Our estimate was 2800. Repair cost 4400 for hidden damages. You may have some.
I didn’t slam on the brakes . . . I ran right over the ladder
I’m not sure if you’re genuinely trying to help me . . . or lecture me
It doesn’t come across . . . because you’re off in cyberspace, and I can’t see your face or your body language
In any case, I think it’s unproductive to continue down this road . . .
In plain english . . . I don’t think it’s very helpful for you to continue to state that somebody should be able to avoid such and such situation. Because what you say works on theory and/or on paper all the time. But it doesn’t always work like that in real life, at least not all the time. And even if you stick to your guidelines consistently, not everybody else around you will. Somebody will take up that space, or be driving extremely close on either side of you, or be tailgating, etc. I could go on and on, but it would serve no purpose, in my opinion
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@It_s_Me
Oh good grief, get real. Heavy, congested traffic at highway speed takes only seconds to travel that distance even when keeping generous spacing.
You overlook basic physics. There was a BIG semi behind me. It takes a helluva lot farther distance to slow the weight and momentum of a big rig than a car.
Not all road hazards can be seen in time to avoid. And even if seen not necessarily in time to maneuver around safely, depending on other traffic and speed.
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Generally speaking, when an A/C system develops a leak there will be an oil stain at the site of the leak. Keep an eye on the condenser as even tweaking an A/C line could cause one to leak.
About 15 years ago while headed home out in the sticks and in pitch blackness I saw a hunk of broken off farm equipment (brick sized) and could not miss it no matter what. It slashed the left front tire open and even worse it got tossed up and slashed the air bag on the same wheel.
Car instantly deflated and sunk to the ground with no way of getting any type of jack underneath it. Luckily I caught a ride and had to come back out with 2 jacks; one to wedge under the front to raise it enough to get a jack under the side. All done in the dark and on a soft, grass shoulder followed by creeping it home with the left front of the car slammed to the ground and on a T-type spare like a low rider.
Thanks for the advice! That’s one of my concerns, if I do get it replaced what if that ends up causing more damaging by messing around with the lines and the radiator. I just took some pics today to try to explain what got hit. I took a pic with my camera under the front grill so hopefully you can see the compressor that got bent in and pushed back. I will post it separately, but here is a front view of the bumper and if you can tell looking through the grill, the compressor is pushed in/back.
I just posted some pics in the comments below. It only allowed me to post one per reply, but here is the front of the car with the zip ties and showing through is the bent air compressor.
That’s why I am worried about if I pay out of pocket!
That’s the condenser. The fins look a little dinged but the tubes appear ok with a little bend. Me? I would not worry about it unless it becomes a problem. If a leak was to appear it would be in that area.
It’s a matter of insurance, pay out of pocket, or leave it alone. After a number of years on the road many condensers look much worse than this one even if they have not been hit by debris.
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Thanks. Do you think not having the other protective pieces underneath will be a problem. The white part in front on the bumper is also cracked, so not sure if that’s going to get worse over time too. Maybe I should fix just that piece and underneath?
That part is the lower tie-bar . . . not tire bar . . . in other words the lower radiator core support
Honestly, it doesn’t look that bad . . . a good body shop should have no trouble getting your car like new
So just replace the tie bar and the rest underneath minus the compressor?