As a former insurance agent (wife was a claims supervisor in a large insurance company, too) I can tell you that your thoughts about failing to take evasive action to avoid an accident is a very foolish idea and you should forget it, quickly...please!
Aside from the obvious physical danger that poses to you and the other driver (assume he/she is an idiot and is doing something dumb and/or illegal) your failure to swerve or whatever will be noted by both the police investigating the accident and the insurance adjusters, and these guys know what to look for, trust me. No matter the state rule on liabilty (all-or-nothing or percentage assignment) if you can be shown to have
not braked hard, swerved or whatever the situation called for to avoid the accident, you'll be in some legal trouble, and as noted, the other guy will lie his head off, guaranteed. Remember, the insurance company (his) doesn't want to pay a dime if they can help it and anything they can find to make it
your fault, they will.
Once, I a women pulled out of an alley about 10 feet in front of me, totally blocking both lanes of a main street as well as the sidewalk and I was so close to her that I was forced to hit her car, but I aimed for her front tire/wheelwell, and avoided hitting her where she was sitting and could have been hurt. It was a minor accident (I lost a bumper on the Plymouth Horizon beater I was driving but no sheet metal damage), she received a ticket and her insurance company paid for my damages, no questions asked. Still, she attempted to sue me. My insurance company lawyer and I had a good laugh over that; the fact that she received a ticket and her insurance company paid all my damages meant that her company accepted
all liability for the accident and the ticket simply reaffirmed her responsibility.
I never heard anything from her again, of course. Had I
not tried to avoid hurting her in an unavoidable collision (the cop noted this on his report), I could have possibly been found partially liable, and the 'case' might have been actionable (she could have sued me). As it played out, I was free of
any liability, which is how
you want to be in any accident, believe me.
As for insurance, I carry and always used to recommend 100/300 ($100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident) plus $20,000. medical coverage. This is mininum in todays economy, where million-dollar lawsuits are common.
A $20,000 per-person limit is a joke and dangerous to your financial health should you ever become involved in a serious accident where you are found at fault (going one mile over the limit when you hit someone can be enough to sink you, legally). Something to consider.
As for using your vehicle in your pizza delivery job; You need to check the
'Exclusions' portion of your insurance policy. This will tell you if the policy will cover you if you have an accident while using it for commercial reasons (it may). If not, the Pizza company should be the primary insurer, but you need to find that out. If you don't understand your policy - especially the 'exclusions' portion - have your agent (if you have one) sit down and explain them to you. Insurance is a bore but suddenly becomes
real important when you have an accident, so know where you stand before you need it...and
never give up avoiding accidents; you'll live longer.
