Pedestrian Jaywalking that Caused an Accident

[kahall]

Need some guidance from an adjuster please!!

Vehicles had the green light and a pedestrian jaywalked across traffic which caused traffic to come to a hault. Vehicle 1 stopped abruptly, Vehicle 2 ran into back of Vehicle 1 at 5 mph, wet roads. Minimal damage. The insurance company of Vehicle 1 is now contacting driver of Vehicle 2 for insurance info, etc. Have copy of police report (insurance info and narrative of accident are included in this), no ticket was given, pedestrian left prior to cops arriving, accident occurred in Florida.

So my questions are:

1) Should the driver of vehicle 2 call vehicle 1 insurance company back?

2) Should the driver of vehicle 2 call their own insurance company instead?

3) Could it be that the driver of vehicle 2 could not be held responsible due to the pedestrian jaywalking?

Thank you for any input you can provide!!

 

[adjusterjack]

1) Should the driver of vehicle 2 call vehicle 1 insurance company back?

2) Should the driver of vehicle 2 call their own insurance company instead?

Number 2 is not only preferable but driver 2 is contractually obligated to report the call to his insurance company since it is obvious that a claim is coming.

Once driver 2 gets his claim rep's name, number and claim number, he can provide that information to driver 1's insurance company but should not make any statement about the accident. Even in a civil matter it is often preferable to remain silent.

3) Could it be that the driver of vehicle 2 could not be held responsible due to the pedestrian jaywalking?

No. Driver 2 is at fault because he was following too closely, driving too fast for conditions, or failing to control his vehicle.

It's that simple.

And the way you understand that is by understanding that the driver behind vehicle 2 did not hit vehicle 2 when vehicle 2 stopped suddenly. Get it?

 

[djs]

Exactly what AdjusterJack said!

The driver of vehicle 2 made an assumption that the driver of vehicle 1 would do what was expected, start to go and go. Not start to go and stop. I wish I could say that I was never caught off guard by exactly this same thing, letting expectations over-rule reality, but anyone who has been driving for a while has done this. Fortunately, most of the time, drivers do exactly what you expect them to do and accidents are avoided.

Hopefully nobody was injured. Cars can be fixed pretty easily, people sometimes are a bit harder to fix.

Dan

 

[kahall]

Thank you for your replies Jack and Dan! I assumed that vehicle #2 would be responsible however in light of the pedestrian running out when they did not have the right of way and everyone in both vehicles including passengers corroborated the circumstances, was hoping that would help to a degree.

In your experience (as far as rate increases due to an accident go), is the rate hike higher if both cars are fixed under Vehicle #2's insurance (~$1,500 total for both cars) or would it be best if Vehicle #2 paid for their repairs separately? I am unsure how rate hikes are determined in this case. Thank you!

 

[adjusterjack]

In your experience (as far as rate increases due to an accident go), is the rate hike higher if both cars are fixed under Vehicle #2's insurance (~$1,500 total for both cars) or would it be best if Vehicle #2 paid for their repairs separately? I am unsure how rate hikes are determined in this case. Thank you!

To be honest, I'm not sure either. There are so many insurance companies, each with its own practices that are approved by state insurance departments under as many different criteria as there are states.

You might check with your state insurance department and see if they can provide you with the approved rate plan of your insurance company.

Barring that, you are just going to have to wait until your next renewal.

At any rate I don't think it's a good idea to pay for your own repairs since you are going to get surcharged anyway.

 

[kahall]

Thank you again for your input.

 

[djs]

From a rate impact, its one claim, one surcharge. Doesn't matter if its one car or 5.

Dan