I had involved car accident and car seat was in the car.?

Question

I claimed to get new car seat to my insurance company.
But Insurance company said that they will not pay for the car seat because baby was not occupied at the time of the accident.
What should I do to get reimbursement of the check from the insurance company?

Answer 1

Most car insurers DO replace car seats when they're in an accident, and it doesn't matter if they were occupied or not, they're still damaged. Ask them if they want to be sued when the seat doesn't hold up to the next accident and your child is injured. Here's the NHTSA's position on replacement after a crash (note it says nothing about whether the seats were occupied or not)
NHTSA Position
NHTSA recommends that child safety seats be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers.

NHTSA recommends that child safety seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash.

Minor crashes are those that meet ALL of the following criteria:

The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;

The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;

There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;

The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND

There is no visible damage to the safety seat

Clarifying the need for child seat replacement will reduce the number of children unnecessarily riding without a child safety seat while a replacement seat is being acquired, and the number of children who will have to ride without a child seat if a seat were discarded and not replaced. The clarification will also reduce the financial burden of unnecessary replacement.

Here's what Graco says:
Question: I was recently in an accident. Do I have to replace my child's car seat? There doesn't appear to be any damage.
Answer: Yes. You must replace your child's car seat if it was involved in an accident, no matter what. Even if there appears to be no damage to the car seat on the surface, the impact and force of a collision can cause unseen structural damage to the interior of your car seat. Any such damage may prohibit your car seat from properly protecting your child in the event of a sudden stop or crash.

Some insurance carriers will reimburse you for the replacement of a new car seat if it was in a crash. Check with your insurance carrier for more details.

Britax follows NHTSA policy.
From Evenflo:
Question:
What should I do if I have been involved in an accident with the child’s restraint seat in the vehicle?

Answer:
Any type of accident with a child seat in the vehicle (occupied or unoccupied) should be reported. Please discontinue use immediately and contact Evenflo ParentLink Consumer Resource Center at [phone]. There may be, in some cases, internal stresses that cannot be seen.

Don't have to time to look up others, but give this to them they should get the point. Every manufacturerer is going to say you have to replace the seat, and it has nothing to do with whether it was occupied or not!

Answer 2

Child safety seats are not covered under the collision coverage under your policy. The policy covers items that are permanently installed in the car (such as a radio in the dash). It does not pay for personal property in the car (such as the Van Gogh painting in your trunk or cd's in the car). The child safety seat is considered personal property.

In general, personal property is covered under a home owners policy. You homeowners deductible would apply. Most likely the safety seat is worth less than your deductible.

If you are making a claim against another driver who caused the accident. His insurance company should consider paying for the child safety seat. The manufacturer of the seat usually recommends replacing the seat in event of accident. I don't think it matters if a child was in it. See if there is a sticker of something on the seat that says this. The liability company will pay you the actual cash value of the seat. That means the cost to replace the seat less deprecation. I usually have the seat given to me in exchange for the settlement so that I can make sure it will not be used again.

Answer 3

as a general rule, most insurance companies will reimburse you to buy a new baby car seat; the reason, if in another accident and baby is injured, and shown that "it could be defective" due to prior accident, they may end up paying more;

basically no one can prove that the seat was "damaged", but as general course, most will ask for proof of prior and then give check to reimburse for new;

i never heard of the argument of the seat not being occupied by the baby before, so this maybe a new one; i have worked for 4 different auto insurance companies, good and bad; in all of them, they allowed reimbursement;

call your insurance company and pose this question to them and see if they would have reimburse for car seat and see what they say;

generally the cost for replacement is around 50 to 100, if i remember; as i said i worked in some that were really stingy on some things we paid, but not on baby seats;

good luck

Answer 4

the infant carrier is good for the 2 month old. Get convertible seats for the twins, although I suggest not getting the Alpha Omega as it only harnesses to 40 pounds and then has to be used as a booster so they'll probably outgrow it by 2 and they would not be ready for a booster. The nautilis is a great seat. How about getting a Cosco Scenera (made by the same co. as Alpha Omega) and then getting them a Nautilis when they outgrow that. The scenera is only 40 dollars so it would save you money in the long run. It too only harnesses to 40 pounds but I think it is a better seat than the alpha omega.

Answer 5

Was the car seat destroyed in the accident? If not, you should have taken it out. That being said, the car seat isn't part of the car, so isn't covered by car insurance. Your company is correct, unfortunately.

Answer 6

Your car seat wasn't insured. You can't do any thing.