Insurance wont replace car seat after accident.

[Unregistered]

My Mother was driving my car and was involved in an accident.

The car was totaled, airbags deployed and it could not be driven away from the scene.

The impact was to the front of the vehicle.

Can i reuse these seats?

The insurance says they wont replace them because, the law has changed and if the seats werent cracked they are not damaged.

ANything i can do???

 

[MomE]

Where are you located? I'm in CA and I was told by my insurance company that it is the law in CA that the insurance MUST replace the seat regardless of fault or damage to the seat.

Yes, please replace the seats immediately. There may be unseen damage, and you don't want to take the risk. Pleaese, please replace them!

 

[mom2juliarose]

What state are you in? That could be important to finding out if there is any law about replacing car seats in an accident.
A few other ideas would be to call the manufacturer and tell them about the crash (esp with that severity) and ask them to fax your ins. person stating that the seats can not be used anymore. OR you could see if there's a clause in the instruction manuals that state to not use the car seat after its been involved in a crash. Present that to your insurance company.

Here's a link with more ideas/info:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9575

 

[Maedze]

No one has any such law. You need to speak to a manager. Regardless, those seats should not be used again.

 

[Pixels]

Every.single.carseat manufacturer will say that those seats MUST be replaced. All the manufacturers except Britax say that the seat must be replaced after any crash regardless of severity. Britax says replace after a moderate or severe crash, but not a minor one, and to be considered minor the airbags can not deploy and the vehicle must be able to drive away. (There are other criteria, too, to be considered minor, but I know that these two aren't met in this case.)

Here is an article that has info on getting insurance to pay for seats after a crash.

 

[disbugsmomma]

Did your mother cause the accident or was it someone else's fault? If it was caused by someone else, then the other driver's insurance should be paying for the seats. Also, if your insurance company is still giving you crap, ask them if they will be held fully liable if you were to get into another accident with the same seats.

 

[ketchupqueen]

In CA only seats OCCUPIED during a crash must be replaced. However, seats occupied during ANY crash must be replaced. Many companies can be persuaded that unoccupied seats should be replaced as well using the manual. Some are not going to budge though. Some will negotiate a compromise for unoccupied seats.

 

[Defrost]

Are you sure there are no cracks in the seats? Has the insurance company inspected them? Because I'm pretty sure there ARE cracks in those seats, if you just look hard enough. Try using a hammer to look, that really helps sometimes.

 

[MomE]

In CA only seats OCCUPIED during a crash must be replaced. However, seats occupied during ANY crash must be replaced. Many companies can be persuaded that unoccupied seats should be replaced as well using the manual. Some are not going to budge though. Some will negotiate a compromise for unoccupied seats.

Really?! Because my insurance agent seemed unaware that my daughter was in the car with me even though I said that and the accident report said that. They paid for the seat. Then when I later submitted the medical bill for her the agent didn't know my daughter was in the car and denied it. But they paid for the seat?! Maybe it was just a mess up on her part.

 

[MomE]

Are you sure there are no cracks in the seats? Has the insurance company inspected them? Because I'm pretty sure there ARE cracks in those seats, if you just look hard enough. Try using a hammer to look, that really helps sometimes.

Hehe.

 

[rochelle]

Maybe it was just a mess up on her part.

Maybe the person who process the medical claim key in the wrong case number and so denied your claim. it has happened to my friends before and a phone call fixed the problem.

when we were hit, the other party's insurance ask for me, DH and my boys DOB in case of medical claims eventhough no one was hurt.

 

[rochelle]

ANything i can do???

when all else fails, call the TV news reporters.

that has always worked

"airbags deployed and it could not be driven away from the scene. "

that would have fit all guidelines for a severe crash

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you ladies.

I just spoke to the agent and they will not replace the seats because they were unoccupied.

I guess i should call the manufacturers.

I also should call the news if necessary.

Its State Farm in case anyone is wondering.

Eve

 

[LEAW]

Fax them with a letter that says they will take full liability if the seats fail to protect kids in any future accident. They'll pay before they will sign that.

 

[mommy-medic]

I was just hit by a driver with state farm, and faxed them replacement costs for my two unoccupied seats yesterday. I got a check cut today for a regent and a marathon, and have to go pick it up tomorrow. They didn't give me any flack at ALL- stand your ground, and keep talking to different adjusters till they concede. State farm is a HUGE child safety advocate here in GA- they show up at our seat check events, etc. I was fully prepared to put up a fight (and was honestly kind of sad that I didn't get to argue my case- the adjuster just said "replace them immediately", so that is better than having to fight).

I would fax them NHTSA's recs on replacement after an accident- and using a hammer to look closely isn't a bad idea either!

 

[aeormsby]

You could also contact the carseat manuf, I'm sure they would send a letter to you/your insurance agent saying that the seats need to be replaced after the accident.
Ann

 

[mommaon112903]

:evil grin:

Are you sure there are no cracks in the seats? Has the insurance company inspected them? Because I'm pretty sure there ARE cracks in those seats, if you just look hard enough. Try using a hammer to look, that really helps sometimes.

 

[Unregistered]

I have the same question. My husband was involved in an accident several days ago, front end drivers side damage, car was not driveable, may be totalled, we are not sure yet. carseat was rearfacing in center backseat. Insurance company says that since the baby was not in the seat it does not need to be replaced. Im very leary of using this seat. does it need to be replaced or is it safe to use since there was no damage to the rear section of the car?

 

[Jeanum]

Most seat manufacturers say to replace after any crash, whether or not the carseat was occupied at the time of the crash. The few manufacturers that say to replace after a moderate or severe crash but not after a minor one would still say to replace yours since the car wasn't drivable after the crash. Not drivable means it doesn't meet all of the criteria for a minor crash. There are details about minor crash criteria for those manufacturers that follow it, manufacturer's crashed seat FAQ links, and tips for dealing with the insurance company in this article about crashed seats and insurance that was linked earlier in the thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9575 (I put that article together as a handy reference since this is a frequently asked scenario on the forum). I hope everyone is feeling alright post-crashes.

 

[ginny4]

I have the same question. My husband was involved in an accident several days ago, front end drivers side damage, car was not driveable, may be totalled, we are not sure yet. carseat was rearfacing in center backseat. Insurance company says that since the baby was not in the seat it does not need to be replaced. Im very leary of using this seat. does it need to be replaced or is it safe to use since there was no damage to the rear section of the car?

if car was not driveable then it needs to be replaced. only britax seats (& sunshine kids monterey booster) follow the NHTSA's guidelines of a minor crash. the rest of the manufacturers is to replace after ANY accident