Fender Bender and Car seats

[careyalis]

Hey guys! I haven't been on in a little while, but you guys always know the answer. My sil and I drove all three of our kids to Florida in my Honda Odyssey. Blake had to poop, so we stopped to get gas in Alabama. My van was rear ended in a parking lot.

The car was off and parked (no one was inside) and it was hit at a relatively low rate of speed. It was hard enough to make a small puncture hole and dislodge my bumper. The car also lurched forward a decent amount on impact. Do I need to replace the car seats? Will insurance cover it if I do?

[Deleted]

Which brand? I know at least one of my Britax seats allows use in minor accidents. I think define minor as no airbags deployed, and there is a place on the strap to check to make sure it is connected after an accident.

You can call the carseat manufactures though if you want, some say any type of accident you should replace them and other brands say some minor accidents are fine.

[careyalis]

@lindy all three were Graco

[dbe100408]

I'm glad everyone is okay! I agree with Lindy, this is car seat specific. In my experience, if the manufacturer says replace, the responsible party's insurer is responsible for the cost of replacement seats of like kind and quality. Should you chose to replace, keep your receipt, as well as the old crashed seats until you have settled with the paying party. (Sometimes the insurance company will request the wrecked seats, so you don't just pocket the money). If they give you pushback on paying, I would ask them if they are comfortable taking on the future liability of those car seats failing, and that will usually get them moving in the direction of cutting you a check.

[careyalis]

Jun 14, 2017 6:37:07 GMT -5 dbe100408 said:

I'm glad everyone is okay! I agree with Lindy, this is car seat specific. In my experience, if the manufacturer says replace, the responsible party's insurer is responsible for the cost of replacement seats of like kind and quality. Should you chose to replace, keep your receipt, as well as the old crashed seats until you have settled with the paying party. (Sometimes the insurance company will request the wrecked seats, so you don't just pocket the money). If they give you pushback on paying, I would ask them if they are comfortable taking on the future liability of those car seats failing, and that will usually get them moving in the direction of cutting you a check.

They told me no and I'm waiting for a supervisor to call me back. I will definitely be using that line!

[dbe100408]

Jun 14, 2017 7:51:52 GMT -5 careyalis said:

Jun 14, 2017 6:37:07 GMT -5 dbe100408 said:

I'm glad everyone is okay! I agree with Lindy, this is car seat specific. In my experience, if the manufacturer says replace, the responsible party's insurer is responsible for the cost of replacement seats of like kind and quality. Should you chose to replace, keep your receipt, as well as the old crashed seats until you have settled with the paying party. (Sometimes the insurance company will request the wrecked seats, so you don't just pocket the money). If they give you pushback on paying, I would ask them if they are comfortable taking on the future liability of those car seats failing, and that will usually get them moving in the direction of cutting you a check.

They told me no and I'm waiting for a supervisor to call me back. I will definitely be using that line!

The cost of three car seats is small potatoes compared to the future liability of those seats. Remind them of that.

Good luck!

[careyalis]

Jun 14, 2017 7:53:00 GMT -5 dbe100408 said:

Jun 14, 2017 7:51:52 GMT -5 careyalis said:

They told me no and I'm waiting for a supervisor to call me back. I will definitely be using that line!

The cost of three car seats is small potatoes compared to the future liability of those seats. Remind them of that.

Good luck!

She was like "I'm sorry, but that would be an out of pocket expense. We covered the cost of the wreck." And I said, "clearly you didn't cover the cost of the wreck as this was part of it. I didn't ask for your client to hit me and I am in no way responsible for this financial burden. If you aren't able to approve this, then I need to speak to someone who can. I refuse to take no for an answer."

[Deleted]

Graco recommends replacement after every crash. So I would keep pushing with insurance! If there wasn't any damage to your car I wouldn't replace them but because there is, I would.

[careyalis]

I called back, got someone else, and they approved it immediately!