Do Insurance Companies Require to Pay for Car Seat Replacement After an Accident

Based on several car seat safety courses I've taken ( in order to get inexpensive car seats and free install when we were poor) the danger of using a car seat that had been in an accident is associated with the stresses that a body pulling against the harness would put on the plastic seat, not the stress of the seat pulling on its seatbelt of latch restraints. With no body in the seat, there was no stress on the seat & harness during the accident, which would lead me to believe that it is very unlikely that the car seat sustained any damages. I know you're being on the safe side, but I would tell you that is probably doesnt need replacing. Maybe check with your local health or fire department? But, better safe than sorry, I suppose.

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Call the manufacturer. Every single one of them requires a seat to be replaced after an accident regardless of the circumstances. If the child wasn't in the seat, the seat still had force put upon it from the LATCH or seatbelt installation. Britax is the only company that allows seats to be used after MINOR collisions (no airbag deployment, no vehicle damage, no occupant injury), but Graco, Dorel, Cosco, Eddie Bauer, etc all require seats to be replaced even after a fender bender.

Get a call into the manufactuer, and have them fax you a letter stating the seat needs to be replaced. They have to replace it, but will fight you and deny it unless you persist.

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Absolutely. It should be party of every policy. Car seats are damaged in an accident regardless of whether they were occupied or not. The manufacturer will state that the warranty and saftey features of the car seat are void if the seat has been involved in a crash (not if the seat was involved and occupied). Push back on your insurance company, this is a major liability for them if they do not replace it. Document your request in writing too - or at least take notes of who you talk to, time and summarize your conversation. That way as you go up the chain you can have good notes to refer to.

I have often wondered about myself from what I have been told I believe that if there was impact in the area of the carseat then they do need to replace it but I would maybe check with teh company who makes the carseat about their recommendations, get it in writing, and then present it to the insurance company

Mine was occupied but had no visible damage twice and the at fault insurance both times with no questions. Some personal injury attorneys may be able to give you free advice on what to say to them about reimbursing you for it.

I was in the same situation before, and my insurance company told me tat would only pay if I had a receipt and then they would reimburse me. This was progressive. Hope this helps. Thanks.

Did he get hit or hit someone? When we were hit a year ago both the seat my daughter was in and the seat that my son uses but was not it was replaced and we got cost for replacement of whatever seat we chose within reason. They should cover it. It should be covered under the damaged items in the accident inside the car part of the policy. If you were hit by someone else then call the other insurance company and have them cut you a check for the damage. (the guy who hit us...his insurance company covered the costs of the seat)

Dear S.,
I'm not exactly sure about this as it may or may not be something covered by your insurance policy. If it's not covered, it's not covered, much like whether or not your windshield can be replaced if a truck throws up a rock and cracks your windshield.
If you can't get any information from your insurance company, talk to your local CHP or fire department. They may be able to give you information or have funding for replacing car seats.
Best wishes.

I just wanted to correct what BeckyW said.
From Britax's website FAQ:
http://www.britaxusa.com/customer-service/faq/after-a-crash
Britax recommends that the use of a child seat be discontinued if it has been in a severe crash. We further advise of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) position that it is not necessary to replace a child seat after a minor crash. A minor crash is one that meets ALL of following criteria:
The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;
The vehicle door nearest the child restraint 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 child seat.

If all criteria are met, you are not required to replace the carseat, and the insurance company is not required to reimburse you if you choose to replace it anyway.

By state law in CA the insurance companies are required to replace (i.e. reimburse you for) occupied car seats. Some companies may replace no matter what, but they are not required to by law.

My sister in law was in an accident and yes they did pay for a new car seat for her daughter but i think she may have been in it. But i think they should pay for a new one anyway or at least have someone examine it for you..

My kids were in a accident and the car insurance had to replace the carseats..They had Britax ones too. But that was in Indiana and it was the other pesons insurance who had to replace it because she was at fault.. I am not sure how it works in Ohio :(

Depends on your deductible... and your plan. Our insurance pays for any damage or loss to/of anything in the interior AFTER our deductible is met. My "cheap" ($600) camera was stolen from my car. I only got $100 for it, since our deductible is $500. If my colleague's 10k camera had been stolen instead, we would have gotten 9500 for it.

That is correct it wasn't occupied & vehicle wasn't totaled.There is greater concern on damaged carseats once airbags are deployed carseat occupied or vehilce totaled & rear/side impacts.

I sure hope your husband was okay in this accident. Please keep my work number and call our office if he has any injuries or problems - the attorney I work with practices in personal injury - his name is Curtis R. Namba, Esq. ###-###-####.
Was there insurance on the party that caused the accident? Was there a police report? Did the car seat in any way get damaged from the accident? I assume your insurance is not paying because there is no 'cause' for them to pay but any police and fire dept will tell you that if a car seat has any damage it should be replaced.
You will need to show it was damaged in the accident (if in fact it was) and get a receipt or estimate for a new similar car seat from the store. You can present the cost to the adverse insurance company and see if they will pay it. The big issue is why pay for something if it was not damaged? So you are on the hook to prove it was.
If you need any help, do call our office.

T.

My kids were in their seats during an accident which did not appear to harm the seats, but my insurance replaced them anyway. I think it was part of the comprehensive coverage on my insurance. It may depend on your insurance carrier and the type of coverage you have.

I would definitely replace them, and you may cite the fact that the manufacturers and Highway Patrol both recommend replacement after any accident, no matter how minor.

Yes they are required to reimburse you for a new car seat of equal value after a car accident. What insurance do you have? Be the squeaky wheel and make them pay!

Hi, We have Farmers Insuance. One night last week my husands truck was hit while parked in front of our house. When I called to report it to our insurance company they asked if there was car seat in the vehicle. I said no but asked why they asked that. She said because if there was there is a good chance it would need to be replaced. Dont know if this helps at all but just thougth I would share.

If you don't have a copy of your policy, request one and read through to see if a car seat is specifically mentioned in the policy booklet and whether it has to be occupied for it to be paid for replacement. I doubt that something like that would be in there as that is very specific. It sounds to me like this is a company guideline as opposed to a policy language issue. Also, who was at fault and which insurance company are you going through, yours or theirs? If not at fault, you should demand that the other insurance company pay for it since it would be paid under property damage liability and there are far less restrictions on what is paid for since there is such a wide range of what could be damaged. If your husband was at fault and you are going through your company (and the policy doesn't specifically exclude paying for the unoccupied car seat), then you need to speak with a supervisor to verify that there is no coverage. If they still say no coverage, I would find documentation and research showing that a car seat should be replaced once it has been involved in an accident, regardless of the damage and try again. If that still doesn't work, you could, as a last resort, file a complaint with your state's insurance department. That still doesn't mean that the company will change their mind. I work for an insurance company and getting a complaint doesn't change our decision in every case, but you might get lucky. Hopefully it won't come to that. Even if they decide to cover it, you will most likely still be subject to your collision deductible, but the car repairs will probably be over that anyways. If you have liability only, then you won't have any coverage and you'd be responsible for the damages. Good luck!