Insurance Issues

Blondie87 · Oct 31, 2012

I have a friend that totaled her car with 3 seats in it, 2 Radians and 1 Air infant seat. Insurance says they are personal property (since it wasn't bolted down permanently) and she only has personal property coverage of $500, so they are only giving her up to $500 to replace all 3 seats with. Is there anything she can do?

LISmama810 · Oct 31, 2012

What state is she in? Was she at fault?

The seats likely need to be replaced, but whether or not insurance will pay for it will depend on her policy.

The best thing to do is to send then the portion of the manual stating they need to be replaced, and maybe get a letter from the manufacturers.

Some people will recommend that she demand a letter from the insurance company stating that they'll guarantee the safety of the seats, but I personally find that to be a silly approach. They can just say no. It has worked for some people, though.

Blondie87 · Oct 31, 2012

Oregon. They are not doubting they need to be replaced. They are just saying it is personal property and since she only has $500 of personal property coverage, that's all they are willing to pay.

Judi · Nov 1, 2012

Yes, she was at fault. Yes, they need to be replaced.

carseatcoach · Nov 1, 2012

If that's the way her policy is written, then that's the way it's going to be.

Blondie87 · Nov 1, 2012

Are they really personal property? They are necessary.. Its not like a laptop got destroyed in the crash.

gigi · Nov 1, 2012

I think they are. And for $500 if she shops right she should be able to replace them without a giant OOP expense.

carseatcoach · Nov 1, 2012

Blondie87 said:
Are they really personal property? They are necessary.. Its not like a laptop got destroyed in the crash.

Again, it depends on how her policy is written. Some policies do consider them to be personal property. They are necessary, of course, but they are aftermarket and not a part of the car.

PSA to check your policies and if necessary, have a personal property rider added for carseats. It shouldn't be more than a few dollars a month, even for a van full of high-end seats.

tam_shops · Nov 1, 2012

If their excuse is the seats are *permanently* bolted down, I'd call them on that. They are temporarily attached to the car and easily removable.

I'd also try to draw a comparison with motorcycle helmets being similar safety equipment requiring replacement after a crash. Years ago when my car was broken into, our car insurance paid for the replacement of my helmet, but the house insurance had to be used to replace my leather jacket. While both were *safety* equipment used for my motorcycle, the helmet was required but the jacket was optional. Just another way to get more deductible out of you and excuse for insurance to not pay. Which in the end keeps rates down...catch 22!

Then, if all that failed, and you have a police report, or can get them to write a report, I'd go through the Diono crash replacement program b/c that's what I was about to do when my Canadian insurance company wanted to pay purchase cost (instead of replacement cost) for my SKJP Radian.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this after a crash. It really does add insult to injury...

tam

carseatcoach · Nov 2, 2012

tam_shops said:
If their excuse is the seats are *permanently* bolted down, I'd call them on that. They are temporarily attached to the car and easily removable.

That's why they are considered personal property -- they are not permanently attached.

msg221 · Nov 2, 2012

Last year when I still had my car insured through Hartford, I called to ask what would happen if I had to replace car seats and was told the same thing: they are considered personal property.

Not sure what Liberty Mutual, my current insurance carrier would handle it.

tam_shops · Nov 2, 2012

Oooohhh, then a little bit of crazy glue will fix them permanently!

Kidding of course. Interesting how the different companies cover the same thing differently....

tam

Cryssy Jane · Nov 2, 2012

same with farmers. Car seats are considered personal property. According to our buddy who helped us research new plans, progressive includes car seats.

LISmama810 · Nov 3, 2012

Regardless of company, a lot of it will vary by state due to different insurance codes. So while one person's experience with Farmers/State Farm/Progressive/etc., is one thing, another's might be completely different.

jnamommy · Nov 5, 2012

And even if you are told one thing when you ask general questions, after a crash, you are dealing with a different dept and may well get different answers. I have been told our car seats are personal property - however, I have never had a problem getting them replaced in a crash. In two cases, they were replaced no questions asked, and I had to provide the crashed seats to them. In the third case, the adjuster just verified that the seat was occupied and then cut me a check - they didn't even want the crashed seat. Twice with Geico, once was 21st Century.

cowgirlsmommy · Nov 5, 2012

Cryssy Jane said:
same with farmers. Car seats are considered personal property. According to our buddy who helped us research new plans, progressive includes car seats.

Farmers replaced my seats with no problems.

Blondie87 · Nov 5, 2012

They have no problem replacing them, it's just they will only replace up to $500 since that's all she is covered. I guess she is just SOL.. I told her to look into upping her personal property coverage so this problem doesn't happen again.

carseatcoach · Nov 5, 2012

Blondie87 said:
They have no problem replacing them, it's just they will only replace up to $500 since that's all she is covered. I guess she is just SOL.. I told her to look into upping her personal property coverage so this problem doesn't happen again.

Not to be a jerk or anything, but why do you think this is unfair (SOL)? She paid for personal property coverage up to $500, and that's what she's getting.

EmmaCPST · Nov 5, 2012

And really $500, is pretty close anyway, right? Radians are around $200, and the OB Air is $100 something. Consider if she gets exact replacements she's getting brand new DOMs so even if they only cover $500 of it she's likely to be less than $100 out of pocket for brand new seats, so that's not too terrible.

Insurance Issues

New member

Admin - CPS Technician

New member

CPST/Firefighter

Carseat Crankypants

New member

New member

Carseat Crankypants

New member

Carseat Crankypants

Well-known member

New member

New member

Admin - CPS Technician

New member

New member

New member

Carseat Crankypants

CPST Instructor

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics