Question Diono

chelserzz

New member
My husband was involved in a very very serious car accident a few weeks ago and was just released from the hospital. Our Radian rxt was in the car UNOCCUPIED (thank goodness, bc this wreck was NOT survivable DH was ejected.) I had read somewhere on here that Diono will replace crashed seats, insurance will not cover the seat. Is this true? We JUST bought this for my nephew about a week or so before... I can provide pictures of everything if that makes a difference. Thanks!
 
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Jessica61624

New member
That sounds scary! I hope he heals quickly. Diono crash exchange only includes seats that were occupied. However you should push for your insurance to pay for replacements.
 

Rebekah

New member
I agree that you should push your insurance to replace. Page 7 of the manual says to replace after any accident. Send that to them, along with NHTSA's guidelines for what constitutes a crash (your dh's definitely does meet the standard). If that doesn't work, I've read that others ask for a written and signed statement from the insurance company claiming liability for any result of the crashed seat being used and failing.
 

chelserzz

New member
Insurance won't pay because my husband wasn't on the policy. My mom had given us the car THAT DAY and was getting it switched to his name. They won't cover the car either. His insurance won't cover anything either. That's why I was hoping someone would say Diono would replace it, we seriously had just bought the seat!! Since I can't get it replaced, and it is in extremely bad shape now... what do I do with it?! thanks for the replies!
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
Insurance won't pay because my husband wasn't on the policy. My mom had given us the car THAT DAY and was getting it switched to his name. They won't cover the car either. His insurance won't cover anything either. That's why I was hoping someone would say Diono would replace it, we seriously had just bought the seat!! Since I can't get it replaced, and it is in extremely bad shape now... what do I do with it?! thanks for the replies!

What state are you in? What type of coverage do you carry on other vehicles? Who was at fault?

I have NEVER heard of an insured not being covered by their policy in a loaner/rental/newly acquired vehicle.
 

tam_shops

New member
Yeah, what if he just *borrowed* the car to go to the store? Shouldn't he be covered.

I'd also try Diono and tell them the car was a write off and insurance is refusing, since it's a *serious* crash, they may take pity on you and replace it...Fill in the form on their site and see what happens, can't hurt anyway...

tam

What state are you in? What type of coverage do you carry on other vehicles? Who was at fault?

I have NEVER heard of an insured not being covered by their policy in a loaner/rental/newly acquired vehicle.
 

chelserzz

New member
We live in SC. He was at fault, his phone flew out from under his leg and he is terrified of it getting wedged under a pedal so he took his seat belt off to reach it. When he was reaching it pushed down on the gas and the car went off the side of the road and in the area where it happened that always means an accident. Car flipped three times but he was ejected at 80+ mph. Thankfully his injuries are VERY minimal, he lost his spleen and broke a few bones. I would never use the seat, it isn't in a condition to be used so asking the insurance to claim liability isn't going to work. We were already having a problem with the harness straps loosening on their own anyways. There is NOTHING left of the car, either the roof is touching the floorboard. I'm not comfortable with doing that anyways. I don't know what kind of coverage either of them have. Thanks Tam, I was thinking about doing that. I'm not really sure why he wasn't covered, but my mother was saying something about she'd have to sue my DH in order for it to work. Idk, I don't handle the car insurance! But thanks everyone for your input. I'm going to fill out the form on the Diono website and see if I can work something out.
 
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Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Oh my goodness! That is incredibly scary! I am so glad he is okay (minus the broken bones and loss of spleen, of course.)

I hope insurance complies.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Originally Posted by Rebekah View Post
If that doesn't work, I've read that others ask for a written and signed statement from the insurance company claiming liability for any result of the crashed seat being used and failing.
I wouldn't take this route. It is passive-agressive and will likely never result in any good.

Especially because the insurance company is not arguing that the seat is safe to use: they are stating that the driver was not covered under the policy. That's a completely different issue.

Do you or does your mother have collision and/or comprehensive insurance?

I'm glad he's not worse than he is, but I'm uncomfortable with the statement that not wearing a seatbelt was a good choice here.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Especially because the insurance company is not arguing that the seat is safe to use: they are stating that the driver was not covered under the policy. That's a completely different issue.

:yeahthat:

I see this recommendation often, but always cringe when I see it.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I don't know where the "ask for a letter" rec started, but I feel it's a poor recommendation... Has anyone ever had that succeed?

Do you guys have ANY insurance coverage with his name on it? Or was the car owned & insured by your mom?

I do want to follow up on what carseat coach said about the seatbelt. I am thankful your husband is okay and sorry that he got in an accident. But, at the risk of sounding insensitive, I do want to note that although the lack of seatbelt may have saved his life once this particular crash sequence started, stories like these tend to cost more lives than they save as that "message" spreads. I am uncomfortable leaving those who read this thread with the impression that removing one's seatbelt is a life- saving measure. In all but the freakest of cases, it is not; indeed, in this case, it would have been far safer to leave the seatbelt on and avoid the crash by either a) have the cell phone stowed somewhere else while driving or b) pull to the side instead of unbuckling and removing items from the driver's footwell while in motion. This crash was 100% avoidable and it troubles me that the removal of a seatbelt is being portrayed as a life saving measure.

I sincerely hope you understand what I am trying to say and that I am not attempting to slam your husband. The nature of message boards is such that some folks only hit certain threads, or only find us upon a google search, and misconceptions left uncorrected have a way of spreading.

Diono's replacement policy applies only to occupied seats. Does your nephew have another seat to ride in in the meantime?
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
I'm not in SC and don't know their insurance regs. But this sounds odd to me. DH was recently hit. The other driver was not the car's owner and was not on the insurance policy. Insurance just had to verify the driver had the insured's permission.
 

chelserzz

New member
I was stating that specifically because it makes me uncomfortable too. He never takes his seat belt off to remove things, ever this was a one time thing. I just didn't want to start un-needed drama about him being ejected... I wasn't intending to say that everyone should. This is a one time thing. We both believe in ALWAYS wearing one. He won't start the car until everyone is wearing one. Indeed it was avoidable, and he'll be the first to tell you that. This was a freak occurrence. I will go back and remove the post.

My mom had bought a new car the day before the crash, she was transferring everything over to his name the day it happened. He has insurance on his truck, not the car as it hadn't been completed. We didn't think that "borrowing" would be an issue in the mean time. I don't know what kind of insurance she has because we don't really communicate, but she insists that they will not cover anything. DH says his most likely won't either.

We have a TFP, that he's almost maxed out. He's 2.5, 33lbs and 39 inches tall that's why we got the radian to replace the TFP because we wanted to keep him RF, but it work for now.

What do I do with an extremely crashed seat? Does Diono have a recycling program?
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Okay. If the truck was in your mom's name, she carries insurance on it, and your DH has insurance, then you should be covered. I would call your DH's ins. It is true that the seat may slip between the cracks but I would ask BOTH companies about it.

Re: your DH, that makes sense, and I genuinely was not trying to attack you. Lack of comment/criticism is unfortunately often seen as tacit approval and I am a believer in being clear. I have made my share of driving errors, believe me. I don't think it's necessary remove your post unless you want to. I just felt it was important to make it clear on the thread so as not to imply lack of seatbelt = life saving.

Call your ins, mom's ins and Diono and plead your case. I would also send Diono photos & offer to send them the seat. They may want to see how it fared, even unoccupied.

I hope your husband feels better soon. :)
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Okay. If the truck was in your mom's name, she carries insurance on it, and your DH has insurance, then you should be covered.

IF they carry collision insurance. Since the accident was at-fault, it would not be covered if they only have liability insurance.

OP, you really need to know the details of your policy.
 

MNMmomma23

New member
I can tell you when I was hit and my Jeep was totaled (not my fault) my insurance replaced our seats for free that where all unoccupied, they did try to not replace my DD booster but I asked the lady if she would put her child in a booster that had been hit by a truck and the truck hit her door She said ok Mam I will gladly replace your seats. I bought the seats emailed the receipt and they sent me a check to pay for them. They do not let you know they will replace them they make you ask and push for it. I would hate to think of how many people do not replace the seats after an accident. Hope everything works out for you glad your husband is going to be alright.
 

chelserzz

New member
She just told me that she had dropped full coverage a few weeks ago and only has liability. I don't drive so that's why I don't know policy info, it was just getting switched to dh anyways. The seat did NOT fare well, so I was thinking of sending pics anyways. Thanks everyone for input! DH feels great considering!
 

Jessica61624

New member
She just told me that she had dropped full coverage a few weeks ago and only has liability. I don't drive so that's why I don't know policy info, it was just getting switched to dh anyways. The seat did NOT fare well, so I was thinking of sending pics anyways. Thanks everyone for input! DH feels great considering!

I would get alanas contact information from diono and speak directly to her. Also I think we would all be interested in seeing pictures of the seat if your willing to share.
 

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