Question Insurance replacing car seats

SommerNyte · Oct 22, 2008

We were t-boned today while driving to pick up my DD from kindergarten.

My one year old twins were in their rear-facing Radians. No one was hurt, thankfully.

I told insurance I have two seats that need replaced, and they told me they give $75 per seat. Well I'm sorry, but I want my RADIANS replaced! They said if I had the receipts from when the seats were purchased, they can reimburse me for the purchase price of the seats.

I am a person who saves EVERYTHING. I have the receipt from the car seat I bought for my DD back in 2004, but so help me I can't find the receipt for the Radians I bought in 2007!

Is there any way I can get my Radians replaced WITHOUT a receipt?

I'm in WA if that makes a difference.

Thansk!

kmcenery · Oct 22, 2008

Did you buy them online. If you did I would call the place you bought it from and see if they can email it to you. If you got it at a store They may have gotten you name taged to the sale or if you find you c.c statement they may be able to find it by day. When I worked for a pool store we would tag the coustomer name to the items they bought so that way if they lost their receipt we could look it up from their name or if we did not do that we could look thur the item numbers and find that date and get the recepit that went to that sale.

SommerNyte · Oct 22, 2008

I did get them online. The problem is, I don't recall WHERE I got one of them.

I was able to find the charge on my credit card from the one I got in October 2006, and from there, I was able to log in to the web site and get the receipt, but I can't remember where I got the one I bought in July 2007.

snowbird25ca · Oct 22, 2008

SommerNyte said:
I did get them online. The problem is, I don't recall WHERE I got one of them. I was able to find the charge on my credit card from the one I got in October 2006, and from there, I was able to log in to the web site and get the receipt, but I can't remember where I got the one I bought in July 2007.

Given that both seats are identical, with identical MSRP, would one receipt suffice?

Sorry to hear you guys were in a collision, though I'm glad to hear you and the twins are fine. I hope you're not too sore in the coming days. ((hugs))

snowbird25ca · Oct 22, 2008

One other thought - might you have posted on your blog or on c-moms about where you bought them? Maybe try going back through your post history?

Wineaux · Oct 23, 2008

Insurance always pays replacement cost anyways. For instance, you have a PC that cost you $5,000 three years ago that is destroyed in a house fire. Your insurance company is NOT going to give you five grand to go out and buy a new PC. They're going to give you what it would cost to replace that PC with something comparable today, and most likely that number will be far less than the $5,000 you paid three years ago. All you should need is about 3-5 website print outs of the same seat, since it is a current production model, showing a price. Your insurance company will either allow you the lowest price, or the average price. Let us know if they continue to balk about replacing your seats and we'll give you some more info if you need to start playing hard ball...

ketchupqueen · Oct 23, 2008

I agree, when I had a seat replaced they asked

-what kind of seat it is
-what will it cost to replace it

And then they cut me a check.

Mommy0608 · Oct 23, 2008

I just wanted to mention that if your Kindergartner had a seat in the vehicle (even though it wasn't occupied) it would also need to be replaced.

Jeanum · Oct 23, 2008

The fact that the crashed seats were in the car at the time of the crash should be sufficient proof without having to come up with the receipts for them IMHO. :twocents: As Wineaux suggested, obtaining several current prices for the new seats should be indicative of the full cost to replace. It's not like the insurance company can give you the crashed seats' depreciated replacement value and reasonably expect you to buy depreciated used carseats with potentially dubious histories. :thumbsdown: That may work for replacing a crashed and totaled car with another used car of similar value, but it's not really a valid option for replacing crashed carseats. This article has some tips about crashed seats and insurance that could be helpful for you:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9575 Good luck and hope everyone is feeling alright.

SommerNyte · Oct 23, 2008

snowbird25ca said:
One other thought - might you have posted on your blog or on c-moms about where you bought them? Maybe try going back through your post history?

Great minds think alike -- I can't tell you how many hours I did that for last night!

I checked message boards, email groups, bank statements, credit card bills... I can't for the LIFE of me find record of WHERE I bought this seat!

I figured out I bought it between July 7 and 15 of 2007 because I sold my Marathon on Craigslist on the 7th and then found an email on the 15th to Sunshine Kids that mentioned I had just gotten my second Radian. Other than that, no clue where I got it. And I normally save EVERYTHING -- receipts included -- so my DH is shocked I can't find it.

Mommy0608 said:
I just wanted to mention that if your Kindergartner had a seat in the vehicle (even though it wasn't occupied) it would also need to be replaced.

She has a Graco Turbo booster, I assume it needs replaced, too?

bubbaray · Oct 23, 2008

SommerNyte said:
then found an email on the 15th to Sunshine Kids that mentioned I had just gotten my second Radian.

If you registered it with SK, they should have a record of the retailer.

HTH

SommerNyte · Oct 23, 2008

All of my seats are registered! I'll try that. Thanks!

SommerNyte · Oct 23, 2008

Oh, the vehicle hasn't been looked at yet, but I did see this on the SK web site, so if my frame is damaged, they will replace my seats -- http://www.skjp.com/customer_service/exchange.php

SommerNyte · Oct 23, 2008

Sunshine Kids said they don't keep record of where the seat was bought.

Jeanum · Oct 23, 2008

As I posted earlier, I think the insurance company is trying to make you jump through hoops unnecessarily on the receipt issue.

It's perfectly reasonable to have to submit a receipt for a new replacement seat for reimbursement by the insurance company as part of the insurance claim process. But to expect you to cough up receipts for each of your crashed seats, when it's easily verifiable that those seats were in the crashed car, and still available for sale new at numerous vendors at easily verifiable current pricing, is just throwing a big roadblock on handling your claim. I think it's time to play hardball with the insurance company using the tips previously suggested, and insist they do the right thing for you and not stall you further on the seat replacement issue. :twocents:

SommerNyte · Oct 23, 2008

Spoke to the estimator and a different rep at the insurance company and both of them said just buy new seats and send them the receipts. My Radians are already ordered!

Wineaux · Oct 23, 2008

So, here's how to get your insurance company to pay for a crashed seat:

Tell them that you are fine with them not replacing the seat(s) as long as the insurance company will sign and notarize a letter stating that they are 100% responsible and liable for the injury or death of any child sitting in said seat in the event of a future accident.

No insurance company or agent is stupid enough to sign such a letter that could easily result in a judgment against them for really huge sums of money, when all they have to do is pay for a couple of car seats that only cost approximately $200 each. You'll find them agreeing to cut a check in no time flat.

Jeanum · Oct 24, 2008

SommerNyte said:
Spoke to the estimator and a different rep at the insurance company and both of them said just buy new seats and send them the receipts. My Radians are already ordered!

Ahh, that's much better. :thumbsup: Fingers crossed it will continue to go more smoothly for you.

miraclebabies · Oct 24, 2008

I had my MA replaced last Dec due to a accident and my ins co (progressive) only asked me a few questions. What was the brand of the carseat and how much it would take to replace it. I got one a target and they wrote me a check for the amount and picked up the naked old one. It was really easy and such a breeze but some insurance comp. are alot worse to deal with..

Unregistered · Oct 24, 2008

Yes. Most insurance companies will look up the make and model of your seats on websites etc. if you do not have a receipt and reimburse you for the going rate. However, you might want to make sure that there are no laws in your state regarding replacement from insurance companies. I am in CA an apparently we have such a law that was passed in 2003. It is very vague and not a good law - the kids have to be in the seat at the time of the accident in order to replace the seats. If mine were in the car they would have ended up in the hospital. I just got off the phone with my insurance company (MERCURY, who I do recommend) and they are going to replace my seats anyways. Things to consider might be: A) If the accident was your fault - if it wasn't, they are going to go after the other insurance company to recover any $ they are paying to you anyways so push the issue; and B) Always be prepared for them to say NO the first time. They are after all an insurance company. They told me NO, and I was prepared to go to battle with them and I think they knew it. Here is a link for the NHTSA's position on replacement. I am POSITIVE it is what helped me get them replaced.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestraints/ReUse/RestraintReUse.htm
hope this helps. you can email me if you have any questions: db1984@yahoo.com

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