Replacing seats after a car accident... ??

[tarbethany]

On Saturday night I was rear ended pretty badly. My car didn't suffer severe damage but the car that rear ended us was completely totaled. My minivan will need a new bumper and also the rear door was damaged but still able to be opened.

I had all 3 of my kids with me... So needless to say they were pretty traumatized by the whole thing.

I had my 7 yr old Graco Nautilus, 6 yr old in a Frontier 85, my 3 yr old in a FP Safe Voyage and an unoccupied Marathon (I use it for the little girl I babysit)

I know for sure the Graco will be replaced at the very least. I also plan to ask the other person's insurance to replace the other 3 seats as well. I figure there is no harm in asking. My question was.. are the Fisher Price accident replacement guidelines the same as Britax? I realize that they may refuse to replace the Britax seats but since the rear door was damaged and it's closest to my son's Frontier then maybe I could still fight with them.

I am just really trying to find out what has been the case for any of you getting your seats replaced. I figure my kids had to go through the trauma of being in a car accident and none of them were injured because they were all properly harnessed and the seats were installed correctly so the least the offending person's insurance could do for me is replace my kids seats so that they will feel safer??

Anyway. Just looking for some personal feedback or recommendation. I don't know who the insurance company was because GA has started something new where I have to look up the accident report on a website called Buycrash.com and it's not up yet.

thanks!

 

[wendytthomas]

The Frontier must be replaced by Britax's guidelines. The Nautilus must be replaced. The FP and Marathon, maybe not. Though if the other car was totaled then I'd say it doesn't fall under the minor collision category, and their insurance should pay for four new seats. Tell them you'd like it in writing on their company letterhead that they accept all future liability for injury or death, lifelong medical treatment in the case of debilitating injury, for continuing to use questionable seats. Or you'd like $1000 for new seats, please, and the matter is closed forever.

Wendy

 

[Alynys]

I was just in a bad accident 3 weeks ago and my insurance company paid to replace my seats and they will go after the other driver's insurance for reimbursement. My company was really easy at first. They said to just fax them the pics of carseats I was replacing off a national retailer's site. Of course once they saw I was replacing some expensive seats they asked for pics of my actual seats and pics of the serial numbers. Then they cut me a check for $ 1100 pretty quickly. Idk if it is true or not but my insurance carrier said they were going by Federal guidelines to replace the seats in the event of any accident. Also only 1 of my seats was occupied at time of accident. HTH

 

[robbinsroost]

I was in an accident just like this 4 years ago. Our van needed the bumper and rear door replaced. The small pick up that hit us was totaled. The ins company replaced our two seats without any problems. Hope it works out for you as easy as it did for us.

 

[tarbethany]

Ok, I need some additional help please!

The insurance claims adjuster said he needs the record of my seats purchase...

I definitely don't have the receipt from my Fisher Price Safe Voyage I got on clearance at Toys R Us 3 yrs ago for $80...

I don't have a receipt for a Marathon I was given by a friend that I def. need replaced for the little girl I babysit for.

I do think that I can get my records on my Nautilus and my Frontier however I ended up getting the Frontier for $199 from Diapers.com and the Nautilus for $128 from Target....

So, I'm worried I won't get MSRP on these seats to replace them... He sounded like it wouldn't be a problem to get them replaced I'm just sort of worried about the 2 I don't have info for.

Any suggestions??

 

[mommy-medic]

Where in GA are you? If you get a copy of the police report, it should have the other driver's insurance info on there. Are you going through your insurance company or other driver's? I would replace all seats, occupied or not. It sounds like a significant crash and I wouldn't trust the seats again- they did their job, and have been subjected to crash forces. (You can elect to save the harness from the unoccupied MA, and all covers though, unless the insurance company wants the seats back. Some companies do want the seats, but I haven't had to personally turn any in after an accident).

Also- they may ask you to purchase new seats and submit the reciepts for reimbursements. That's what I had to do.

 

[tarbethany]

Angela,

I am now in contact with the insurance and my last reply said what they asked for... It's State Farm and they aren't giving me problems about it, I'm just can't find all the info...

 

[mommy-medic]

I don't understand why they need reciepts from the original purchases. It doesn't matter. If you were transporting someone else's child in their seat, that seat still needs to be replaced. (I'm not arguing with you, just frustrated AT the insurance company right along with ya.) It also *shouldn't* matter when/where/how/how much you purchased your other seats for. They were in your car, restraining your children. The insurance company should be happy they aren't paying for medical bills. I understand they have their policies and procedures to go through, but they should replace the seats wether you have a receipt from 3 years ago or not. Grrrrrrrr.

Also- not sure if State Farm is your insurance or other drivers- but you may try contacting the other insurance company as well. (If you are currently going through your insurance, try to go through other driver's, or vice versa- one may give you less hassle than the other about replacing them, and they can settle it between themselves when it's all said and done.)

 

[swtgi1982]

Ok, I need some additional help please!

The insurance claims adjuster said he needs the record of my seats purchase...

I definitely don't have the receipt from my Fisher Price Safe Voyage I got on clearance at Toys R Us 3 yrs ago for $80...

I don't have a receipt for a Marathon I was given by a friend that I def. need replaced for the little girl I babysit for.

I do think that I can get my records on my Nautilus and my Frontier however I ended up getting the Frontier for $199 from Diapers.com and the Nautilus for $128 from Target....

So, I'm worried I won't get MSRP on these seats to replace them... He sounded like it wouldn't be a problem to get them replaced I'm just sort of worried about the 2 I don't have info for.

Any suggestions??

I think they are asking you to purchase them up front and get reimbursed for them. I think they mean by receipts, the ones from the new seats. That was the way ours was when I got mine replaced.

If financially that is an issue I know some will accept a screen shot printed of of your "Cart" including shipping from the internet for a total and then cut you a check for that amount.

If the adjuster is the issue call and ask to speak to h is supervisor, usually they are just easier to deal with.

 

[tarbethany]

Thanks for all the advice! He was definitely asking for the receipt and invoice info from the original purchase. I def. don't have it for 3 out of 4 seats but I've put in another call to him to just make sure exactly what it is I need to do as this is something I want to get handled now so I can replace the seats ASAP since it's already been 11 days!!

 

[Alynys]

Because I didn't have the cash at the time to replace my 4 higher end seats they had me send a pic of seat and it's model/serial number as proof that I had those seats.. Maybe they will accept something similar

 

[suomi]

I was rear-ended 2 years ago. One childseat was occupied, one not. I made State Farm replace them all. You want to replace them anyway, right? The initial person you talk to if it's after hours will not promise to replace them. The claims person you talk to will just be worried about bodily injury. But the property damage person will hopefully replace them for you without a problem. We were in financial straits at the time, and I stressed a lot because I could not have afforded roundabouts again if they wouldn't have paid. They did pay, and I put the money towards a MA since my son was almost out of his Roundabout anyway.

The first crazy person I talked to started talking about depreciated car seat value and I told her off, that as long as they are within their expiration date they have no right to depreciate them. When I got to the property damage person, she told me to print out prices for what the seats cost now and fax them, and I got a check right away. Now if any of your seats are expired, I am not sure what the case would be.

Now we are replacing seats from another accident and fault is not clear (even with a witness in our favor!) but we are replacing the seats anyway on our own, and when the insurance companies are done duking it out, I will send the bills to whomever is paying. I have to have new seats, all 3 kids were in the car.

 

[ketchupqueen]

Last time I was asked for receipts, I didn't have them. I asked them if something else would do; they said sure, give us samples of current prices (store ads or online) including shipping if applicable and they reimbursed for that amount. If the seat has been discontinued, you should be able to get them to accept the new model instead, as you're replacing seats with new seats, not ones from 4 years ago, you know?

 

[luckyclov]

Who the crap saves all their child restraint receipts? That's ridiculous. We have Allstate - all they wanted was current MSRP, or it's closest equivalent, "proof" of the seats being replaced. We are in GA, as well.

Good luck!

 

[CTPDMom]

Tell them they were all gifts and you don't have receipts...it's ridiculous they're asking for them!

In the meantime, print out from a major retailer the price (include shipping if you can't get locally) of each seat. For the FP seat, print out a RA50 maybe...it's probably the most comparable I'm thinking.

 

[lorismurph]

I'm sure they just want to make sure they are replacing with the same seats. I am quite certain that people try to replace Sceneras with Radians on the insurance company's dime. Ask if you can send pictures of the seats you own along with links to the MSRP for the same (or equivilant) seats to replace them with.