Great, now it's MY turn to ask about getting replacement car seats after a collision.

[longtallsally05]

I was in a three-car collision on Friday. The two other drivers received traffic citations from the police; I was not at fault. I think it counts as more than a minor collision and I want the car seats replaced. The investigating officer wrote up a state traffic accident report (instead of a minor accident report), because there were injuries and property damage that appeared to be more than $1000.

I was sitting at a red light when two drivers crashed into each other on the road in front of me, then one of them crashed into me. Here is how it stacks up compared to the NHTSA criteria for a minor crash. My airbags didn't deploy. DH (who'd been in another vehicle) was able to back my car away from the collision site (just to help clear the intersection) but it had to be towed away from the scene; I couldn't drive it away. I went to the ER via ambulance and was diagnosed with a cervical strain (I primarily went because I am 37 weeks pregnant; the baby checked out fine, thank goodness). DD and DS (shaken up and scared, but otherwise okay) were in their car seats, but neither of their vehicle doors were damaged and I don't see any damage to their child restraints. We contacted our auto insurance company (USAA) and they made arrangements to have our car towed to a particular repair shop. I think USAA will go after the other insurance companies for the deductible, cost of car repairs & towing, but do can they get replacement car seats for us too?

I haven't seen a copy of the accident report, I only have the information exchange slips filled out by the investigating officer. Obviously, the first collision was greater than the collision involving my car, but I still want to replace DS's Boulevard and DD's Radian 80. How does that work? Our USAA policy does not cover car seat replacement. The two other drivers have different insurance companies. I want one of them (I don't care which) to pay for replacement car seats. How should I proceed? Do I ask for the amount of money I paid for the seats or do I ask for the amount it would take to replace the seats? Will it make a difference that the exact models of my car seats (Britax Boulevard mfd in 2006 and SK Radian 80 mfd in 2008) are no longer for sale? I'm sure each driver blamed the other and their insurance companies will try to give me the run-around.

I also have to figure out how to get one of the other insurance companies to pay for a rental vehicle while my car is in the shop. At least the hospital gave me a simple form to fill out for them to bill the other companies. Ugh, like I didn't have enough to do already. DC #3 could arrive at any time!

[Snow mom]

I think you just have to ask for the carseats to be replaced and see what the insurance company says. I'm surprised that you say your insurance doesn't cover carseats. They are property inside your car that is pretty universally considered to be dangerous to use after a collision. Either way, one of the other companies should cover the cost of replacement. It sounds like quite a headache in terms of two other companies being involved but hopefully they will sort out who is responsible and whoever gets deemed responsible will pay. It sounds like you are letting your insurance duke it out with theirs and I think that's probably a good decision considering it might be pretty complicated in determining who is paying for what.

I'll tell you what happened in my situation although what happens in each of these cases is different depending on the state, the insurance cos. involved, etc. Our unoccupied car was hit and didn't technically meet any of the requirements for carseat replacement (although I think the airbags would have deployed if someone had been in the car.) We dealt directly with the other insurance co. and were ready for a fight over the carseat. They didn't even bat an eye at replacing the seat. They required we send them a photo of the seat installed in the car and a link showing the MSRP of the seat. Our seat was a Britax Roundabout50 which is also no longer made but still on the Britax website. They cut us a check for the full MSRP and we were able to replace with a seat of our choosing.

I hope your repairs and replacements go smoothly and am glad no one was hurt too seriously.

[Joolsplus2]

I'm glad you are all ok!
USAA is really good, just call them and tell them you want your seats replaced, they'll get the other companies to cover it (usually you buy a new seat and send in the receipt, I think, and get reimbursed).
At least that's the best case scenario, call them this morning and ask.

[KrisM]

I think your ins. co. should be going after the other companies, not you. I was hit last week and it's been pretty easy. I had to get an estimate on my car and now I can take it in. I was told to rent what I need and my company, Liberty Mutual, will get it reimbursed by the other company. I also just had to email a copy of my Amazon receipt for my new car seat and they'll take care of that, too. I have not talked to anyone from another ins. company at all.

I would think your company has a policy for new seats. I was able to spend up to $150 if I didn't have a receipt from my original seat showing it was more than that. The original was just under $150. So, I ordered a Frontier for $202 and will get $150 back.

[lorinick]

When I was in a crash rearended at a red light. Totally 100% the other drivers fault. My insurance company took care of everything. They sue the other company. I got a rental car, new seat and took care of all the bills. I had to do nothing. Your insurance company will do all the work.

[longtallsally05]

Things are looking up. I spoke with our USAA insurance adjuster today and found out that replacing the car seats will be easy; I'll send them copies of old reciepts, they'll advance the $, I buy new seats, send them copies of new reciepts, they'll send us more $ for the price difference. Now, do I want seats like the ones in the wreck (Britax Boulevard & Sunshine Kids Radian 80)? I'm wondering if SK/Diono ever fixed the problem with their SuperLatch system. Our Radian 80 was the old style and we had no issues with latching. It's pretty much a no-brainer that we'll replace our Blvd (the old 65 lb limit model) with a new Boulevard 70; I think we'll skip the Click n Safe feature.

The car rental issue was a bit disappointing. Since we didn't have rental replacement on our policy, USAA can't arrange that for us. Apparently we are entitled to a rental until the repairs on our vehicle are completed, but I have to rent it myself and submit reciepts to the other party's insurance company for reimbursement. There is a "reasonable rental" standard, which the liable insurance co. probably will say means a tiny subcompact, but IMO means a vehicle like my Rondo: a third-row vehicle capable of seating 4 car seats. Since baby #3 will be born any day now, I'll have three carseats to install, and most sedans won't accomodate three across of the seats we'll be installing until I can get new seats. DD's back-up carseat is a Frontier 85, DS's back-up is a Scenera, and Baby #3's seat will be a Graco Snugride; I'm not even sure that we can fit those seats in a three-across configuration in ANY vehicle.

Vehicle repair will be easy; we're using a USAA recommended shop & USAA will warranty the work. We have to pay our deductible to the auto repair shop, but once USAA gets the $ from the other company, our deductible will be refunded to us. I'm bummed that I'll have to submit the paperwork for hospital/ambulance/personal injury directly to the other party's insurance company on my own. I'm not looking forward to the hassle of all the paperwork.