Minor collision

[Casuallydresseddeepinconversation]

Today I was rear ended, baby is in an erf seat, impact didn't wake her, do I replace the seat?

What speed?

Yes always. Any impact can cause invisible damage. The car insurance will cover it.

Always replace car seats after a collision, no matter how minor. You can't always see damage.

Usual guidance is:

1. If there was enough damage to involve insurers, just get the insurance to cover the seat as the easiest solution - the other person's should do this as a rear shunt is considered their fault IIRC? (though may involve a bit of arguing back and forth if an expensive seat, and DON'T accept Halfords vouchers if you can't re-purchase there.)
2. If too minor for insurance - when collision is at any higher than 5-10mph, any car occupant was injured even slightly, or the airbags deployed. Either of these suggests force would be transferred to the chassis of the car/seatbelts and therefore potentially the car seat.
3. Other than this you can ask your car seat manufacturer for clarity.

Child not waking up doesn't mean that the seat was not impacted - ERF seats are famously good at protecting the occupant and it's not that unusual for them not to wake up even when the crash was more serious. If the seat absorbed the impact rather than the child, then it could potentially be that it now has less capacity to absorb impact forces in the future, or the parts where the seat is secured to the car could be weakened since they have experienced significant strain one time (if the accident was more than a very low speed shunt anyway).

I was slowing to a stop so under 10mph the car who hit me was going faster I'd say as he did t attempt to stop and hit another car then veered across the junction amd mounted the pavement and only stopped when hitting a bin

The other insurance have been pretty good and haven't questioned replacing it, they've asked for make and model and proof of purchase and said they'll replace like for like either with a voucher or cash depending on what size its available on, I'd spent ages researching and finding the highest safety I could afford

Car seat manufacturer said they'd recommend replacement at anything over 6mph

If that's what their suggesting I'd take their advice not worth the risk

Only had it since end of June, seems criminal to take it to the tip when, to the naked eye it looks perfect, although it's a bit grubby already so saves me cleaning it 🤣

Hi OP,
Glad to hear the the insurance company is replacing your seat. Make sure you remove the covers and any crotch guards or shoulder pads as they can be kept as spares for your new seat (assuming you’ve replaced with the same seat). You mustn’t keep any lower tethers if the seat had those, as they could be damaged.

It does feel wasteful to be throwing away your original seat, but you can’t be certain that it hasn’t sustained some minor damage, which could prove to be catastrophic if you were involved in another accident in the future. When you take it to the tip, cut the straps so no-one can retrieve it and try to use it.

Yes great idea to take the covers off and keep them as spares! If you only bought it in June I'd push for an exact replacement. If they try to offer a different one as "like for like", don't accept it.

If you bought from a specialist retailer, they will likely help explain the difference/importance to the insurance company too.

Nope they asked for make and model to replace with exact one and as over £100 they wanted invoice and luckily they are giving me cash upfront to replace,yesterday they said id have to buy then they'd reimburse me

£100 seems such a low amount for car seats these days. But anyway good to know they are giving you the cash :)