Child Car Seat Insurance

Why do I need child seat insurance?

It may be of benefit to you to take out child car seat insurance to cover you in the event your child’s car seat was damaged in an accident. Child safety is an overriding factor when driving and child car seats are expensive. Taking out adequate child seat cover will save you the cost of buying a new one in the event your vehicle is involved in a collision.

Remember, too, that the parents of other children you may be driving might ask you about your level of car insurance.

Is child car seat cover included in my policy as a standard feature?

It is not a good idea to think a child car seat is automatically covered as a standard feature on your car insurance.

The seat should be replaced after an accident, even if there are no obvious signs of damage; it might have become weakened by the impact of the accident for future use.

Be aware that policies vary considerably on levels of protection. As many as a third of insurers may not cover for child seats. The remaining providers don’t all cover full reimbursement costs, some will only pay a fixed sum.

Find out if theft of a child car seat is covered in the policy.

Read your terms and conditions to check on criteria for excess payments and any effect on your no-claims bonus.

The child car seat laws changed in 2006; after this time, with certain exceptions, children below the age of 12 and under 135cm tall must sit in a car with an appropriate restraint. This is normally a child seat with an integral restraint harness or a booster seat with an adult seat belt. It is also the responsibility of the driver that children under 14 are securely seated with the correct safety restraints, regardless of whether the child is their own or not. There is a fixed penalty fine which could escalate if Court action is required.

It is worth knowing….

Insurance policies covering child car seats may include extra items such as push chairs, buggies and baby accessories; check your policy details.

Some insurers will offer financial protection if your child seat is stolen from your vehicle after leaving it locked.

In general the trend for covering child car seat reimbursement shows an upward trend over recent years.

Arranging car seat insurance

You can usually get child car seat cover added as an extra option but check your policy details first to see if it is already included.

A male can take out a policy that is marketed towards women, and a policy aimed towards females might offer you the policy you are looking for if you are male. If you are female, handbag insurance might be another add-on option worth looking at.

Whilst legally gender cannot be used as a factor to determine premium rates, insurance companies may target the female sector believing them to be lower risk drivers.

When deciding on motor insurance consider the following:

• Does your cover offer child car seat replacement as standard?
• Can you get a replacement seat or does your provider offer you a cash sum?
• Will the cash amount be adequate to cover the cost of a like for like seat?
• Can the seat be replaced following an accident even if there is no visible damage?
• Do your policy terms offer a replacement for more than one seat and is there a limit to how many seats?
• Take into account excess payments and any effects on your no-claims bonus after a claim is made.
• What about car insurance for child minders?
• Always let your insurer know if your work involves transporting children.
• Child seats and car hire

When hiring a car, the cost of including a child seat can be high; a good idea is to take your own child car seat or you could rent a seat from somewhere different, other than the car hire company, or buy a seat at your travel destination to use for the duration of your trip. All these could be a money saving strategy.

Kevin Patterson