Car Insurance Requirements in Illinois

 Posted on July 14, 2018 in Blog Post

Almost every state in the country requires drivers to have some sort of car insurance. It is illegal for you to drive without insurance or to have financial responsibility for any damages that may occur while you are driving. Though the laws on the amount of insurance and the type of coverage that you are required to have vary from state to state, many states require that you at least have bodily injury and property damage coverage. Though it is illegal to drive without insurance, many people do--according to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2015, an estimated 13 percent of drivers were uninsured. In Illinois, the number was estimated to be slightly over the national percentage at 13.7 percent. It is important to understand what type of insurance you are required to have in the state of Illinois and what it means if you are in an accident that involves an uninsured or underinsured motorist.

Illinois Insurance Laws

Illinois has established a statewide law on the amount and type of insurance coverage that all drivers must have. According to the Illinois Secretary of State, the minimum requirements for car insurance are:

• $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in an accident;
• $50,000 for bodily injury or death of more than one person per accident; and
• $20,000 for property damage.

This means that drivers must have insurance to cover up to $25,000 per person in an accident with a maximum coverage of up to $50,000 per accident and coverage for up to $20,000 of damage to a person’s property, such as a house or electrical pole.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists in Illinois

Though there are laws that state that you must have insurance when driving a vehicle in Illinois, not everyone follows that law. With the uninsured motorist rate at 13.7 percent in 2015, there is a good chance that you might be involved in a car accident with another driver who does not have insurance. Illinois requires drivers who are involved in a car accident resulting in damages of more than $500 to report the accident to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). After this happens, the IDOT will report the names of the uninsured motorists to the Secretary of State’s office, which will then suspend his or her driver’s license. Illinois residents reserve the right to claim damages from uninsured or underinsured motorists.

Get Help from a Jefferson Park Car Accident Injury Attorney

If you have been in a car accident, you know that dealing with insurance companies can be a major task. If you have suffered a personal injury due to a car accident, that brings about an entirely different level of difficulty and that the minimum car insurance requirements are not always enough to cover the costs of damages. If this is the case for you, you could greatly benefit from the help of a Park Ridge car accident lawyer who has years of experience dealing with difficult insurance companies. Contact the Quinn Law Group, LLC to see how they can help you get the compensation that you deserve. Call the office at 847-232-7180 to set up a consultation.

Sources:

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-uninsured-motorists

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/drivers_license/SR-22_uninsured_crashes/safefinlaw.html

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/vehicles/mandatory_insurance.html