What Type of Auto Insurance Is Required in Illinois?

Liability Requirements

Illinois law requires drivers to maintain a policy that provides at least $20,000 to cover injury or death of one person and $40,000 to cover incidents for two or more people. Drivers must also get at least $15,000 to cover property damage.

The state of Illinois has certain measures in place to reduce the number of uninsured drivers. Its insurance division has a computer randomly select vehicles from a database of registered vehicles; these owners will receive a questionnaire asking for their insurance information. The office will confirm the policy information with the carrier. Those who do not have a policy or fail to answer the questionnaire will have their license plates suspended. Drivers stopped for traffic violations will also receive citations if the officer finds they have been driving uninsured.

First-time violators must pay a reinstatement fee of $100 and provide proof of insurance to lift a license plate suspension. Those who violate the law more than once will face a plate suspension for four months and cannot get their license plates reinstated until they pay the $100 fine and show proof of insurance.

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Uninsured drivers in Illinois stopped for a traffic violation can face a fine of at least $500. Uninsured drivers caught driving with suspended license plates due to a previous violation face a fine of at least $1,000.

While Illinois requires drivers to maintain insurance for all registered vehicles, not every driver can find a carrier willing to write a policy for him voluntarily. This pool of drivers includes those with driving-related criminal convictions, previous insurance lapses or a high number of accidents or moving violations. The Automobile Insurance Plan helps such drivers in Illinois. Every licensed insurance carrier in the state must participate in the plan. Drivers can submit an application through any auto insurance carrier in the state certifying that they have not been able to obtain a plan within the previous 60 days. The agent will forward the application to the office that administers the plan; and if qualified, the driver will be assigned to a carrier in the state. The carrier must provide a policy for three years. After this time, the driver must reapply to the program if he cannot find a voluntary carrier.