Cheap Car Insurance in Illinois (2023)

Car Insurance in Illinois

Illinois may be well known as the home of Chicago, but many Prairie State drivers can likely avoid paying big-city car insurance rates. In fact, Illinois drivers pay an average of $176 per month for car insurance — $57 less than the national monthly average rate of $233. Those rates make Illinois the 16th-cheapest state for buying car insurance.

If you live in Illinois, comparison shopping online can allow you to find very cheap car insurance. To compare quotes, you’ll need to provide your ZIP code, driving record, and vehicle type.

Best cheap car insurance in Illinois: State Farm

1

State Farm

Illinois auto insurance rates come in much lower than the national average, which means Illinois drivers often score affordable premiums. With an average premium of $111 per month, Travelers offers the cheapest car insurance from a top provider in Illinois. Rates vary by auto insurer due to different methodologies when calculating auto insurance premiums.

Learn More: Best Car Insurance Companies

Insurify Composite Score (ICS)

To calculate the Insurify Composite Score, a proprietary rating, Insurify data scientists weigh multiple factors that reflect the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company.

Inputs to the score include J.D. Power ratings, Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints, mobile app reviews, user-generated company reviews, and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch.

What to know about minimum car insurance requirements in Illinois

Like most states, Illinois requires drivers to insure any motor vehicle they operate or park on a state roadway. You’ll also need to carry proof of insurance in your car at all times and be able to present it when a law enforcement officer requests it, you renew your vehicle registration, or your car is involved in an accident.

The minimum liability insurance requirements for private passenger vehicles in Illinois are:

• $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury: As a major part of your liability insurance, bodily injury coverage covers medical bills for people other than the policyholder who are injured during an accident. Illinois is an at-fault state, meaning the driver who is responsible for the collision is also responsible for paying for any resulting expenses, either through their car insurance provider or out of pocket.

• $20,000 per accident for property damage: If it’s determined that an insured driver is at fault for an accident, this coverage pays for repairs to the property of the other involved parties. Additionally, property damage coverage can cover legal costs if the insured driver is involved in a lawsuit following the accident.

• $50,000 per accident for uninsured motorist bodily injury, $15,000 per accident for uninsured motorist property damage, and $50,000 per accident for underinsured motorist bodily injury: Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays for costs caused by a driver with little or no insurance after a car accident. In Illinois, drivers are required to purchase coverage for both uninsured and underinsured drivers for property damage and bodily injury.

Illinois DMV information

The Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles through the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State offers many online services for drivers, such as license plate renewal, address change, organ and tissue donor registry, and driver’s license renewals. Additionally, in-person services include title and registration, license plates, driver’s licenses, and state ID cards.

Public transportation in Illinois

Public transportation varies by city location in Illinois. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the country’s second-largest public transportation system, and solid transportation options also exist for people in other cities like Bloomington, Champaign, Peoria, and Rock Island. People in Illinois also have access to the Metra commuter rail and the Pace suburban bus agency.

Tips for getting cheap car insurance in Illinois

Comparison shopping for anything — including car insurance — is always a good way to get the best deal for your money. Online tools like Insurify allow you to easily compare quotes from numerous top providers available in your area after entering your ZIP code and specific driver, vehicle, and insurance information.

Adjusting your coverage limits, foregoing extras like towing or rental car coverage, and looking for discounts can also help reduce the cost of car insurance.

Liability-only vs. full-coverage insurance in Illinois

If you live in Illinois, you can opt to carry liability-only auto insurance, which pays for expenses related to injuries and damage to the other party’s car if you cause an accident. Each state sets its own minimums for how much liability insurance it requires drivers to carry. Liability-only insurance can make sense if:

• You have a low-value vehicle.

• You can afford to repair or replace your car out of your own pocket.

• Getting the cheapest insurance possible is your top priority.

For a higher level of protection, you can choose full-coverage insurance, which includes basic liability plus collision and comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage pays for damages to your car, even if you’re at fault for an accident. Comprehensive coverage pays for damages caused by events out of your control, like vandalism, weather, and animals. Auto lenders and leasing companies typically require drivers to carry full coverage on a car they’ve financed.

You may also opt for full coverage if:

• You have a high-value vehicle.

• You wouldn’t be able to afford to repair or replace your car out of pocket.

• Your car’s actual cash value (the payout you’d likely get if your car is totaled) exceeds your annual premium to carry full coverage.

Here’s a look at the cheapest auto insurance in Illinois by policy type.

How your driving history affects Illinois car insurance rates

Your driving history is the factor that most influences your car insurance costs. Good drivers — whose records are free of serious traffic violations like speeding tickets or reckless driving — tend to get the best car insurance rates in Illinois. But infractions like driving under the influence or at-fault accidents can significantly increase insurance costs.

Here’s a look at average monthly quotes for the cheapest car insurance in Illinois based on driving and accident history.

See More: High-Risk Car Insurance Illinois

See More: SR-22 Car Insurance Illinois

SR-22 insurance in Illinois

If you’ve had a conviction for a DUI, reckless driving, or an accident while uninsured, you may need an SR-22. This is a form proving your car insurance meets the state’s minimum coverage limits that you need to file in your state through your insurance provider. The following auto insurance companies offer SR-22s in the state of Illinois.

How credit scores affect Illinois car insurance quotes

It might surprise you to know that your credit score affects your auto insurance premiums in Illinois, as the state allows insurers to use it as a factor. Generally, people with excellent or good credit scores can qualify for lower car insurance premiums than people with average or poor credit scores.

See More: Bad Credit Car Insurance Illinois

How your city affects Illinois insurance quotes

Insurance rates can vary from city to city, even for drivers with the exact same policies. Drivers in more populated areas and in cities with higher crime rates tend to pay more overall for coverage. Illinois cities with the highest average quotes include Chicago, Skokie, Champaign, and East Saint Louis. Cheaper cities include Palatine, Decatur, and Aurora.

How your age affects your Illinois car insurance rates

Because insurers generally equate age with experience level, your age will significantly affect how much you pay for car insurance. New drivers, who tend to be teens or people in their early 20s, typically pay more for insurance than drivers 25 and older.

The following table gives a high-level view of how age can affect insurance rates.

Quotes for younger drivers

Statistically, younger drivers are more likely to get into accidents, which is why they typically pay significantly higher insurance rates. 

Preventable infractions, like driving under the influence, can cause rates to more than double for younger drivers. For example, a driver under 25 who buys a liability-only policy from Travelers could see their premium rise by 145% with a DUI on their driving record.

Quotes for middle-aged drivers

Drivers older than 25 will typically see their car insurance rates decline, especially if they’ve maintained a clean driving record. In Illinois, drivers who choose liability-only coverage can get a policy for as little as $55 per month.

Quotes for senior drivers

Senior drivers tend to enjoy the lowest car insurance premiums, although their rates often begin to rise gradually as they grow older. In Illinois, senior drivers with a clean record can get a monthly premium as low as $64 for a full coverage policy from Mile Auto.

Illinois car insurance FAQs

Insurify Insights

How Illinois Drivers Measure Up

While most drivers know that car insurance quotes are determined in part by your personal driving history, many may be unaware that rates are also impacted by the average risk of the drivers around you as well. Check out Insurify's latest analysis of driving records in Illinois below:

Methodology

Drawing from an internal database of over 4 million car insurance applications, the research team at Insurify analyzes patterns in car ownership and driver behavior - including how Illinois drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across the United States in areas including speeding, DUIs, and more.
Insurify Insights publishes data-driven articles, trend analyses, and national rankings each week on all factors related to cars and those who drive them.

Chevrolet Malibu

Most Popular Car in Illinois

#35

State with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank

#46

State with the Moving Violations Rank

#40

State with the Most DUIs Rank

#32

State with the most Suspended Licenses

• Accidents in Illinois

  While car accidents are a sadly unavoidable feature of time spent on the road, rates of accidents do vary from city to city and from state to state. Illinois is the #48 state in the country for drivers with an at-fault accident on their driving record.

  • Rank among states: #48
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with an accident: 5.8%
• DUIs in Illinois

  While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. Illinois is the #40 state in the country for drivers with a prior drunk driving conviction.

  • Rank among states: #40
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with a DUI: 1%
• Reckless Driving in Illinois

  Reckless driving refers to a specific traffic violation: when drivers willfully act dangerously in spite of the risks they’re imposing on both themselves and others. Illinois is the #25 state in the country for drivers with a reckless driving offense on record.

  • Rank among states: #25
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with a reckless driving offense: 1.3%
• Rude Driving in Illinois

  The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit one or more of the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-run. Illinois is the #27 state in the country for drivers with a rude driving violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #27
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with a rude driving violation: 1.4%
• Speeding in Illinois

  Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and have a serious impact on your insurance costs. Illinois is the #35 state in the country for drivers with a speeding ticket on record.

  • Rank among states: #35
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with a speeding ticket: 7.3%
• Failure to Yield Rates in Illinois

  Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. Illinois is the #46 state in the country for drivers with a failure to yield violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #46
  • Percent of drivers in Illinois with a failure to yield violation: 0%

Insurify Insights

Insurify's team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.