4.8out of 3,000+ reviews

Edited by Olivia Oksenhorn | Reviewed by licensed insurance agent, Amber Benka
Last Updated February 4, 2022
Why you can trust Insurify
Whether the Windy City makes you think of deep-dish pizza or Al Capone, there’s one thing for sure. It’s a busy place, chock-full of things to do for every personality type out there.
Since everyone’s an individual here, put them all together on the road at once and it can make for a mess. In this city, there’s no shortage of roadway accidents—over 300 per day! With those numbers, anyone with a window to the outside world knows that getting behind the wheel without insurance can really put you at risk.
Car Insurance in Chicago, IL
Quick Facts
- The average cost of car insurance in Chicago is $173 per month, or $2076 annually.
- Car insurance in Chicago is $30 more than the average cost of car insurance in Illinois.
- The cheapest car insurance provider in Chicago on average is USH&C, but you should always compare quotes to find your best personal rate.
Quotes by Top Companies
Cheapest Car Insurance in Chicago, IL
Insurance Provider in Chicago | Quotes |
---|---|
Progressive | $48 /mo |
Allstate | $84 /mo |
State Farm | $100 /mo |
Travelers | $133 /mo |
American Family | $196 /mo |
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Best Car Insurance in Chicago, IL
Best Companies | Score | Quotes |
---|---|---|
Clearcover | 97 | $141 /mo |
American Family | 89 | $185 /mo |
Nationwide | 89 | $235 /mo |
Safeco | 86 | $141 /mo |
Liberty Mutual | 82 | $193 /mo |
Average Car Insurance Cost
Illinois Cities | |
---|---|
Aurora | $120/mo |
Rockford | $111/mo |
Joliet | $159/mo |
Naperville | $124/mo |
Chicago | $139/mo |
Illinois | $131/mo |
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Illinois
All motor vehicles operated or parked on Illinois roadways are required to be insured. Proof of insurance must be carried in your car at all times and must be available when:
- Requested by law enforcement
- Renewing vehicle registration
- The vehicle is involved in a car accident
The minimum liability insurance requirements for private passenger vehicles in Illinois[1] are:
- $25,000 per person for bodily injury
- $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
- $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.
Chicago Car Insurance Rates by Driver Age
As indicated in the table below, a driver’s age influences car insurance rates in Chicago. Why? Statistics show that insurance companies take on more risk when they write policies for very young and very old drivers. Higher risk means higher monthly insurance premiums on average. Drivers in their 20s here pay a monthly average of $222 to insure their vehicle, while drivers just 10 years older pay substantially less. Chicago drivers in their 30s and 40s pay an average of $161 and $168, respectively, to remain on the road. Drivers in their 70s also experience higher rates due to age—paying an average of nearly $20 more per month than those in their 60s to keep their policy intact.
Driver's Age | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
teens | $405 |
20s | $223 |
30s | $162 |
40s | $169 |
50s | $169 |
60s | $153 |
70s | $172 |
80s | $214 |
Chicago Car Insurance Rates by Driving and Accident History
It pays to keep a clean driving record in Chicago. Why? Your driving record is one thing insurance companies look at to determine your rates. If your driving record is marred with accidents and other driving violations, you will pay more than someone whose clean record reflects responsible driving. If you run a stop sign in Chicago, you’ll pay on average $15 more a month for car insurance than someone with a clean driving record. That’s an extra $180 per year! If you are found at fault for an accident, you’ll pay even more. Chicago drivers with an at-fault accident on their record can expect to pay an average of $238 per month, whereas motorists with spotless driving records pay an average monthly premium of just $179.
Driving History | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
No Violation | $180 |
Speeding Ticket | $211 |
At-Fault Accident | $239 |
Failure to Stop for Red Light / Stop Sign | $195 |
Chicago Car Insurance Rates by Credit Tier
Drivers are getting pretty familiar with many of the factors that go into setting insurance rates. Your age, gender, and ZIP code are just a few. Not everyone is aware, however, that your credit score is also used by insurance companies as an indicator of risk. Higher risk means higher monthly premiums. Therefore, those with a strong credit history are more likely to get breaks on their insurance than those whose credit history is poor. In Chicago, drivers with a poor credit history pay an average of 42 percent more for their insurance than those with an excellent credit score.
Credit Tier | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
Excellent | $156 |
Good | $189 |
Average | $210 |
Poor | $221 |
Find local Chicago agents
Inner City Underwriting Agency
1631 S Michigan Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60616LR WINDSOR
205 W Randolph St. Suite 730,
Chicago, IL 60606The Horton Group
500 W Monroe St Ste 3300,
Chicago, IL 60661Oak Brook Insurance Agency dba KSA Insurance Agency
7158 W Grand Ave,
Chicago, IL 60707Insurance Support Systems, Inc.
6962 W North Ave,
Chicago, IL 60707John E. Horn & Associates, Inc.
6650 N Northwest Hwy Ste 105,
Chicago, IL 60631Joseph Cacciatore & Co Insurance Agency
527 S Wells St 6th Floor,
Chicago, IL 60607Abis Insurance Services Inc
7030 W Belmont Ave,
Chicago, IL 60634Westside Insurance Agency, LLC
5845 W Chicago Ave,
Chicago, IL 60651Farmerbrown.com
750 N Franklin St Ste 208,
Chicago, IL 60654
Chicago, IL DMV Information
What’s on your to-do list today? Driver’s services? Registration? License plate renewal? You can visit one of the many service facilities throughout the city to take care of your licensing and titling business. There are 22 locations within 30 miles of the city. Not ready to step outside? There’s a whole lot you can do from a computer these days. And, if you’re worried you might drop the ball when it comes to registering your vehicle, you can go online and enter your information into their new email renewal service. This service will allow you to get email notices on the upcoming vehicle expiration date of the vehicle. You can check here for online driver’s services and here for access to online titling and registration options. If you live in the Chicagoland or Metro East areas, emissions testing is required prior to renewing your vehicle.
Public Transportation in Chicago, IL
There are plenty of ways to get around Chicago, and the city’s grid system makes things a little easier for the directionally challenged. The Chicago Transit Authority is the nation’s second-largest public transportation system and operates Chicago’s eight ‘L’ train lines and 129 bus routes. Not everyone’s a fan of those systems, however, so you can also use the high-speed Metra commuter rail, taxis, ridesharing, and even water taxis to get around and down to the heart of the city. Cycling enthusiasts should also feel good about taking a spin around town on Divvy, Chicago’s bikeshare program, which amazingly offers over 580 stations and 5,800 bikes across the city. And for any of you thinking that biking through a busy city like Chicago is tempting fate just a little, there are over 200 miles of protected bike lanes here. Bike worry-free!
How to get the best and cheapest car insurance in Chicago, IL
It took a lot of risk to build this city. Can you imagine what kind of stomach it took for workers to put up the world’s first modern skyscraper—the Home Insurance Building—in 1885?
Luckily for construction workers, a lot has improved—and who would have ever thought back then of all the things we can do today? Your stomach shouldn’t be churning over rising insurance rates; there’s always something you can do about it. You can get a custom quote from hundreds of insurance carriers online right now in minutes with Insurify. Put down that pizza! You have work to do!
FAQs - Chicago, IL Car Insurance
When an insurance company agrees to do business with you, it charges you by balancing your coverage needs against the risk it is exposing itself to by taking you on as a client. More specifically, insurance companies look at your personal profile and driving record to determine the chances of you filing a claim. This is because whenever you file a claim, it costs them money. Risk can be a tricky thing to calculate, and every insurance company does it differently. But all in all, risk is determined by using studies and statistics to predict the possibility of you making a claim based on things like age, gender, where you live, how far you drive, what kind of vehicle you drive, and your credit. It’s not always easy to know how much insurance to carry because everyone has their own threshold when it comes to handling risk. There’s no such thing as having too much insurance, but the more insurance you have, the more it’s going to cost you every month. It’s important that you start out by carrying at least the minimum amount of insurance that your state requires. If you are using a comparison calculator to get insurance quotes, that kind of information is already built into their algorithm. Some insurance companies offer accident forgiveness or minor violation forgiveness. This basically allows you a do-over for your first accident in the eyes of the insurance company. Why is this such a big deal? Having an accident tells the insurance company that you are a more risky driver to insure—therefore, your rates go up. That’s just the way the system works. And it could take years of good driving for you to work those numbers down. That’s a lot of cash that could have gone elsewhere. Getting a second chance to start from scratch via accident forgiveness is really an incredible opportunity many people would not otherwise have.
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The car insurance quotes displayed are based on an analysis of Insurify’s database of over 40 million quotes from 500 ZIP codes nationwide. To obtain representative rates, Insurify’s data science team performs frequent comprehensive analyses of the factors car insurance providers weigh to calculate rates including driver demographics, driving record, credit score, desired coverage level, and more.
Insurify’s analysis also incorporates the Insurify Composite Score (ICS) assigned to each insurance provider. The ICS is a proprietary rating that weighs multiple factors reflecting the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company. Ratings used to calculate the ICS include Financial Strength Ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings; Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints; mobile app reviews; and user-generated company reviews.
With the above insights and ranking methods, Insurify is able to offer car insurance shoppers insight into how various insurance providers compare to one another in terms of both cost and quality. Note, actual quotes will vary based on unique attributes including the policyholder’s driver history and their garaging address.
Insurify Insights
How Chicago 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 Chicago, 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 Chicago drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across Illinois 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.
Honda Civic
Most Popular Car in Chicago
#26
City with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank in Illinois
#62
City with the Most Moving Violations Rank in Illinois
#17
City with the Most DUIs Rank in Illinois
#41
City with the Most Suspended Licenses 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. Chicago drivers rank 25 in the number of car accidents per driver across all cities in Illinois.
- Rank within state: #25
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with an accident: 7.22%
- Drivers in Chicago, IL with an accident in their driving history pay on average 26.29% more than drivers with a clean record
Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and leave a permanent stain on your driving record. When compared to other cities in Illinois, Chicago drivers rank 26 in the number of speeding infractions per driver.
- Rank within state: #26
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a speeding ticket: 7.82%
- Drivers in Chicago, IL with a speeding ticket in their driving history pay on average 19.43% more than drivers with a clean record
While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. Chicago drivers rank 17 in the number of DUI’s per driver across all cities in Illinois.
- Rank within state: #17
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a DUI: 1.2%
- Drivers in Chicago, IL with a DUI in their driving history pay on average 26.29% more than drivers with a clean record
Some car models are just more popular than others and trends can vary from place to place. The most popular vehicle in Chicago is the Honda Civic.
The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-runs. Among all cities in Illinois, Chicago drivers rank 7 in rude driving infractions.
- Rank within state: #7
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a reckless driving violation: 2.33%
- Drivers in Chicago, IL with a reckless driving violation in their driving history pay on average 23.43% more than drivers with a clean record.
Having a squeaky-clean driving record is an accomplishment to be proud of. Some cities have safer drivers than others; Chicago drivers rank 1 in clean driving records across all cities in Illinois.
- Rank within state: #1
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with clean record: 84.77%
Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. Chicago drivers rank 8 in failure to yield violations per driver across all cities in Illinois.
- Rank within state: #8
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a failure to yield violation: 0.22%
- Drivers in Chicago, IL with a failure to yield violation in their driving history pay on average 1900% more than drivers with a clean record
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. Among all cities in Illinois, Chicago drivers rank 4 in the number of reckless driving offenses per driver.
- Rank within state: #4
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a reckless driving offense: 0.03%
As auto manufacturers increasingly turn towards producing greener car models, more and more motorists are embracing hybrids and EV’s. Chicago drivers rank 7 in hybrid and electric vehicle ownership across all cities in Illinois.
- Rank within state: #7
- Percent of drivers in Chicago with a hybrid/electric vehicle: 1.7%
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.
Sources
- Illinois Department of Transportation. "State Minimum Car Insurance." Accessed May 28, 2022