
Find Your Perfect Policy: 866-843-5386
Find out which car insurance companies in Illinois best suit your needs.
Allstate is one of the largest providers in the industry, and it’s known for its wide range of coverage policies, first-rate customer service, affordable prices, and various other insurance products.
Direct Auto has protected drivers for more than three decades with its car insurance policies. The company aims to cover all drivers, regardless of their driving history.
If you drive in Illinois, you’ll be happy to know that you pay less on average for your car insurance than drivers in other states. But how can you find the very best policies and rates? With so many options available, sorting through different auto insurance providers may be difficult. On this page, we take a closer look at Illinois’ top auto insurance companies and what makes them stand out.
Best Auto Insurance in Illinois Overall: Allstate
Best Auto Insurance for High-Risk Drivers in Illinois: Direct Auto
Best Cheap Auto Insurance in Illinois: USAA
Best Auto Insurance Bundles in Illinois: State Farm
Provider | Best category | J.D. Power rating (out of 1,000) | Discounts | Review |
---|---|---|---|---|
Allstate | Overall | 826 | Multiple policies, new car, early signing, responsible payer, good student | Allstate review |
Direct Auto | High-risk drivers | 803 | Multi-car, military, senior citizen, good student, safe driver, driver education, vehicle equipment, homeowner, affinity | Direct Auto review |
USAA | Cheap | 884 | Safe driving, bundling, low mileage, vehicle storage, auto-pay, multi-vehicle, new car, family, vehicle equipment | USAA review |
State Farm | Bundles | 847 | Bundling, muli-car, Drive Safe & Save, safe vehicle, good student, accident-free, defensive driving course, anti-theft, passive restraint | State Farm review |
According to a report from the Illinois Department of Insurance, Allstate was among the top 10 writers of private passenger auto liability insurance in the state, with a market share of 7 percent as of 2021. That market share is even higher in Chicago: 13 percent.1 Learn about what Illinois drivers value most about Allstate below.
Trusted third-party organizations rank Allstate among the top auto insurance providers consistently. Specifically, customers praise the company for its financial strength, as demonstrated by its A+ rating by AM Best – a superior rating compared to competing companies.2 Allstate’s customer satisfaction ratings are also high. For example, the company’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of an A+ (the highest rating possible) indicates its commitment to customer service and high response rate to complaints.3
Allstate’s mobile app allows customers to manage their policies anytime, anywhere, through their mobile devices. Below are more details about Allstate Mobile:
Allstate app functions | iOS rating (out of 5) | Android rating (out of 5) |
---|---|---|
|
4.8 | 3.9 |
If you drive for a rideshare company like Lyft or Uber, it’s important to be familiar with the limitations of your personal auto policy. Personal insurance policies do not cover commercial driving, and your rideshare company’s insurance coverage covers you only when you have passengers in the car.
This means that if you get into an accident while you’re waiting for a ride request or driving to pick up a customer, neither your rideshare company’s coverage nor your personal coverage will cover the costs. Luckily, Allstate offers rideshare insurance through its Ride for Hire coverage, which you can add to your policy as optional coverage. Allstate’s Ride for Hire provides deductible gap coverage to pay for damage to your vehicle up to $2,500.
Direct Auto has over 30 years of experience protecting drivers with its wide range of coverage options. The company aims to provide low car insurance rates and strong coverage to all drivers, regardless of their driving history. With its specialization in nonstandard auto insurance, Direct Auto is great for those who need SR-22 certifications or who are considered to be high-risk drivers.
There are many ways to save with Direct Auto:
Discount | Eligible customers | Maximum savings |
---|---|---|
Affinity | Active members of organizations that partner with Direct Auto | 5% |
Driver education | Drivers who complete qualifying accident prevention courses | 10% |
Good student | Unmarried, full-time students that are on the honor roll or rank in the upper 20% of their class | 10% |
Homeowner | People who own homes, townhomes, or condos and keep their cars there | 15% |
Military | Active servicemembers who provide copies of their current orders | 25% |
Multi-car | Customers with more than one vehicle on their policy | 25% |
Multi-policy | People that bundle their car insurance with other policies, like motorcycle or commercial auto insurance | 10% |
Payment | Customers who set up automatic payments, pay their policies in full or go paperless | 9% |
Safe driver | Policyholders that have been accident- and violation-free for the past 36 months | 10% |
Senior citizen | Customers 55 years old or older who have successfully completed motor vehicle accident prevention courses | 10% |
Welcome back | People who have previously purchased policies with Direct Auto | 6% |
Vehicle equipment | Those with vehicles equipped with an anti-theft system or other safety features | 10% |
Direct Auto supports both in-person and online customer service options, so you’ll have no problem getting in touch with a representative for anything you need. If you live in Chicago, you can visit one of the four different Direct Auto locations in the city. Otherwise, all Illinois residents can reach customer service in the following ways:
With Direct Auto, you can customize your payment plan to fit how and when you wish to pay for your policy. Here are the different ways you can choose to pay for your insurance:
USAA provides some of the most affordable insurance policies for its customer base, which includes active-duty military members, veterans, and their families. Customers have saved an average of $725 annually with USAA, thanks to its expansive list of discounts.
USAA offers some of the cheapest rates we’ve seen. For instance, the average annual cost for a USAA policy issued in Illinois was $1,668 as of 2020, and nationally, USAA customers saved an average of $725 per year by switching companies.4 As the largest insurer of military members, USAA policyholders can achieve such low rates through the following ways:
Discount | Amount | Eligibility |
---|---|---|
Bundling | 10% | Those who bundle auto with property insurance policies |
Vehicle storage | 60% | Policyholders who store their cars due to deployment or any other reason |
Legacy | 10% | People whose parents held USAA insurance policies |
SafePilot program | 10% for participation
Up to 30% for safe driving |
Drivers who track their habits behind the wheel (phone handling, braking, speed, mileage, etc.) and demonstrate safe driving through the SafePilot safe driving telematics-based program |
USAA has maintained above-average customer satisfaction ratings from third-party organizations such as J.D. Power and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). USAA’s superior ratings indicate its level of trustworthiness, reliability, and history of responding to complaints in a timely manner.
Organization | Rating |
---|---|
BBB (A through F) | A+ |
J.D. Power (out of 1,000) | 884 |
As of March 2023, Illinois residents are eligible for USAA’s usage-based insurance (UBI) through its company Noblr. If you have low annual mileage and drive safely, you could save a significant amount on your premium with Noblr’s telematic-based mobile app. Rated 3.8 out of 5 stars on both Google Play and the App Store, the Noblr app measures the following behaviors to calculate your potential savings:
Not only does State Farm offer some of the most affordable insurance rates in the industry, but it also provides a comprehensive range of insurance products to meet the diverse needs of its customers. Specifically, State Farm is renowned for its bundling options, which enable customers to combine their auto insurance with other insurance products, such as home and life insurance, to access savings.
As one of the largest auto insurance providers in the industry, State Farm offers multiple kinds of insurance policies beyond auto. If you own a home or other property, you could save up to 24 percent by buying more than one policy from State Farm. Here is a list of the insurance policies you can choose from:
Bundle | Average annual savings |
---|---|
Auto and home | $1,127 |
Auto and condo | Varies |
Auto and renters | $722 |
Auto and life | Varies |
State Farm offers extra savings for drivers that participate in its safe driving program, Steer Clear.
Eligibility | Program requirements | Maximum discount | iOS rating (out of 5 stars) | Android rating (out of 5 stars) |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
15% | 4.7 | 4.4 |
State Farm distinguishes itself by providing coverage for vintage and classic cars, which not all auto insurers offer. If you drive a classic car (10 to 24 years old ) or an antique car (25 years old or older), your State Farm agent can help you determine an agreed value for your vehicle and then use this value, along with your preferred deductible amount, to calculate your monthly premium.
Classic car coverage is different from regular car insurance in a few ways. Firstly, repairing classic cars requires skilled labor along with specific and often hard-to-find or special-order parts. Additionally, it is more difficult to determine the value of classic cars compared to regular cars, as classic cars’ values appreciate over time rather than depreciate.
Our process for selecting the top auto insurance providers is based on a three-pronged approach:
Car insurance in Illinois is cheaper compared to other states. As of 2020, the average cost for car insurance in Illinois was $915 per year, 14 percent less than the national average of $1,047 per year, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The average rate for full coverage car insurance for a 16-year-old in Illinois is $6,131 per year, or $2,585 per year for minimum coverage. These rates are slightly lower than the average annual rates for 16-year-olds across the country, at $6,613 for full coverage insurance and $2,733 for minimum requirements coverage.
Compare rates from multiple providers, like Country Financial and State Farm, to see what you will pay.
Illinois car insurance requirements are as follows:
According to the Illinois Secretary of State, operating an uninsured vehicle can result in a traffic citation and a minimum fine of $500 if convicted. Your license plate will be suspended until you’ve proved to the state that you’ve purchased the minimum coverage. Then, you’ll have to pay a $100 reinstatement fee before you can drive again. For repeat offenders, the suspension will last four months.
2022 Cost Containment Annual Report to the General Assembly. Illinois Department of Insurance. (2022, Jul 1).
https://idoi.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/insurance/sites/insurance/companies/documents/cc-annualrpt22.pdf
AM Best Ratings. AM Best. (2023).
https://ratings.ambest.com/CompanyProfile.aspx
Allstate Insurance Business Profile. Better Business Bureau. (2023).
https://www.bbb.org/us/il/northbrook/profile/insurance-companies/allstate-insurance-0654-12014144
Illinois Car Insurance. USAA. (2023).
https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/illinois-car-insurance?akredirect=true