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Last updated: May 1, 2023
The Average Cost of Car Insurance in Illinois
These are the average rates you can expect to pay in Illinois by age, provider, marital status, and more.
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If you live in or are moving to the Land of Lincoln, you’ll need car insurance to drive legally. Luckily for you, Illinois has some of the cheapest average rates in the country. Several factors, like the state’s low DUI rate and better-than-average credit score, contribute to Illinois’s affordable car insurance costs.
Below we’ll break down how much you can expect to pay in Illinois based on the most relevant insurance rate determinants.
Average Cost of Auto Insurance in Illinois
The statewide average premium for car insurance in Illinois is $914 a year (or $76 a month). That’s about 14 percent cheaper than the national average of $1,047.1 If currently you pay significantly more than that, it might be because of your driving history, car insurance provider, age, or coverage level, among other factors.
Here’s a detailed look at how your personal background and driving history might contribute to your costs in Illinois.
By Age
Young drivers between 16 and 25 years old tend to pay the highest car insurance rates because they tend to get into accidents most often. Seniors can also expect to pay higher-than-average rates for similar reasons, which is why there’s an uptick in premiums for Americans over 70. Here’s the full breakdown by age:
| Age | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| 16 | $4,372 |
| 17 | $3,903 |
| 18 | $3,530 |
| 19 | $3,000 |
| 20s | $2,232 |
| 30s | $1,425 |
| 40s | $1,338 |
| 50s | $1,243 |
| 60s | $878 |
| 70s | $1,512 |
By Gender
On average, men pay more than women because men tend to get into more accidents and receive more DUIs and traffic violations. If you’re a woman in Illinois, you can expect to pay about $20 less than men on average.
| Gender | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| Male | $1,460 |
| Female | $1,439 |
LEARN MORE:
Want a closer look into how gender plays a role in car insurance rates? Check out our guide on why men pay more for car insurance.
By Marital Status
Did you know married couples save more on their car insurance? Married couples tend to be more financially stable and risk-averse, which tends to result in more on-time payments, fewer claims, and better rates.
| Marital status | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| Single | $1,565 |
| Married | $1,397 |
| Divorced | $1,114 |
| Widowed | $1,109 |
By Coverage Level
Another reason average rates are so low in Illinois has to do with the state’s low minimum requirements, which we’ll take a closer look at in a later section. Here’s what your rates might look like if you increase your limits or add comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist coverage.
FYI:
Illinois is 25th in the country for uninsured/underinsured drivers, with 12 percent of its drivers falling into that category. Although Illinois doesn’t have the highest rates of uninsured drivers, we recommend tacking on uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage and property damage coverage to protect you from drivers who can’t afford to cover a portion or all of your damages/injuries.2
| Coverage level | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| Minimum (liability coverage: bodily injury liability and property damage liability) | $501 |
| Comprehensive | $147 |
| Collision | $348 |
| Uninsured/underinsured | $41 |
| Full coverage car insurance (liability plus comprehensive and collision) | $996 |
By Credit Score
In most of the U.S., insurance providers can look at your credit history to generate your premiums. Unfortunately, Illinois is one of those states, and car insurance providers are allowed to use credit scores to adjust insurance rates. Expect to pay more for car insurance if you have a poor credit score. Here’s a detailed breakdown.
| Credit score | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| Poor (Under 500) | $2,389 |
| Average (500-675) | $1,668 |
| Good (676-799) | $1,163 |
| Excellent (800-850) | $1,171 |
By Violation
As you may have guessed, the more traffic violations you have on your record, and the more severe those traffic violations are, the higher your insurance rates will be.
| Driving history | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| Clean driving record | $1,470 |
| Speeding ticket | $1,671 |
| Accident | $2,014 |
| DUI | $2,634 |
DID YOU KNOW?
The average DUI offender in Illinois is male (at 75 percent of all DUIs) and under the age of 34 (at 52 percent of all DUIs).3
By Company
Premium rates depend on a provider’s specialization within the industry and your specific background. In Illinois, here’s what those averages will look like among some of the largest car insurance companies.
| Company | Average annual cost of car insurance in Illinois |
|---|---|
| American Family | $1,032 |
| Allstate | $1,221 |
| GEICO | $921 |
| Mercury | $991 |
| Progressive | $1,125 |
| State Farm | $975 |
| Travelers | $1,129 |
| USAA | $883 |
Cheap Car Insurance in Illinois
Here are the cheapest car insurance companies based on background and demographic.
| Category | Most affordable company (on average) | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| Male | GEICO | $912 |
| Female | GEICO | $889 |
| One speeding ticket on record | State Farm | $984 |
| Accident on record | State Farm | $1,057 |
| Married | State Farm | $993 |
| Single | State Farm | $1,011 |
| Military/veteran | USAA | $720 |
| Full coverage | State Farm | $928 |
| Minimum coverage | State Farm | $360 |
| Poor credit | Country Financial | $1,945 |
| 16 years old | Country Financial | $3,321 |
| 17 years old | Country Financial | $2,661 |
| 18 years old | Country Financial | $2,950 |
| 19 years old | Erie | $2,532 |
| 20-29 years old | QBE | $2,368 |
| 30-39 years old | Hastings Mutual | $962 |
| 40-49 years old | Hastings Mutual | $834 |
| 50-59 years old | Hastings Mutual | $805 |
| 60-69 years old | Hastings Mutual | $828 |
| 70-79 years old | State Farm | $1,032 |
How to Save on Car Insurance in Illinois
State-specific discounts differ from provider to provider in Illinois, which means you should talk to your agent directly to learn about your saving opportunities. However, you can follow several auto insurance tips to help you save on car insurance.
- Compare quotes before you decide on a provider.
- Take advantage of pay-per-mile plans if you don’t drive very much.
- Increase your deductibles.
- Drive a vehicle that isn’t expensive to insure. Small SUVs, standard SUVs, and pick-up trucks are some of the cheapest cars to insure.
- Maintain a good credit score.
- Drive safely.
Minimum Car Insurance in Illinois
To drive legally in Illinois, you need a minimum of $25,000 of bodily injury per person, $50,000 of bodily injury per accident, and $20,000 of property damage coverage. Although you are allowed to drive with those minimums in place, we recommend increasing your limits as much as you can afford.
Illinois Fault Law
Illinois is an at-fault state, which means the driver responsible for an accident must pay for the other party’s injuries and property damages. Illinois functions under a modified comparative negligence system.4
The comparative negligence law in Illinois states that if a driver is at least 51 percent at fault in an accident, they cannot claim any compensation from the other party. If a driver is less than 51 percent at fault, they can collect compensation from the other party, minus the damage they incurred. So if someone gets into an accident and is 40 percent at fault, they can claim 60 percent of what they spent on damages from the other party.
SR-22s
If you have a history of driving violations or an otherwise poor driving record, you might need an SR-22 to drive. An SR-22 is a certificate of financial responsibility that proves you have the minimum insurance requirements to drive in Illinois.
According to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, you will need an SR-22 if you have one of the following on your driving record:
- Safety responsibility suspension
- Unsatisfied judgment suspension
- Revocation
- Mandatory insurance supervision
- Three or more convictions for mandatory insurance violations, i.e., driving without insurance
Recap
On average, you will pay less for insurance in Illinois if you’re a safe driver, drive less than average, and take advantage of available discounts. To find the best deals and providers in Illinois, we recommend you compare quotes, talk to agents about your specific needs, and check out more of our guides that highlight the best car insurance companies in the country.
Methodology
If you’re a driver in Illinois, it’s important to know how much you can expect to pay based on the various factors that influence car insurance costs (such as age, gender, location, and marital status).
AutoInsurance.com has spent 20 years connecting drivers to top insurance providers, which has provided us with millions of proprietary data points regarding what makes specific insurance providers more successful than others. We rely on that data to provide insights on which providers in Illinois offer the best rates relative to your specific background, demographic, and life circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did car insurance become a requirement in Illinois?
Illinois’s mandatory car insurance ruling was signed into law in 1989 and went into effect on January 1, 1990.
Does Illinois have high auto insurance rates?
No, compared to the national average ($1,047), car insurance in Illinois is considered low on average. According to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, you can expect to pay 14 percent less than the national average, or about $914 a year.
What happens if you drive without insurance in Illinois?
According to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, if you drive without insurance in Illinois, you can lose your vehicle’s registration. To reinstate your registration, you must show proof of insurance with the state’s Electronic Insurance Verification and pay a $100 fine.
If you are stopped on the road without insurance and are convicted, your license will be suspended, and you’ll have to pay the following fines:
- Minimum fine of $500 for driving uninsured
- Minimum fine of $1,000 for driving with suspended license plates for a previous insurance violation
Who has the cheapest car insurance for a 25-year-old female in Illinois?
GEICO offers the cheapest rates for a 25-year-old female in Illinois. 25-year-old women in Illinois can expect rates between $800 and $850 per year, assuming they have high credit scores, good driving backgrounds, and so on. However, car insurance rates depend on many factors, so different drivers can end up paying a wide range of prices for the same coverage.
Citations
2019/2020 Auto Insurance. National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (2023, Jan).
https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/publication-aut-pb-auto-insurance-database.pdfOne in Eight Drivers Uninsured: $13 Billion Spent in 2016 to Protect Against Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers. Insurance Research Council. (2021, Mar 22).
https://www.insurance-research.org/sites/default/files/downloads/UM%20NR%20032221.pdfIllinois DUI Fact Book. Alexi Giannoulias Secretary of State. (2023).
https://www.ilsos.gov/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a118.pdfComparative Negligence. Illinois Department of Insurance. (2023).
https://idoi.illinois.gov/consumers/consumerinsurance/comparative-negligence.html
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