Illinois Car Insurance

Here is all you need to know about Illinois car insurance. Reading this will help you find a car insurance policy at the lowest rates available to you in the state of Illinois.

In 2016, the state of Illinois had an estimated population of 12,801,539. This means Illinois is currently the 6^th most populous state in the nation, although it only ranks 24^th in land area. Roughly one sixth of the entire state population lives in Chicago. About 13.6 percent of the population of the state of Illinois live at or below the poverty level. The state unemployment rate as of 2017 was 5.4 percent, a comfortable margin above the national average of 4.7 percent. The rate of uninsured vehicles on the roads in Illinois is about 15 percent. The resident median age in Illinois is about 36 years.

Many Illinois drivers research auto insurance rates by finding some sort of statewide average annual premium for car insurance. However, statewide averages on auto insurance premiums are not too practical for most drivers in the United States. The problem is that statewide averages tend to be based on the demographic info of an “average” driver. Insurance data websites obtain a lot of quotes, using the same demographic info from state to state, and from zip code to zip code. So a “statewide average” might be based on a hypothetical 30-year-old married male with a clean driving record, a full time job, and a 2014 Nissan Altima with 4 doors and dual airbags that he drives about 20,000 miles a year, for example. Unless you precisely fit the description of the hypothetical driver that was used in the study, statewide averages will not provide you with much useful information.

On the other hand, try searching for cheap Illinois car insurance by doing zip code comparisons within the state of Illinois. This should provide a more detailed assessment of premium rates.

FYI, the “average” annual premium on auto insurance in the state of Illinois was around $1,035 in 2016, according to data on insure.com. This figure is quite a bit lower than the national average quote for car insurance, which was about $1,325 at that time.

Many factors can affect Illinois car insurance rates. For starters, each auto insurance company has its own way of calculating policy rates, based on the zip code where the vehicle is primarily parked, the driving record of the car owner, Illinois state laws, and other considerations.

Premium rates are also affected by population density, weather conditions, and crime rates (particularly car theft, DUI, and speeding), and also the percentage of uninsured drivers on the road. These are just a few of the data sets underwriters use when calculating auto insurance premium rates. Even within the same zip code, premium rates will vary, often by more than a thousand dollars a year, based on a driver’s demographic and personal info.

This page features a detailed overview of Illinois car insurance, with analyses of both the cheapest and the priciest zip codes to buy auto insurance in Illinois. You’ll also find a list of the most popular car insurance carriers to Illinois drivers, the largest car insurance carriers in Illinois, the types of auto insurance Illinois car owners need, some interesting Illinois traffic laws, and other facts pertaining to Illinois car insurance.

Best Car Insurance Companies in Illinois

Recently, a nationwide survey concluded that the top ten car insurance companies in the United States are Allstate, State Farm, Geico, Progressive, Nationwide, AAA, Liberty Mutual, 21^st Century, GMAC, and AIG, in that order. In this case, insurance companies were measured by revenue, or dollar amount of written premiums.

In 2016, a group of researchers studied a sample of drivers with auto insurance policies in the state of Illinois. The researchers requested that these drivers rank Illinois car insurance companies based on general customer experience, including premium rates and payouts.

The resulting data shows that the favorite providers of car insurance in Illinois are Allstate Insurance, MetLife Insurance, Republic Lloyds, Metriplan, Amica Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Unitrin, Nationwide, Geico, and Safeco, in that order. This ranking is quite a bit different from the top ten Illinois ranking based on market share, which looks like this:

What Types Of Car Insurance Do Illinois Drivers Need?

For the same types of car insurance and coverage amounts, drivers in Chicago pay about double the car insurance premium rates as drivers in the rest of Illinois. The state of Illinois is like two states in many respects, including car insurance. There’s a vast difference between Chicago and the rest of Illinois.

The state-mandated minimum coverage requirement throughout the state of Illinois is $20,000 in personal injury protection, $40,000 in bodily injury liability, $15,000 in property damage liability, and $20,000 in uninsured (or underinsured) motorist protection (UMI).

Still, insurance experts recommend that all U.S. drivers buy more than the minimum car insurance required by state law. Analysts suggest coverage amounts of $100,000 for personal injury protection, $300,000 in liability for injury to others, and at least $50,000 coverage against property damage.

Unusual Illinois Car Insurance Laws

• The state of Illinois has no age restriction on owning a car. However, most insurance policies have to be signed by a legal guardian.
• Illinois is one of 31 states that allow drivers to show proof of insurance on their smartphones if they get stopped by traffic cops.
• In Illinois, a DUI conviction stays on your driving record for the rest of your entire life.
• In Galesburg, there’s a law against riding “fancy” bikes.
• In Evanston, it is illegal to change your clothes in your car.

Best And Worst Zip Codes For Illinois Car Insurance

Here is an analysis of some of the most expensive zip codes in Illinois to buy car insurance, where annual premium rates can easily exceed $3,000. They can also be as low as $1,100. This list outlines the four zip codes where Illinois car insurance premium rates are the most expensive. It comes as no surprise that all of the priciest Illinois zip codes are in Chicago.

The unemployment rate in this urban zip code is skyrocketing through the roof at more than six times the state average of 5.4 percent. The poverty rate is nearly three times the state average, with a heavy population density as well. It seems fairly obvious why this zip code is such an expensive place to purchase Illinois car insurance.

The median resident age here is 28.8 years, younger than the state average by nearly a decade. Unemployment is almost four times higher than the state average, and the shocking poverty rate is out of the ballpark in this neighborhood. This zip code may be afflicted with a high rate of uninsured drivers. Add to that a high population density, and the result is extra high premium rates.

Again, the population density is rather high here. This zip code also features another gasp-inducing poverty statistic, along with an unemployment rate of nearly seven times the state average. It’s only natural that drivers in this neighborhood have to pay more for Illinois car insurance.

In one last, sad look at Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, the population density here is crushing. Also, unemployment is well over three times higher than the state average, and the poverty rate is also high, to say the least. The average poverty rate for the whole state of Illinois is only 13.6 percent.

In the least expensive zip codes for Illinois car insurance, annual premium rates can range anywhere from $550 to about $1,440. Here is a list with brief descriptions of four of the cheapest zip codes to buy Illinois car insurance.

Normal is home to 3 colleges, including the main campus of Illinois State University.

Although the median resident age here is only 23.8 years, Normal is actually the 10^th cheapest zip code in the whole United States to buy car insurance. According to a study from insure.com, the 10 zip codes in America with the cheapest premiums on auto insurance are 44836 (Green Springs, Ohio), 28704 (Arden, North Carolina), 04072 (Saco, Maine), 24073 (Christiansburg, Virginia), 83706 (Boise, Idaho), 86403 (Lake Havasu City, Arizona), 47907 (West Lafayette, Indiana), 54302 (Allouez, Wisconsin), 03303 (Concord, New Hampshire), and 61761 (Normal, Illinois), in that order.

Normal’s low rates on car insurance must be due to lower than average unemployment and a comfortably “average” population density. The reason unemployment looks so low in Normal is because unemployment stats are measured from the age of 25. Most college students are younger than age 25.

The city of Galesburg, Illinois is located about 45 miles northwest of Peoria, and is home to more than 35,000 residents. The population density of this Knox County neighborhood is neither high nor low. The unemployment and poverty rates somewhat above the state average, but that doesn’t seem to be hurting the annual premium rates.

Quincy is a charming little city of about 33,000 people. This mainly urban, partly rural zip code is located in Adams County, along the Mississippi River. Quincy is known for its stunning architecture, and is also home to Quincy University. Population density, unemployment, and the poverty rate are all higher than average, but car insurance premium rates still remain somewhat under control.

Champaign is a city situated in Champaign county, about 135 miles south of Chicago. Although Champaign is considered an urban zip code, the only city in Illinois with more than 100,000 people in.

It is Chicago, which has well over 12 million. The city of Champaign has a population of just over 86,000. The unemployment and poverty rates in Champaign are obediently below the state average. Population density is slightly high, but not high enough to drive up the rates of Illinois car insurance in this zip code.

In Illinois, there are 1,572 zip codes in 1,283 cities throughout 102 counties, from Abingdon to Zion and all towns in between. Annual car insurance premium rates can span a range of $2,500 or more between the cheapest zip code and the most expensive zip code in the state of Illinois.

This information should be enough to provide a basic idea of the approximate cost of auto insurance in Illinois. To learn more about your own personal Illinois premium rates, try comparing a few online quotes.

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