What Is the Punishment for a Person in Illinois for Not Having Insurance?
In an effort to protect consumers, Illinois law requires anyone operating a motor vehicle to have insurance and provide proof of insurance if requested by law enforcement officials. When auto insurance is issued or renewed, the insuring company will issue an insurance card that is required whenever a driver is operating a vehicle. Vehicles affected by Illinois' mandatory insurance law are: cars, vans, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. You do not need liability insurance for trailers.
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Function
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Insurance serves to protect you from the costs of an auto accident. Damage to autos, medical bills and legal bills are all associated with auto accidents. Costs can easily rise to tens of thousands of dollars for those at fault. Liability insurance helps mitigate the driver's losses through shared responsibility for liability. This means the consumer pays into a pool with other drivers. If an accident occurs, the pool pays for the losses.
Types of Insurance
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There are three different types of auto insurance, including liability insurance, which was just described. Uninsured motorist insurance is often offered with liability insurance for a few dollars extra each month. Should an uninsured motorist driving illegally be at fault for an accident involving an insured motorist, the uninsured coverage helps mitigate the losses from the illegal driver. Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your own vehicle in an accident that is your own fault. Both comprehensive and uninsured motorist insurance are not required in Illinois, but are a good way to avoid financial hardship should you find yourself in an accident.
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Enforcement
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There are two ways of being caught without insurance. The first is a random computer check. If a driver is found to have no insurance, then his license plates are immediately suspended. If a driver is pulled over in a traffic stop or is in an accident, then law enforcement officials will issue a citation if a driver has no insurance. The minimum fine is $500 for the first offense. If the driver has been cited before, the minimum fine is doubled to $1,000.
Suspension and Reinstatement
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In addition to paying at least the minimum fines, if the license plate is suspended the driver must get them reinstated at a cost of an additional $100. The reinstatement fee and proof of insurance must be presented in order to get the plate reinstated. The driver can operate other insured vehicles, however. Repeat offenders have their licenses suspended for 4 months in addition to paying the reinstatement fee and providing proof of insurance.
Complying with the Law
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To be in compliance with Illinois' mandatory auto insurance law, auto insurance must meet the minimum standards. These include $20,000 minimum in liability insurance and $40,000 of injury or death liability insurance; damage to other property must be covered to at least $15,000.
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- Photo Credit state seal of illinois image by Jan Ebling from Fotolia.com
