Arlington Heights Car Insurance
All individuals who reside in Arlington Heights, Illinois and license a vehicle in the state are required to purchase a minimum amount of car insurance to satisfy state laws.
Because mandatory auto insurance laws vary from state to state, it is important to research requirements and optional coverage types when you are newly licensed or new to Arlington Heights.
Read this guide to Arlington Heights car insurance for all of the information that you need on coverage requirements, penalties for driving without insurance, coverage options, and how to keep your premiums as low as possible without putting yourself at-risk.
Be sure to use our FREE comparison search tool below to get started!
Coverage Requirements in Arlington Heights
Auto insurance is a state requirement in Illinois, and all vehicle owners who have a vehicle that is licensed in the state must purchase insurance and maintain their insurance throughout the period that it is registered.
Insurance may seem like an expensive requirement, but it is a contract that can save you from extreme financial loss and to protect innocent victims when they suffer financial loss due to the negligent acts of another. This is why state officials in Illinois require Arlington Heights residents to carry the following coverage at a minimum:
Liability Coverage
Liability coverage consists of both Bodily Injury and Property Damage. This coverage will pay another party for their repairs and medical bills when you are deemed at-fault for an accident.
Your insurer will only pay up to the limits that you carry on your policy. If the injuries or the property damage exceeds your limits, the party does have the right to file a civil lawsuit to collect the remainder owed. All drivers in Arlington Heights must carry no less than:
- Bodily Injury: $20,000 per person, up to $40,000 per accident
- Property Damage: $15,000 per accident
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury
Just because all drivers in the state of Illinois are obligated to carry insurance does not mean that some do not disobey the law. In fact, Illinois has a very high percentage of uninsured drivers.
Ranked number 20 in the nation, about 13.3 percent of drivers throughout the entire state choose to drive their car without any type of liability coverage. Because the percentage rate is so high, state officials have made Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury a required coverage.
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury will pay for your medical bills and the medical bills of your passengers when you are hit by someone without liability insurance. It will also kick in to pay for your bills if the party who is negligent does not have enough coverage to cover your rehabilitation. All drivers must carry no less than:
* Uninsured Motorist: $20,000 per person, up to $40,000 per accident
What are the penalties for driving without Arlington Heights car insurance?
If someone chooses to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that is not insured, they are choosing to break legislative code 625 ICLS 5. Failure to comply with the vehicle code is a misdemeanor crime that is punishable by several different penalties.
The severity of the penalty that is ordered will depend on how many times you have been caught uninsured, whether or not you are licensed, and if you were involved in an accident. Here are some of the many penalties that you can face when driving uninsured for any period of time:
Suspension of License Plates
If the Department of Motor Vehicles is notified that you do not have mandatory coverage, your license plates will be suspended until you purchase insurance and pay a $100 reinstatement fee. The Department can receive electronic notification that your policy has cancelled, so you do not have to be caught violating a law to be convicted of driving without insurance.
Issuance of a Moving Violation
If you are pulled over by law enforcement, you will be asked to provide evidence of insurance. If you cannot provide a valid ID card, you will be issued a citation for the officer. You are required to appear in court before a judge to plead guilty or not guilty.
If you are convicted, not only will your license plates be suspended, you will also be ordered to pay a fine of $500 for your first offense. If your vehicle's license plates were suspended at the time, you must pay a $1000 fine.
Jail Time
Driving uninsured is a serious offense and more judges are buckling down. While it is not common to be sentenced to jail time the first time you are caught driving without insurance, if you are a habitual offender, you may spend time in jail.
In fact, the law states that driving without coverage is punishable by up to 6 months in jail. Jail time is more commonly enforced when the driver causes a serious accident.
Other Types of Coverage You Can Purchase
In addition to buying higher coverage limits, you have the option to purchase optional forms of cover from Arlington Heights auto insurers for your own protection.
It is in your best interest to understand how each coverage type works before rejecting it or selecting extremely low limits. Here are the most common optional coverage types:
Medical Payments
If you are in an at-fault accident, the only way to cover you medical bills is to carry medical payments cover (MP). Medical payments will cover your medical bills, up to the limits, regardless of who is at fault. This makes it easier for you to seek treatment when you are uninsured or when you have a high copay and deductible through your health insurer.
This is why many people who have medical insurer will still carry at least $5000 in medical payments coverage in Arlington Heights.
Physical Damage
If you do not own your vehicle, you are required by your lender or lessor to carry what is called full coverage. Full coverage consists of comprehensive and collision cover, which pays to repair the vehicle you are covering. Comprehensive covers losses as a result of fire, theft, vandalism, glass breakage, and collision with an animal. Collision will cover damage as a result of a moving peril like an accident or rollover.
When you purchase either of these coverages, you will not select a limit but instead a deductible. A deductible is the amount of the damage you are obligated to pay before the company will pay a claim. The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums.
While it is important to keep premiums low, do not select a deductible that you will not be able to afford if you file a claim.
Rental Car Reimbursement
What will happen if your vehicle is in the shop being repaired after an accident? You must either rent a vehicle or use another vehicle that you own. If you have rental reimbursement on your policy, you can go to a participating Arlington Heights rental car agency and the insurer will pay up to a daily limit for a rental car.
This can save you a pretty penny if you are at-fault for the loss. If you are not at fault, the other party's insurance will provide you with reimbursement, but this can take time. If you do not have time for fault to be determined, carrying this optional cover is wise.
How to Keep Your Arlington Heights Rates Down
In the state of Illinois, the average expenditure for auto insurance is $733.45 per year. While this is the average in the state, some individuals pay significantly lower rates when they pose a very low risk to the insurer.
If you want to keep your premiums low, there are ways to take advantage of discounts that virtually all Illinois insurers offer. Here are some of the ways that you can lower premiums without lowering the coverage limits you carry:
- Multiple Car Discount
- Multiple Policy Discount
- Discounts for safety features
- Alarm (passive and active) discounts
- Discounts for Driver Safety Training
- Good Student Discount
- Mature Driver Training Discount
- Low Mileage Discount
- Accident-free Discount
- Loyalty Discount for staying with your insurer several years
- Prior Insurance Discount
- Claims-free discount when providing Letter of Experience showing no claims
- Marital status discounts
- Lower rating for pleasure usage
Perhaps the most effective way to save money on your Arlington Heights car insurance is to comparison shop by requesting quotes through several different Illinois car insurance companies.
Every company has their own unique set of rates and these rates cater to people in different age groups and risk classes. If you take the time to comparison shop by creating a list of auto insurers in the state licensed to do business, you will have peace of mind in knowing you found the best rates possible.
Make the mission to find insurance a shorter one, and use an advanced comparison tool that vies you access to the rates of all of the top-rated Arlington Heights insurers.
Use the FREE tool below to start your comparison search today!