SPRINGFIELD, IL (June 15, 2021) – Starting July 1st, the State of Illinois will electronically verify drivers have mandatory Illinois auto vehicle insurance twice a year.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that Illinois car insurance companies will now be working together with the Secretary of State’s Office to confirm electronically that motorists have auto insurance. This verification program will begin enforcement on July 1.
The message being delivered to Illinois drivers is: if you don’t have auto insurance coverage, get covered now. It is state law. This program is expected to reduce the number of Illinois uninsured motorists on the roads. The state says most drivers will not have to do anything in the process, and that it will be conducted automatically.
If electronic verifications are unsuccessful, the Secretary of State’s Office will send a written request to the vehicle owner giving them the chance to prove they have insurance before suspending their vehicle registration. Vehicle owners must contact their insurers or notify their insurance agent that they received a letter with a specific reference number from the secretary of state. The insurance agent’s responsibility is to confirm electronically with the Secretary of State — through www.ILIVS.com — that the vehicle owner does in fact have automobile insurance on the verification date stated in the letter. Beginning July 1, vehicle owners who are unable to prove insurance will face a license plate suspension and $100 reinstatement fee.
It is important to note that vehicle owners who receive the letter should not visit a driver services facility; instead, they should contact their insurance company or agent who can provide the necessary electronic proof of insurance needed to cancel the license plate suspension.
Vehicle owners who do not have an auto insurance policy must obtain insurance to avoid license plate suspension.
The long-term impact on Illinois drivers
The new insurance requirements are great news for Illinois drivers. This law will add more pressure for Illinois vehicle owners to comply with Illinois law and carry automobile insurance. In the past, vehicle owners could play roulette and hope to skate by without insurance. They would operate without insurance and hope not to get a crash on their driving record. No matter if someone is a good driver or a high-risk driver, the problem with that approach for the general public is that there were no proactive measures in place to incentivize people to purchase Illinois auto vehicle insurance before they caused a collision and risked bodily injury or property damage. Now there are consequences for uninsured motorists before they are involved in a crash.
The state minimum coverage for Illinois automobile owners is $25,000. This cheap car insurance is not an adequate coverage option. It amounts to medical payments of basically one day in the hospital. Therefore, it is still important for Illinois drivers to carry higher limits for uninsured motorist coverage/underinsured motorist coverage. We can control how much coverage we have. We cannot control how much coverage other people carry.
When to Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident in the Chicago area, contact Palermo Law Group at (630) 684-2332 for a free consultation with nationally recognized personal injury lawyer, Mario Palermo, regarding the best approach to obtaining compensation for you or your loved one’s injuries.