Cheapest Car Insurance in Illinois

Whether you take advantage of all the fun restaurants and experiences Chicago has to offer, or you live in a suburb like Hinsdale and your family’s extracurriculars keep you on the road, life in the Prairie State can get expensive, but your car insurance doesn’t have to be. In Illinois, cheap auto insurance may be challenging to obtain, but hidden gems are waiting to be found. 

While the average cost of a full coverage premium in the state is about 10% lower than the national average of $1,670 annually, you may be able to get more significant savings with the right tools. Let’s check out a few ways to save on your Illinois auto insurance policy without sacrificing excellent coverage.  

Illinois vehicle insurance can range in price, as premiums often differ from driver to driver. The cheapest premiums are often only available to those who know where and how to look. Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll show you how you may be able to get a full coverage policy with premiums lower than the state’s average of about $1,500 annually. 

Hands down, the cheapest auto insurance in Illinois is a policy with enough coverage to meet the state’s minimum car insurance coverage, with no additional coverages added on. Auto insurance laws in the Prairie State require all drivers to have at least $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 in bodily injury liability per accident, and $20,000 in property damage liability per accident, often noted on a policy as 25/50/20 liability coverage. In Illinois, any policy with liability coverage will automatically include $20,000 in uninsured or underinsured bodily injury (UM/UIMBI) coverage per person and $40,000 in UMBI/UIMBI per accident, as required by law. 

A policy with just these coverages is often referred to as a liability-only or minimum coverage policy. These policies typically have premiums of about half the cost of a full coverage policy, so you may be looking at as little as $750 annually. However, premiums range from driver to driver, so what one policyholder pays for a premium may not be available to another.

Insurers use unique facts about their policyholders to determine their premiums. For example, many insurers use age, gender, ZIP code, the type of car insured, and several other factors when determining a policyholder’s rates. So, while finding low rates is possible for every driver, it’s important to keep in mind these key factors may be affecting your rates, either raising or lowering them from the average.

These “non-driving” factors can translate into higher or lower premiums, depending on who you are. For example, drivers in densely populated cities often pay higher premiums because they’re statistically more likely to get into an accident and file a claim. So, if your ZIP code indicates that you live in Chicago or another densely populated city in Illinois, you may pay higher-than-average premiums. 

While some of the unique characteristics about you may work to raise your premiums, don’t give up on savings just yet. There are plenty of ways to lower your premiums if you do your due diligence with your research.

Without question, the most affordable policy in the Prairie State will be a minimum coverage policy from an insurer that offers low base rates. The cheapest liability car insurance in Illinois may come from an insurer like Travelers or Progressive, as both companies offer highly competitive rates for all their policies in the state. Since the average full coverage policy in the state is about $1,500 annually, the average liability coverage policy may be around $750 annually because these policies have about half the coverage. 

While paying half the cost of a full coverage premium may sound enticing, it’s crucial to remember you’re only getting about half the coverage. In the Prairie State, a minimum coverage policy offers some liability and UMBI/UIMBI coverage, but they may not be enough for you to feel comfortable behind the wheel. 

Consider this scenario: you’re driving home from seeing a show at the House of Blues in Chicago, where you’ve had a little too much to drink and cause an accident with another driver.

In this case, on top of the legal penalties you may face for driving while intoxicated, your liability coverage will only cover the other driver’s medical expenses and vehicle repairs up to your 25/50/20 limit once you reach your deductible. If the other driver is critically injured in the accident and must remain in the hospital for weeks, you’ll reach your limit pretty quickly and remain liable for their remaining expenses. Plus, you’ll also be liable for the expenses you incur from the accident, which won’t be covered by your liability-only policy.

All things considered, liability-only coverage may be the least expensive policy available in the Prairie State, but also the biggest gamble. In many cases, drivers are much better off springing for the higher premiums associated with a full coverage policy than cashing in on the short-term savings of a minimum coverage policy and risking financial ruin in the worst-case scenario.

If you don’t want to sacrifice coverage for savings but are still interested in getting a policy at or below the average cost, finding cheap full coverage car insurance in Illinois may be your best bet. The best way to save while remaining fully protected behind the wheel is to get a full coverage policy with one of the state’s top insurers that offers lower-than-average base rates and plenty of opportunities for stackable discounts. 

With discounts, there are typically a couple of different routes you can take. Many insurers offer two types of discounts: standard or enrollment-based. An enrollment-based discount typically requires a policyholder to opt into a program, whether a learning course or using a device that captures driving data to send to the insurer. 

For example, some insurers offer courses in which drivers can enroll for a set time and, upon passing, receive a discount on their premiums. Other enrollment programs are usage-based and may require the policyholder to use a telematics device to track their driving choices which will then be sent to their insurer and a discount doled out according to their good driving habits. These programs often offer the most significant savings, some of which can earn policyholders up to 20% off their premiums. 

Many insurers also offer standard discounts, which require the policyholder to meet a set of criteria. For example, many insurers offer discounts for those who bundle multiple policies or multiple cars on one policy. Some insurers offer discounts to young drivers who earn good grades in school; others may offer occupational or veteran discounts for those who work in certain fields or who’ve served in the U.S. military.

Stacking discounts onto your full coverage policy allows you to save as much as possible while still getting coverage for all sorts of accident scenarios. While the initial investment in a full coverage policy may sting more than a minimum coverage policy, investing in one’s safety is always better than the alternative. 

While the Prairie State doesn’t offer any government-subsidized coverage, you can still find affordable car insurance in Illinois if you know where to look. While the temptation of forgoing car insurance entirely in the name of savings is tempting, remember that driving without insurance is illegal in the state. The penalties for driving without sufficient coverage are often more expensive than the coverage itself, so it’s always a good idea to at least maintain the legal minimum amount of coverage.

Insurers like Geico or State Farm offer lower-than-average base rates, especially for minimum coverage policies. It may also be helpful to look into non-standard insurers, especially if you have low or no credit or are considered a high-risk driver in the state. Some standard insurers will only offer high-risk drivers extremely high premiums because they’re a bigger risk to insure. Non-standard insurers typically offer lower-than-average premiums for those considered high-risk. 

Cheap insurance in Illinois may be tricky to find, but it is possible. The best way to narrow your search and maximize savings is to first determine what you value most in a policy: cost or coverage. If you value cost over coverage, the best policy for you will be a minimum coverage policy with an insurer offering lower-than-average base rates. If you value coverage over cost but wouldn’t mind saving a buck or two, the best policy for you would probably be a full coverage policy from an insurer with low base rates and plenty of opportunities for discounts.

It’s important to remember that the cheapest policy may not have enough coverage to make you feel comfortable behind the wheel. It’s important to carry a policy with coverage limits you feel comfortable with that won’t put you at risk of financial ruin if you exceed them.

The best cheap car insurance in Illinois is a policy with one of the state’s top insurers offered at a low base rate and with the option for several stackable discounts to be added on. The least expensive policy will be a minimum coverage policy no matter where you go, but with a few extra hundred dollars a year, you may be able to get a far better deal with a full coverage policy from an insurer that offers lower-than-average base rates. 

A minimum coverage policy will absolutely save you some money in the short term but might actually end up costing you more in the long run. If you carry the minimum limits of liability and UMBI/UIMBI coverages, you put your safety and savings at risk in various accident scenarios. Here at Clovered, we prefer to err on the side of safety, so we recommend getting a full coverage policy from an insurer that offers low base rates and a wide range of discounts. With a full coverage policy, you can get broad protection for you and your passenger with coverages like collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, medical payments coverage (MedPay), and GAP coverage, among others. 

The insurers with the best auto insurance rates in Illinois are Geico, State Farm, and Travelers, with full coverage policies ranging from, on average, $990 to $1,290 annually. These insurers offer lower-than-average rates in the Prairie State, a broad range of optional coverages, and many discounts. They also have great reputations for their customer service.

It’s important to note, though, that the best insurer in the state might not be the best for each driver. It’s always important to figure out what you value in a policy and narrow your search from there so you can perfectly tailor your policy to your needs. 

While low-cost auto insurance in Illinois may be tough to come by, it isn’t impossible. If your premiums are higher than the state’s average of $1,500 annually, you likely have a certain characteristic working against you, secretly raising your premiums. 

For example, young male drivers typically pay more in car insurance premiums than any other age or gender group because they’re statistically most likely to get into accidents. Pair that with a Chicago ZIP code, and you may pay three or four times more than the average annual premium. 

Luckily, as young male drivers age from adolescence to early adulthood, their premiums lower as long as they keep a clean driving record. So, sometimes all it takes is some time and many stackable discounts to get your premiums down to a price that won’t make you do a double-take.

The best way to save on your premiums is to get and compare cheap car insurance quotes in Illinois. By getting and comparing quotes, you can ensure you get exactly what you need from your policy at a price you’re comfortable paying. 

Lucky for you, we’re quoting experts here at Clovered. We even have a free quoting tool you can use to analyze different insurers and policies in just minutes. If you have any questions about your quote or cheap insurance in the Prairie State, you can call our team of licensed agents during business hours at 833-255-4117 or email us at any time at [email protected].