Key Takeaways
- Illinois requires it. Every policy must include uninsured motorist coverage.
- It covers hit-and-run drivers too, which is what the statute is actually titled.
- Your limits probably match your liability limits, unless you rejected the excess in writing.
- It pays for bodily injury, not for damage to your vehicle.
- Disputes go to arbitration, not to an ordinary lawsuit.
What it is
Uninsured motorist coverage is the part of your own policy that steps in when the person who injured you has no insurance, too little of it, or cannot be identified at all. You claim against your own insurer, but for the other driver’s negligence.
The governing provision is 215 ILCS 5/143a, headed “Uninsured and hit-and-run motor vehicle coverage.”
Why Illinois requires it
Under 215 ILCS 5/143a, no liability policy covering a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Illinois may be renewed, delivered or issued for delivery unless it includes coverage, in the limits set out in 625 ILCS 5/7-203, for insured persons legally entitled to recover damages from the owners or operators of uninsured and hit-and-run motor vehicles, because of bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death.
The reason is straightforward. Illinois requires drivers to carry only $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, and requiring cover does not make everyone buy it. Uninsured motorist coverage exists so that the consequences of another driver’s failure do not fall entirely on the person they injured.
The three situations it answers
| Situation | Which cover |
|---|---|
| The other driver has no insurance | Uninsured motorist (UM) |
| The driver is never identified | The hit-and-run limb of UM |
| The driver has insurance, but not enough | Underinsured motorist (UIM) |
How much you have
This is the part most people get wrong, and it is usually in their favor.
Under 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(1), an Illinois policy must include uninsured motorist coverage in an amount equal to the insured’s bodily injury liability limits, unless the insured specifically rejected the excess in writing. If you carry $250,000 of liability cover, your UM cover is $250,000 too, without buying anything extra.
Two qualifications:
- Rejection must be in writing, and under 143a-2(2) it is binding on all persons insured under the policy, not only the person who signed it.
- Underinsured cover follows. Under 143a-2(4), UIM must be included equal to the total UM coverage in the policy where that exceeds the statutory minimum.
What it does not cover
The coverage required by 143a is for bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death. It is not property coverage.
So if an uninsured driver wrecks your car and nobody is hurt, UM does not answer it. That is a matter for your own collision cover. The same distinction applies to a parked car struck by an unidentified driver, which we cover in parked car accident claims.
How a claim is actually decided
A UM claim is not an ordinary lawsuit against your insurer. 215 ILCS 5/143a requires policies to provide that any dispute about coverage and the amount of damages is submitted for arbitration to the American Arbitration Association and subject to its rules, with separate provision for medical opinions.
The section also prevents stacking: limits for any coverage on one vehicle may not be aggregated with similar coverage applying to your other vehicles, whether with the same insurer or another, in determining the total available for one person in one crash.
It is still an adversarial claim
Worth saying plainly: although you are claiming on your own policy, your insurer is paying, and it will test liability and the value of the injury much as the other side’s insurer would. Being a long-standing customer does not change the arithmetic.
How much cover to carry, and the trap in holding the minimum, is dealt with in how much uninsured motorist coverage you need. Whether it is worth suing the driver personally instead is in can you sue an uninsured driver.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is uninsured motorist coverage?
It is the part of your own policy that responds when the driver who injured you has no insurance, cannot be identified, or does not have enough coverage. You claim against your own insurer, but for the other driver’s negligence.
Why does Illinois require it?
Under 215 ILCS 5/143a no liability policy for a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Illinois may be issued or renewed without it. Illinois requires drivers to carry only $25,000 for bodily injury to one person under 625 ILCS 5/7-203, and requiring insurance does not make everyone buy it, so the coverage exists to stop that failure falling on the injured person.
How much uninsured motorist coverage do I have?
Under 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(1) it must equal your own bodily injury liability limits unless you specifically rejected the excess in writing. Many people hold considerably more than the statutory minimum without realizing it, so the declarations page is worth checking.
Does it pay for damage to my car?
No. The coverage required by 215 ILCS 5/143a is for bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death. Damage to your vehicle is a property loss and falls to your own collision coverage if you carry it.
Can I combine the coverage on my other vehicles?
No. 215 ILCS 5/143a provides that limits for coverage on one vehicle may not be aggregated with similar coverage applying to other vehicles, whether with the same insurer or another, when determining the total available to one person in any one crash.
Will my uninsured motorist claim go to court?
Usually not. 215 ILCS 5/143a requires policies to provide that disputes about coverage and the amount of damages are submitted for arbitration to the American Arbitration Association, subject to its rules, with separate provision for medical opinions.
Talk to an Elmwood Park car accident lawyer
Most people discover what their uninsured motorist coverage says at the worst possible moment. It is generally more than they expect, and it is claimed in a process that does not look like the lawsuit they were imagining.
If you were hurt by an uninsured or unidentified driver in Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Skokie, Niles, Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, Lawyer Furqan will read the policy properly and put the claim in the right forum.
Call 847-800-8978 or contact us online. The consultation is free, there is nothing upfront, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we win.
Sources and authorities cited
- 215 ILCS 5/143a · mandatory uninsured and hit-and-run coverage, bodily injury only, AAA arbitration, anti-stacking
- 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(1), (2) and (4) · UM equal to liability limits, written rejection binding all insureds, UIM to match UM
- 625 ILCS 5/7-203 · minimum limits of $25,000, $50,000 and $20,000
This article is general legal information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. What your policy provides depends on its terms and your elections, and nothing here predicts a result.
