Car accident laws in Illinois require you to report the accident to the police department. To recoup the cost of damages, you might be able to file a claim through your insurance company or pursue a personal injury lawsuit.

Getting into a car accident is never a pleasant experience. Even a minor incident like a fender bender can be a major headache, and more serious collisions can be downright terrifying. Filing an accident report may not be what comes to mind immediately after a car accident—but knowing your state’s car insurance laws can help alleviate some of the stress after a wreck.

Here with everything you need to know about Illinois car accident laws is the

car insurance

broker

Jerry

. In this guide, we’ll go over accident reporting, financial responsibility, personal injury lawsuits, and comparative fault in the Prairie State. We can even help you find the

best car insurance rates in Illinois

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What to do after a crash: Illinois car accident reporting laws

After a car accident, you should

first get yourself—and any passengers in your vehicle—to safety. Move the car to the side of the road and call 911 if anyone involved in the crash needs medical assistance. The next thing you should do is take pictures of the crash to document any damages and exchange insurance information with the other driver.

Once you’ve taken care of those basics, you need to report the accident to the police and your insurance company. Here’s a deeper look at how car accident laws in Illinois apply to accident reports.

When to report an accident to the police

According to

Article IV

of the Illinois Vehicle Code, drivers involved in an accident that results in bodily injury, death,or property damage are required to report it to the police as soon as possible. The law enforcement agency you need to contact depends on where the collision took place:

If the accident took place on a public highway, you must file a report with the Illinois State Police.

If the accident occurred in a city, you must report the incident to the local police department or sheriff’s office.

If the accident took place on an Illinois tollway, you must contact District 15 of the Illinois State Police at (630) 241-6800.

If the police arrive at the scene of the accident, then you don’t need to make your own report—the responding officers will already file one. If you need a copy of your accident report, you can visit the Illinois State Police website to

access it online

MORE:

How long do you have to file a claim?

Financial responsibility and coverage minimums: Illinois insurance laws

Like most states, Illinois requires that all drivers carry

liability coverage

to prove financial responsibility for their vehicle. Here’s what you need to meet the

minimum insurance requirements

in Illinois:

$25,000 of

bodily injury liability

per person

$50,000 of bodily injury liability per accident

$20,000 of

property damage liability

per accident

Driving without car insurance

or failing to show proof of insurance if you’re pulled over by law enforcement can result in some unfortunate consequences. If you’re caught without your insurance card, you will be fined $500 for a first offense, and penalties for subsequent violations can range from fines of up to $1,000 to a

driver’s license suspension

Failure to carry car insurance can also make it difficult (or impossible) to claim damages after an accident through insurance or a personal injury lawsuit.

Despite the penalties for breaking car insurance laws in Illinois, a lot of people still drive without coverage. Believe it or not, a 2019 study by the

Insurance Information Institute

found that 11.8% of Illinois motorists don’t carry car insurance.

Uninsured drivers don’t just create trouble for themselves, they make life harder for insured drivers, too. If you get into an accident with an uninsured driver, you’ll have a much harder time claiming damages after a wreck—even if it was the other driver’s fault! Luckily, you can protect yourself by adding

uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

to your Illinois car insurance policy.

MORE:

How police catch uninsured drivers

Claiming damages after an accident: personal injury laws in Illinois

Accidents can sometimes amount to major hardship that may cause you to want to go further than an insurance claim to collect damages through a personal injury lawsuit. According to the Illinois

Code of Civil Procedure

, you have two years from the date of your accident to file for either economic damages or non-economic damages.

Economic damages are tangible expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and property damages. Non-economic damages are difficult-to-document losses that include things like pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and loss of society.

Depending on the nature of your lawsuit, you may also file for compensatory damages or actual damages, which refer to a combination of both economic and non-economic damages.

Exceptions to personal injury laws in Illinois

Failing to file a personal injury lawsuit within the two-year statute of limitations will usually result in the case being dismissed by the court. However, there are some cases where you may be allowed

more time

to file your claim.

Exceptions to personal injury laws in Illinois include:

If the injured person was legally disabled at the time of the accident but has since recovered, they have two years to file the lawsuit once the disability is removed.

If the injured person was under 18 at the time of the accident, the statute of limitations does not begin until he or she turns 18.

MORE:

Can I use health insurance to cover car accident injuries?

Who’s to blame: comparative negligence law in Illinois

One of the first questions that comes up after an accident is: whose fault was it? If Marty blows a stop sign and hits Jade’s car, but Jade was talking on her cellphone at the time, who actually caused the accident? And who can collect damages?

The state of Illinois applies modified comparative negligence when it comes to recovering damages after an accident. This means that if you’re found responsible for less than half of the fault in a traffic accident, you can be compensated for your injuries after your percentage of fault has been deducted.

Looking at the example above, both drivers broke traffic laws, so Marty and Jade are both responsible for the accident. However, if the insurance companies determine that Marty is 65% at fault and Jade is 35% at fault—then Marty cannot collect damages at all, while Jade is entitled to damages at a reduced rate.

While most states have adopted modified comparative negligence, other versions of the law like pure comparative negligence or contributory negligence may be in effect if you cross state lines.

MORE:

What happens if you’re deemed at fault in an accident without car insurance?

How to save money on car insurance in Illinois

Did you know that

your insurance premium will go up after an accident

by as much as 80%? If you’ve been found at-fault for a collision, getting a lower rate on your car insurance can feel impossible—but that’s where

Jerry

comes in to help.

The Jerry app is a licensed broker that does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.

And to ensure you always have the lowest rate, Jerry will send you new quotes every time your policy comes up for renewal, so you’re always getting the coverage you want at the best price. This level of service is how Jerry became the top-rated insurance app in the country.

“
Jerry
makes choosing new insurance as easy as grocery shopping. Even though I had a car accident within the past 2 years, Jerry found me a great deal with Nationwide. I went from paying $340 to $90 a month!” —Pan N.