What Illinois Laws Apply to Un-Insured Motorist Cases?

Negligence and the Illinois Safety and Financial Responsibility Law (625 ILCS 5/7) are the primary laws that relate to uninsured motorists incidents in Illinois.

If an uninsured motorist injures you while you are driving or walking, you will more than likely sue him for negligence. This entails the following elements:

• The uninsured driver had a duty not to hit you while driving.
• The uninsured driver breached that duty and hit you.
• That breach caused you injuries.
• Those injuries resulted in tangible or intangible damages to you.

This is the basic foundation of your lawsuit. However, Illinois also provides a number of specific laws particular to automobiles and insurance. In this realm, the Illinois Safety and Financial Responsibility Law (625 ILCS 5/7) is the major piece of legislation to consider. Here is the pertinent section to review:

“(a) No person shall operate, register or maintain registration of, and no owner shall permit another person to operate, register or maintain registration of, a motor vehicle designed to be used on a public highway unless the motor vehicle is covered by a liability insurance policy.

The insurance policy shall be issued in amounts no less than the minimum amounts set for bodily injury or death and for destruction of property under Section 7-203 of this Code, and shall be issued in accordance with the requirements of Sections 143a and 143a-2 of the Illinois Insurance Code, as amended. No insurer other than an insurer authorized to do business in this State shall issue a policy pursuant to this Section for any vehicle subject to registration under this Code.”

(625 ILCS 5/7-601)

This law governs all traffic accidents resulting in personal injury, property damage over $500, or death. After one of these incidents, motorists are required to file a report within 10 days to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). This report must contain information regarding insurance coverage of all parties involved in the crash. If an uninsured motorist is found to be responsible for the accident (more than 50%), then the state may take the following actions against him or her:

• Give that person at least a $500 fine for driving uninsured and a $1,000 fine for driving while the license plates are suspended for a previous insurance violation
• Suspend the person's license and/or vehicle registration.
• Demand proof of insurance.
• Establish proof of financial responsibility through a SR-22 insurance policy for a period of time (possibly 3 years).