Illinois is cracking down hard on drivers without insurance.
The Secretary of State has begun an Electronic Liability Insurance Verification program for vehicles registered in Illinois. Each vehicle’s liability policy will be verified at least twice each year through a 3rd party vendor. The vendor is linked electronically with all insurance companies that write vehicle liability insurance policies in the state of Illinois. Vehicles with valid registration must comply with the Mandatory Insurance Law (625 ILCS 5/7-601).
Enforcement
- If the initial verification attempt does not verify that a vehicle is covered by a statutorily required minimum liability insurance policy, that vehicle will be checked a 2nd time after 30 days. This process allows our office to determine whether the vehicle was sold, placed into storage or otherwise not being driven on the roadways. If the 2nd verification attempt does not confirm a liability insurance policy for the vehicle, the registered owner of the vehicle will be sent a registration suspension letter. The vehicle owner and insurance company will be required to prove that the vehicle was covered by a liability insurance policy on the date of the initial verification attempt within 30 days of the date of the letter through their insurance agent. If the registered owner and insurance agent cannot provide proof that the vehicle was covered by a liability insurance policy on the date of the initial verification attempt, the vehicle’s registration will be suspended. In order to have the registration suspension removed, the vehicle owner is required to obtain liability insurance and pay a fee of $100 to reinstate the vehicle’s registration.
- If you are stopped for a traffic violation or involved in an accident, a law enforcement officer may issue a traffic citation if you are unable to provide evidence of insurance. If convicted, your license plates will be suspended and you may face the following fines:
o Minimum fine of $500 for driving uninsured
o Minimum fine of $1000 for driving a vehicle while the license plates are suspended for a previous insurance violation.
Purchasing Insurance
Suspension and Reinstatement
The license plates of a 1st time offender are suspended until liability insurance has been purchased and a reinstatement fee of $100 is paid online through the website ILIVS.COM. Repeat offenders are required to serve a four month suspension, obtain liability insurance and pay a fee of $100 online through the ILIVS.COM website prior to reinstatement of their license plates.
While the license plates are suspended, no one may operate your vehicle; however you may operate other vehicles that are insured. To process the reinstatement, you must contact an insurance agent, obtain liability insurance and log onto the website ILIVS.COM. You will need the reference number printed on the registration suspension letter to log onto the ILIVS.COM website. If you no longer have the registration suspension letter, you may use the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) lookup function.