Updated June 2026
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?
Uninsured Motorist Coverage activates when another driver causes a collision and either has no insurance or carries limits too low to cover your losses. It pays your medical expenses, lost wages, and vehicle repair costs up to your policy limits. Unlike collision coverage, it only applies when the other party is at fault and identifiable. Hit-and-run claims qualify if you file a police report within 24 hours and cannot identify the fleeing driver.
- A driver runs a red light and T-bones your car. You have $22,000 in medical bills and $9,000 in vehicle damage. The other driver admits fault but has no insurance. Your uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage pays the medical costs up to your limit. Your uninsured motorist property damage coverage pays the repair bill, minus your deductible if your state requires one.
- Someone sideswipes your car in a parking lot and drives off. You file a police report within 24 hours. Your uninsured motorist property damage coverage pays $4,200 to repair the damage, minus your $500 deductible. Without this coverage, you'd file under collision if you have it, or pay out of pocket if you don't.
- You're rear-ended by a driver carrying Illinois minimum liability limits of $25,000 bodily injury per person. Your medical bills total $48,000. Their liability pays the first $25,000. If you carry underinsured motorist coverage—often bundled with uninsured motorist—it pays the remaining $23,000 up to your underinsured limit.
Who Needs Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance?
Drivers reinstating after suspension should carry uninsured motorist coverage because they cannot afford another at-fault loss that jeopardizes reinstatement. If you're required to carry SR-22, adding uninsured motorist costs $8–$18/month and protects you from the 14% of Illinois drivers who have no coverage. Drivers without collision coverage need this even more—if an uninsured driver totals your car, you have no other way to recover repair costs.
Multiply your annual cost by 10 to estimate your 10-year spend. If that total is less than 25% of your vehicle's current value and annual medical deductible combined, buy it. If your license reinstatement depends on maintaining continuous coverage and avoiding claims, buy it even if your vehicle is low value—you're protecting your driving privilege, not just the car.
How Much Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Insurance Cost?
Uninsured motorist coverage typically adds $8–$18 per month to an Illinois liability or full coverage policy, or $96–$216 annually.
- Your uninsured motorist bodily injury limit—$25,000 per person costs less than $100,000 per person.
- Your uninsured motorist property damage limit and deductible—higher deductibles lower the monthly cost.
- ZIP code uninsured driver rate—Cook County and East St. Louis have higher uninsured rates and higher premiums for this coverage.
- Whether you stack coverage across multiple vehicles on the policy—stacking raises limits but doubles or triples the cost.
- Your liability and collision limits—carriers price uninsured motorist as a percentage of those base coverages.
- Claims history—prior uninsured motorist claims can raise your rate 12–18% at renewal.