Jerry SummaryThe cheapest car insurance in Illinois is from Mercury at $136 per month, according to Jerry’s August 2025 data analysis. The average Illinois car insurance policy costs $209 per month. Drivers in different Illinois regions can pay vastly different premiums, so it’s wise to get multiple quotes before you buy a policy.
Cheap car insurance in Illinois can mean two different things, depending on whether you live in the Chicago area. As one of the country’s biggest metros, Chicago drivers pay high premiums that reflect the costs of big-city living. This means the cost of coverage in Cook County may be unrecognizable to folks in Peoria or Springfield.
Car insurance rates are highly personalized for all drivers. Where you live can be a significant factor, but insurers also consider things like your driving habits and history, the kind of car you drive and your age.
We’ve gathered the cheapest car insurance quotes for Illinois drivers across different age ranges and driving histories so that as you shop, you can understand what may push your rate up or down.
Whether you’re a Chicagoan who uses a car to fill gaps in public transit or you commute for a job downstate, getting cheap auto insurance in Illinois is the same — and it starts with comparing quotes from multiple providers.
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Cheap full coverage car insurance in Illinois
Illinoisans pay $136per month for the cheapest full coverage car insurance, according to Jerry’s analysis of real customer quotes. Mercury offers the best price.
Full coverage includes Illinois’s required car insurance, plus comprehensive and collision. This insurance includes coverage for your car’s damage after an accident. Say, for example, that you slide on packed snow and hit a parked car. Your liability insurance pays for the other driver’s damage, but collision insurance pays for yours. Comprehensive pays for all non-collision damage, like if a semi truck kicks up a rock on Interstate 55 and dents your hood.
Collision and comprehensive coverages usually have a deductible that you must pay before the insurer pays for damages, but most drivers opt for a full coverage policy to keep their out-of-pocket costs to a minimum after an accident.
If you have a loan or lease on your vehicle, the lender will require
These insurers offer cheap full coverage car insurance in Illinois.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Mercury | $136 |
| Safeco | $168 |
| Geico | $170 |
| Progressive | $177 |
| National General | $185 |
| Gainsco | $185 |
| Clearcover | $210 |
| Anchor General | $211 |
| Liberty Mutual | $211 |
| ROOT | $217 |
Where to get cheap minimum coverage auto insurance in Illinois
Mercury offers the cheapest minimum coverage car insurance in Illinois at $190 per month, according to Jerry’s analysis.
Illinois’s required car insurance includes bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) liability, plus uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM). Not all states require UM/UIM, but about 15% of drivers in Illinois are uninsured, according to a 2023 report from the Insurance Information Institute.
If you’re looking for the absolute cheapest car insurance, minimum coverage is it. It pays others if you damage their property or injure them on the road, but it provides no coverage for your injuries or car repairs.
Minimum coverage also may not pay for 100% of the damage you cause on the road. For example, if you slide on black ice and total someone’s brand-new car, the state-mandated $20,000 in PD may not cover the cost to replace it. In that case, you must come up with the remaining balance after your insurance pays to its limit.
You can increase your liability limits without buying full coverage to hedge for this risk, and it may not cost much more. Get quotes for both to be sure.
Here are the insurers offering the cheapest minimum coverage car insurance in Illinois.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Mercury | $57 |
| Geico | $60 |
| Liberty Mutual | $66 |
| Progressive | $70 |
| Safeco | $72 |
| Commonwealth Insurance | $74 |
| Gainsco | $74 |
| National General | $79 |
| Electric | $85 |
| Trexis | $89 |
Drivers in Illinois with minimum coverage must carry:
- $25,000 for injury or death of one person in a crash.
- $50,000 for injury or death of more than one person in a crash.
- $20,000 for damage to property of another person.
- $25,000 in uninsured motorist coverage per person.
- $50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage per accident.
Estimate car insurance costs
Enter your ZIP code to see what Jerry customers have been quoted for full coverage, on average.
Average monthly quote:Methodology
Jerry's editorial team analyzed Jerry customer quotes to find the median full coverage quote, by ZIP code. We looked at customers driving popular vehicles, including the Ford-150, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, RAM 1500, Toyota Camry and Toyota RAV4 . We also used the following base driver profile:
- 35-45 years old.
- Clean driving record.
- $50,000 in bodily injury liability, per person.
- $100,000 in bodily injury liability, per accident.
- $1,000 deductible for comprehensive and collision insurance.
Cheapest Illinois car insurance by age
Age is one of the better-known car insurance pricing factors, so it can seem like it has an outsized effect on your premium — and at first it does.
Insurers often charge much higher prices to drivers in their teens and 20s because those drivers are statistically the most likely to cause a car accident. Especially if you live in Chicago with its heavy traffic and regular construction closures, being new to driving is seen as a liability for insurance companies.
As you reach your 30s, 40s and beyond, you gain driving experience. If you keep a clean record, the experience helps lower your premium. Insurance companies notice your other milestones during this period as well — moving in with a partner, moving out to the suburbs, changing commutes, having a child who eventually starts driving. Many of these big events become factors in your insurance costs.
It’s good to develop a habit of frequently checking for better car insurance rates, because you never know what new discounts and perks could be available to you as you age.
Cheapest car insurance for 18- to 29-year-olds
The cheapest full coverage car insurance for young Illinoisans comes from Mercury at $190 per month, according to Jerry's quote analysis.
Being a young driver in any state, not just Illinois, means paying more for car insurance than everybody else. Insurers view a less-experienced driver as more of an accident risk. And if you spent a few years not driving while you lived in the city or on campus, the lack of practice could show up in your insurance rate.
Just because your rates are likely to be high doesn’t mean you should accept the first quote you get, though. Providers use different pricing models to assign rates, so it’s worth your time to get a handful of estimates from different providers to find the right offer.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Mercury | $190 |
| Safeco | $201 |
| Geico | $209 |
| Trexis | $213 |
| Progressive | $224 |
| ROOT | $239 |
| Gainsco | $245 |
| National General | $253 |
| Clearcover | $278 |
| The General | $291 |
More: Cheap car insurance for teens
Commonwealth Insurance offers the cheapest car insurance for young Illinoisans seeking minimum coverage at $74 per month, according to Jerry's quote analysis.
These are the lowest-cost insurance companies for drivers under 30 who want minimum coverage in Illinois.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Commonwealth Insurance | $74 |
| Geico | $75 |
| Mercury | $79 |
| Safeco | $80 |
| Progressive | $90 |
| Gainsco | $98 |
| Liberty Mutual | $100 |
| Trexis | $102 |
| National General | $107 |
| Electric | $113 |
Purchasing minimum coverage car insurance is one way to keep your living costs low when you’re young. This type of insurance is ideal for an infrequent driver who wants to be able to legally drive. However, if a car is a must-have to get yourself to work — and especially if you drive in high-traffic areas or on freeways — it may not be worth the savings.
Before buying minimum coverage, weigh the likelihood of having to pay out of your own pocket after a major accident against the potential cost savings. If you decide to forego comprehensive and collision coverages, it may be wise to get slightly higher limits on a minimum coverage policy.
Jerry InsightDrivers who don’t own a vehicle but drive someone else’s car may be covered by the car owner’s policy. Non-owner car insurance is also an option for those who drive other peoples’ vehicles but don’t have one themselves.
Cheapest car insurance for Illinoisans between 30 and 64 years old
Drivers between 30 and 64 years old get the cheapest full coverage car insurance from Mercury in Illinois, which charges $124 per month, according to Jerry's data.
Your habits are bound to change as you mature — maybe you spend fewer weekend nights in River North and more time at Shawnee National Forest. You might move out to the suburbs, purchase a townhome and buy an SUV to fit a growing family. Your car insurance is there, in the background, clocking these changes and pricing them into your premium.
A lot of times, a more stable-seeming life is a good sign to an insurer and is rewarded with lower rates. Providers offer discounts for buying a safe car, insuring a house and sharing a policy with a partner.
In fact, drivers in their 30s, 40s and 50s present the least risk to an insurance company, so you may be just the kind of customer they want to attract. While auto insurance isn’t usually negotiable — it’s rare for one company to “price match” another — you can optimize for the lowest rates by getting many quotes for your preferred policy.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Mercury | $125 |
| Bluefire | $137 |
| Geico | $152 |
| National General | $154 |
| Gainsco | $155 |
| Assurance America | $155 |
| Progressive | $156 |
| Safeco | $163 |
| Mendota | $164 |
| Clearcover | $180 |
Cheap auto coverage for Illinois drivers aged 65 and older
The cheapest full coverage car insurance for Illinois drivers aged 65 and older costs $108 per month and comes from Mercuryaccording to Jerry's quote analysis.
All things being equal, your car insurance rates are likely to rise slightly in your late 60s and 70s. Studies show that older drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes than younger drivers. In fact, Illinois is one of few states that requires drivers to take a driving test at each renewal once they turn 75.
If retirement for you means cross-country road trips, a splurge on a sports car or regular visits to family and friends in another city, full coverage is the option that will help safeguard your money the best.
More: Best car insurance for seniors
These are the cheapest car insurance companies for drivers aged 65 and older in Illinois.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Mercury | $108 |
| Progressive | $131 |
| Geico | $132 |
| National General | $132 |
| Gainsco | $148 |
| Electric | $156 |
| Safeco | $158 |
| Clearcover | $161 |
| The General | $167 |
| Bristol West | $175 |
When your provider starts to hike your rates because of your age, it’s a good time to consider whether you need full coverage. Outside of Chicago, some Illinoisans have a long commute between cities, so robust coverage may be necessary. But if your driving slows down during these years, you may be able to drop collision and comprehensive insurances. Here are some things to consider:
- Is your annual premium around 10% or less of the value of the car? If so, you may be overpaying for insurance.
- Is your car worth close to or less than the deductible? If your deductible is higher than what your insurer would pay you to replace your car, full coverage may be too much.
- Can you comfortably afford to repair or replace your car if you need to? If you can, full coverage may not be doing you any favors.
More: How much car insurance do I need?
This isn’t necessarily a time to lower your liability limits, though, because liability insurance shields your finances if you’re found at fault in an accident. Liability coverage that doesn’t pay enough after an accident may cause you to forfeit some of your hard-earned assets to cover someone else’s costs after a wreck.
Many drivers keep 100/300/100 liability limits, meaning your insurance would pay $100,000 in bodily injury liability (BI) per person, $300,000 in BI per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability per accident. This may be enough to cover a severe accident, but you can also calculate your net worth and carry limits that match or exceed it.
Cheap car insurance for bad credit in Illinois
The cheapest full coverage car insurance for drivers with poor credit in Illinois comes from Clearcover at $206 per month, according to Jerry's quoting data.
In Illinois, having a low credit score is likely to raise your insurance rate, since studies have linked poor credit to a higher risk of accidents.
Though some insurers emphasize credit when they price a policy, others may not treat it as seriously. That’s why it’s important to get as many quotes as you can.
Here are five insurance companies that offer the lowest rates to Illinoisans with bad credit.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Clearcover | $193 |
| Progressive | $224 |
| National General | $287 |
| Safeco | $314 |
| Gainsco | $324 |
See the lowest minimum coverage rates for Illinois drivers with poor credit
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Progressive | $110 |
| Mercury | $113 |
| National General | $117 |
| Electric | $118 |
| Gainsco | $120 |
Cheapest car insurance for Illinoisans with an at-fault accident
The cheapest full coverage car insurance for Illinoisans with an at-fault accident on their record is from Anchor General at $154 per month, according to Jerry’s quoting data.
Naturally, the most densely-populated areas in Illinois see the highest accident rates. The majority of traffic accidents are concentrated in Chicago and its nearby highways and interstates.
If you are the at-fault driver in Illinois, your auto insurance rate is likely to spike once the policy renews. The increase will be sharper if anyone was injured in the accident. But even a small dent on a Packer fan’s car will show up in your premium.
If you’ve recently had an at-fault accident, get a few quotes before your policy is near its renewal date so you can budget for your new potential premium.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Anchor General | $154 |
| Progressive | $254 |
| Safeco | $268 |
| Mercury | $305 |
| Gainsco | $313 |
Cheap car insurance for Illinois drivers with speeding tickets
Patience: You need it with the White Sox and you need it on the road.
It’s easy to hit the gas a bit too hard when you’re in a rush to get somewhere, but when you get caught, you pay for it twice: Once on the ticket and again on your insurance.
Illinois assesses different fines based on how much you were speeding — a driver nabbed at 7 mph over the limit pays less than someone clocked at 30 mph above the limit — and so do insurers. A more severe ticket may show up as a more severe uptick in your premium.
Progressive charges the cheapest full coverage car insurance for Illinoisans with speeding tickets at $174 per month on average, according to Jerry’s quote data.
These providers offer the lowest full coverage rates for Illinois drivers with a speeding ticket for driving less than 15 mph over the limit.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Progressive | $174 |
| Commonwealth Insurance | $189 |
| Safeco | $234 |
| Mercury | $250 |
| ROOT | $267 |
Clearcoveroffers the cheapest full coverage car insurance for Illinois drivers with a speeding ticket for driving more than 15 mph over the limit at $225 per month.
These insurers offer the cheapest insurance to Illinoisans who have been cited for traveling more than 15 mph over the limit.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Clearcover | $225 |
| Progressive | $281 |
| Gainsco | $315 |
| Mercury | $342 |
| The General | $381 |
Cheap auto insurance for drivers with DUIs in Illinois
Illinois had the highest rate of alcohol-involved fatal accidents in the Midwest in 2022, according to a report from the United States Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Insurers that operate in a standout state like Illinois are already on alert for alcohol-related crashes so if you receive a DUI there, it’s virtually guaranteed that your provider will hike up your rate, if they don’t drop your coverage.
When that happens, it doesn’t make you uninsurable or relegate you to a high premium forever, but the fact is that you’ll probably pay more for at least a few years.
After you get a DUI, it’s time to quote shop with many insurers — and many different kinds of insurers. Some companies work specifically with folks who have received a DUI or have multiple accidents or citations. These providers can file an SR-22 form on your behalf and help you navigate coverage after a severe incident like a DUI.
The cheapest car insurance for Illinois drivers with a DUI comes from Progressive which charges $136 per month.
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Progressive | $136 |
| Clearcover | $173 |
| The General | $301 |
Less coverage is one way to reduce the impact of a rate increase, and that may be the best way to keep your car insurance affordable for a period.
Just keep in mind that if you drop comprehensive and collision, any repairs to your car after an accident may be yours to pay for. If you lower your liability limits to only the state-mandated minimums, you’re one expensive wreck away from a potentially large out-of-pocket expense or lawsuit.
The cheapest car insurance for Illinoisans with a DUI seeking a minimum coverage policy is Progressive with an average monthly premium of $63 .
|
Insurance Company
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| The General | $63 |
| National General | $68 |
| Progressive | $70 |
| Dairyland | $77 |
| Bristol West | $86 |
Cheapest car insurance for Illinois drivers with other types of violations
Illinois takes moving violations rather seriously: Drivers who get three in one year can have their license suspended or revoked, and residents under 21 years old who get two in two years can lose their license. A suspended license can lead to serious insurance consequences — your provider may cancel or not renew your policy and your premium is bound to tick up when it happens.
But if moving violations are more of a blip than a common occurrence, the amount your rate will rise depends on the severity of the offense.
|
Violation Summary
|
Avg Monthly Quote
|
|---|---|
| Reckless Driving | $99 |
| Cell Phone | $118 |
| Driving on Sus. License | $127 |
| Open Container | $144 |
| Careless Driving | $167 |
More: The average cost of car insurance
3 steps to get cheap car insurance in Illinois
Cheap car insurance does not mean any car insurance, as long as it’s cheap — it means the car insurance you need to confidently drive in Illinois at the best price possible.
Here are three steps to find affordable car insurance in Illinois.
- Lay out your coverage needs. Once you have a firm grasp on the different types of car insurance, determine which ones you want and how much of each. For liability, that means choosing sufficient limits. For comprehensive and collision coverage, that means matching your premium and deductible to your budget and savings. Then, consider any other coverage you may want — umbrella insurance comes in handy if you can’t get enough coverage to fully protect your net worth and gap insurance is worth considering if you have a leased car.
- Get plenty of quotes. You want at least three to five auto insurance quotes, but more is always better. Bring the most accurate information you can to the quoting process so your initial quote is close to the final price. Make sure to collect estimates for the same coverage levels across insurers to get a one-to-one comparison, and don’t be afraid to get smaller providers’ quotes alongside big-name insurers.
- Hunt for discounts. Insurance companies list many discounts on their website, but some are state-specific. Once you have a quote that you’re comfortable with, ask about any discounts you may be missing to avoid leaving money on the table. Some insurers offer an intro discount for new customers, which sounds nice but could be a precursor to a big increase at renewal.
Factors affecting car insurance rates in Illinois
Here are a few important reasons that drivers in Illinois pay higher-than-average insurance premiums.
- Chicago’s size. Because much of Illinois’s population is concentrated in and around Chicago, many in the state are paying elevated rates. Urban areas come with plenty of risks, including more cars and pedestrians on the street and a naturally higher crime rate. However, those living outside of Chicago are likely to see substantially lower rates.
- Weather risks. Longtime Illinois residents are pros at navigating snow and ice in the winter, but insurers view those as unsafe driving conditions that could lead to an accident. The state also sees its fair share of hail damage, which can total a car within minutes. Overall, though, Illinois’s weather is relatively mild compared to coastal states, so insurers may not make frequent climate-related increases for drivers there.
- Car-theft rates. In 2023, Illinois was No. 5 in the country for the highest number of car thefts, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The state has since fallen off the list, but even a temporary spike in car-related crime can cause rates to rise quickly and fall slowly.
- Uninsured drivers. Though a 15% uninsured-motorist rate doesn’t put Illinois in the top 10, it’s still likely an important factor for car insurance companies. When an uninsured driver hits a driver with robust coverage, the covered driver’s insurer foots the bill, and that means drivers are usually paying higher rates to make up for the risk.
Methodology
Data included in this analysis comes from policies that Jerry has quoted within the last 6 months for drivers with a clean record and that have full coverage, unless stated otherwise. Data related to violations, accidents or credit scores pull from quote data from the last 18 months. Jerry services 48 states and offers a range of insurance companies to choose from.
Annie is a writer and editor at Jerry with more than a decade of experience writing and editing digital content. Before joining Jerry, she was an assistant assigning editor at NerdWallet. Her past work has appeared in the Associated Press, USA Today and The Washington Post. Her work has been cited by NorthWestern University and Harvard Kennedy School. Annie served as a spokesperson for NerdWallet during her time at NerdWallet and has been featured in New York Magazine, MarketWatch and on local television and radio stations.
Previously, she worked at USAA and newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, California and Texas. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.
