(625 ILCS 5/7-601) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 7-601)
Sec. 7-601. Required liability insurance policy.
(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 in this State 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. Nothing herein shall deprive an insurer of any
policy defense available at common law.
(b) The following vehicles are exempt from the requirements of this Section:
(1) vehicles subject to the provisions of Chapters 8 |
| or 18a, Article III or Section 7-609 of Chapter 7, or Sections 12-606 or 12-707.01 of Chapter 12 of this Code;
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(2) vehicles required to file proof of liability
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| insurance with the Illinois Commerce Commission;
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(3) vehicles covered by a certificate of
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| self-insurance under Section 7-502 of this Code;
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(4) vehicles owned by the United States, the State of
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| Illinois, or any political subdivision, municipality or local mass transit district;
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(5) implements of husbandry;
(6) other vehicles complying with laws which require
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| them to be insured in amounts meeting or exceeding the minimum amounts required under this Section; and
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(7) inoperable or stored vehicles that are not
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| operated, as defined by rules and regulations of the Secretary.
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(c) Every employee of a State agency, as that term is defined in the
Illinois State Auditing Act,
who is assigned a
specific vehicle owned or leased by the State on an ongoing basis shall provide
the certification described in this Section annually to the director or chief
executive officer of his or her agency.
The certification shall affirm that the employee is duly licensed to
drive the assigned vehicle and that (i) the employee has liability insurance
coverage extending to the employee when the assigned vehicle is used for other
than official State business, or (ii) the employee has filed
a bond with the Secretary of State as proof of financial responsibility, in an
amount equal to, or in excess of the requirements stated within this Section.
Upon request of the agency director or chief executive officer, the employee
shall present evidence to
support
the certification.
The certification shall be provided during the period July 1 through July
31 of each calendar year, or within 30 days of any new assignment of a vehicle
on
an ongoing basis, whichever is later.
The employee's authorization to use the assigned vehicle shall
automatically
be rescinded upon:
(1) the revocation or suspension of the license
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| required to drive the assigned vehicle;
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(2) the cancellation or termination for any reason of
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| the automobile liability insurance coverage as required in item (c)(i); or
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(3) the termination of the bond filed with the
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All State employees providing the required certification shall immediately
notify the agency director or chief executive officer in the event any of these
actions occur.
All peace
officers employed by a State agency who are primarily responsible for
prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal, traffic,
or
highway laws of this State, and prohibited by agency rule or policy to use an
assigned vehicle owned or leased by the State for regular personal or off-duty
use, are exempt from the requirements of this Section.
(d) No person shall operate a motor vehicle registered in another state upon the highways of this State unless the vehicle is covered by a liability insurance policy. The operator of the vehicle shall carry within the vehicle evidence of the insurance.
(Source: P.A. 100-202, eff. 1-1-18; 100-828, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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(625 ILCS 5/7-602) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 7-602)
Sec. 7-602. Insurance card. Every operator of a motor vehicle subject
to Section 7-601 of this Code shall carry within the vehicle evidence of
insurance. The evidence shall be legible and sufficient to demonstrate
that the motor vehicle currently is covered by a liability insurance policy
as required under Section 7-601 of this Code and may include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(a) an insurance card provided by the insurer under |
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(b) the combination of proof of purchase of the motor
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| vehicle within the previous 60 days and a current insurance card issued for the motor vehicle replaced by such purchase;
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(c) the current declarations page of a liability
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(d) a liability insurance binder, certificate of
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| liability insurance or receipt for payment to an insurer or its authorized representative for a liability insurance premium, provided such document contains all information the Secretary of State by rule and regulation may require;
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(e) a current rental agreement;
(f) registration plates or digital registration
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| plates, registration sticker or digital registration sticker, or other evidence of registration issued by the Secretary only upon submission of proof of liability insurance pursuant to this Code;
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(g) a certificate, decal, or other document or device
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| issued by a governmental agency for a motor vehicle indicating the vehicle is insured for liability pursuant to law;
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(h) the display of electronic images on a cellular
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| phone or other type of portable electronic device. The use of a cellular phone or other type of portable electronic device to display proof of insurance does not constitute consent for a law enforcement officer, court, or other officer of the court to access other contents of the electronic device. Any law enforcement officer, court, or officer of the court presented with the device shall be immune from any liability resulting from damage to the mobile electronic device.
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An insurance card shall be provided for each motor
vehicle insured by the insurer issuing the liability insurance policy and may be issued in either paper or electronic format. Acceptable electronic formats shall permit display on a cellular phone or other portable electronic device and satisfy all other requirements of law and rule, including this Section, regarding form and content.
The form, contents and manner of issuance of the insurance card shall be
prescribed by rules and regulations of the Secretary of State. The Secretary shall adopt rules requiring that reasonable measures be taken to prevent the fraudulent production of insurance cards. The
insurance card shall display an effective date and an expiration date
covering a period of time not to exceed 12 months. The insurance card
shall contain the following disclaimer: "Examine policy exclusions
carefully. This form does not constitute any part of your insurance policy."
If the insurance policy represented by the insurance card does
not cover any driver operating the motor vehicle with the owner's
permission, or the owner when operating a motor vehicle other than the
vehicle for which the policy is issued, the insurance card shall
contain a warning of such limitations in the coverage provided by the
policy.
No insurer shall issue a card, similar in appearance, form and content
to the insurance card required under this Section, in connection with an
insurance policy that does not provide the liability insurance coverage
required under Section 7-601 of this Code.
The evidence of insurance shall be displayed upon request made by any law
enforcement officer wearing a uniform or displaying a badge or other sign
of authority. Any person who fails or refuses to comply with such request
is in violation of Section 3-707 of this Code. Any person who displays
evidence of insurance, knowing there is no valid liability insurance in
effect on the motor vehicle as required under Section 7-601 of this Code or
knowing the evidence of insurance is illegally altered, counterfeit or
otherwise invalid, is in violation of Section 3-710 of this Code.
"Display" means the manual surrender of the evidence of insurance into
the hands of the law enforcement officer, court, or officer of the court
making the request for the
officer's, court's, or officer of the court's inspection thereof.
(Source: P.A. 101-395, eff. 8-16-19.)
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(625 ILCS 5/7-603.5) Sec. 7-603.5. Electronic verification of a liability insurance policy. (a) The Secretary may implement a program of electronic motor vehicle liability insurance policy verification for motor vehicles subject to Section 7-601 of this Code for the purpose of verifying whether or not the motor vehicle is insured. The development and implementation of the program shall be consistent with the standards and procedures of a nationwide organization whose primary membership consists of individual insurance companies and insurance trade associations. The program shall include, but is not limited to: (1) a requirement that an insurance company |
| authorized to sell motor vehicle liability insurance in this State shall make available, in a format designated by the Secretary that is consistent with a nationwide organization whose primary membership consists of individual insurance companies and insurance trade organizations, to the Secretary for each motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued by the company the following information:
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(A) the name of the policy holder;
(B) the make, model, year, and vehicle
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| identification number of the covered motor vehicle;
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(C) the policy number;
(D) the policy effective date;
(E) the insurance company's National Association
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| of Insurance Commissioner's number; and
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(F) any other information the Secretary deems
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| necessary to match an eligible vehicle with an insurance policy;
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(2) a method for searching motor vehicle liability
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| insurance policies issued and in effect in this State by using the information under paragraph (1) of this subsection (a);
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(3) a requirement that at least twice per calendar
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| year, the Secretary shall verify the existence of a liability insurance policy for every registered motor vehicle subject to Section 7-601 of this Code; and if the Secretary is unable to verify the existence of a liability insurance policy, the Secretary shall, by U.S. mail or electronic mail, send the vehicle owner a written notice allowing the vehicle owner 30 calendar days to provide proof of insurance on the date of attempted verification, or to provide proof that the vehicle is no longer operable;
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(4) a requirement that a vehicle owner who does not
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| provide proof of insurance or proof of an inoperable vehicle under paragraph (3) of this subsection (a) shall be in violation of Section 7-601 of this Code and the Secretary shall suspend the vehicle's registration and the owner shall pay any applicable reinstatement fees and shall provide proof of insurance before the Secretary may reinstate the vehicle's registration under Section 7-606 of this Code;
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(5) a requirement that if a vehicle owner provides
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| proof of insurance on the date of the attempted verification under paragraph (3) of this subsection (1), the Secretary may verify the vehicle owner's response by furnishing necessary information to the insurance company. Within 7 calendar days of receiving the information, the insurance company shall confirm and notify the Secretary the dates of the motor vehicle's insurance coverage. If the insurance company does not confirm coverage for the date of attempted verification, the Secretary shall suspend the vehicle's registration and the owner of the vehicle shall pay any applicable reinstatement fees and shall provide proof of insurance before the Secretary may reinstate the vehicle's registration under Section 7-606 of this Code;
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(6) a requirement that the Secretary may consult with
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| members of the insurance industry during the implementation of the program, including, but not limited to, during the drafting process for adopting any rules that may be necessary to implement or manage an electronic motor vehicle liability insurance policy verification program;
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(7) a requirement that commercial lines of automobile
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| insurance are excluded from the program, but may voluntarily report insurance coverage to the State.
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(b) In addition to the semi-annual verification of liability insurance under subsection (a) of this Section, the Secretary may select monthly verification for a motor vehicle owned or registered by a person:
(1) whose motor vehicle registration during the
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| preceding 4 years has been suspended under Section 7-606 or 7-607 of this Code;
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(2) who, during the preceding 4 years, has been
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| convicted of violating Section 3-707, 3-708, or 3-710 of this Code while operating a vehicle owned by another person;
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(3) whose driving privileges have been suspended
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| during the preceding 4 years;
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(4) who, during the preceding 4 years, acquired
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| ownership of a motor vehicle while the registration of the vehicle under the previous owner was suspended under Section 7-606 or 7-607 of this Code; or
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(5) who, during the preceding 4 years, has received a
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| disposition of court supervision under subsection (c) of Section 5-6-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections for a violation of Section 3-707, 3-708, or 3-710 of this Code.
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(c) Nothing in this Section provides the Secretary with regulatory authority over insurance companies.
(d) The Secretary may contract with a private contractor to carry out the Secretary's duties under this Section.
(e) Any information collected, stored, maintained, or referred to under this Section shall be used solely for the purpose of verifying whether a registered motor vehicle meets the requirements of Section 7-601 of this Code and shall be exempt from a records request or from inspection and copying under the Freedom of Information Act. A request for release of verification of liability insurance policy information from the Secretary shall require a court order, subpoena, or the motor vehicle owner's approval.
(f) An insurer identified by an electronic motor vehicle liability insurance policy program as insuring less than 1,000 vehicles per year shall be exempt from the reporting requirements under subsection (a) of this Section.
(g) The Secretary may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Section.
(Source: P.A. 100-373, eff. 1-1-18 .)
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(625 ILCS 5/7-604) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 7-604)
Sec. 7-604. Verification of liability insurance policy.
(a) The Secretary of State may select random samples
of registrations of motor vehicles subject to Section 7-601 of this Code,
or owners thereof, for the purpose of verifying whether or not the motor
vehicles are insured.
In addition to such general random samples of motor vehicle
registrations, the Secretary may select for
verification other random samples, including, but not limited to
registrations of motor vehicles owned by persons:
(1) whose motor vehicle registrations during the |
| preceding 4 years have been suspended pursuant to Section 7-606 or 7-607 of this Code;
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(2) who during the preceding 4 years have been
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| convicted of violating Section 3-707, 3-708, or 3-710 of this Code while operating vehicles owned by other persons;
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(3) whose driving privileges have been suspended
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| during the preceding 4 years;
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(4) who during the preceding 4 years acquired
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| ownership of motor vehicles while the registrations of such vehicles under the previous owners were suspended pursuant to Section 7-606 or 7-607 of this Code; or
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(5) who during the preceding 4 years have received a
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| disposition of supervision under subsection (c) of Section 5-6-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections for a violation of Section 3-707, 3-708, or 3-710 of this Code.
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(b) Upon receiving certification from the Department of Transportation
under Section 7-201.2 of this Code of the name of an owner or operator of any
motor vehicle involved in a crash, the Secretary may verify whether or
not at the time of the crash such motor vehicle was covered by a
liability insurance policy in accordance with Section 7-601 of this Code.
(c) In preparation for selection of random samples and their
verification, the Secretary may send to owners of randomly selected motor
vehicles, or to randomly selected motor vehicle owners, requests for
information about their motor vehicles and liability
insurance coverage electronically or, if electronic means are unavailable, via U.S. mail. The request shall require the owner to state whether
or not the motor vehicle was insured on the verification date stated in the
Secretary's request and the request may require, but is not limited to,
a statement by the owner of the names and addresses of insurers, policy
numbers, and expiration dates of insurance coverage.
(d) Within 30 days after the Secretary sends a request under subsection (c) of this Section, the owner to
whom it is sent shall furnish the requested information to the Secretary
above the owner's signed affirmation that such information is true and
correct. Proof of insurance in effect on the verification date, as
prescribed by the Secretary, may be considered by the Secretary to be a
satisfactory response to the request for information.
Any owner whose response indicates that his or her vehicle was
not covered by a liability insurance policy in accordance with
Section 7-601 of this Code shall be deemed to have registered or maintained
registration of a motor vehicle in violation of that Section. Any owner who
fails to respond to such a request shall be deemed to have registered or
maintained registration of a motor vehicle in violation of Section
7-601 of this Code.
(e) If the owner responds to the request for information by asserting
that his or her vehicle was covered by a liability insurance policy on the
verification date stated in the Secretary's request, the Secretary may
conduct a verification of the response by furnishing necessary information
to the insurer named in the response. The insurer shall within
45 days
inform the Secretary whether or not on the verification date stated the
motor vehicle was insured by the insurer in accordance with Section 7-601
of this Code. The Secretary may by rule and regulation prescribe the
procedures for verification.
(f) No random sample selected under this Section shall be categorized on
the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age,
marital status, physical or mental disability, economic status,
or geography.
(g) (Blank).
(h) This Section shall be inoperative upon the effective date of the rules adopted by the Secretary to implement Section 7-603.5 of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 102-982, eff. 7-1-23 .)
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