Beginning in 2020, the Secretary of State began an Electronic Liability Insurance Verification program for vehicles registered in Illinois. Each vehicle’s liability policy will need to 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 and residents have reported receiving the latest round of letters recently.
Jenna Stanton, Co-Owner of Stanton Insurance in Monmouth says:
“If you receive a letter from the Illinois Secretary of State for verification of insurance, take the letter and head to your insurance agent where they will explain and take care of the verification for you. You must do this before the suspension date listed on the letter. If you don’t have any auto insurance in place, you’re going to need to get a policy, be aware there is a $100 fine for not having a policy in place. This fine will need to be paid after the policy is purchased for verification purposes. Again, this will need to be done before the suspension date listed on the policy.”
Stanton Insurance has also issued a statement on their website about the liability coverage requirements in Illinois. 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 the Secretary of State 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.
