USE OF AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE POLICIES IN PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS
No owner shall permit another person to operate a motor vehicle designed to be used on a public highway unless the motor vehicle is covered by a liability insurance policy.
No one may operate a motor vehicle or allow a vehicle to be operated without obtaining sufficient insurance.
Minimum insurance policy limits: $25,000 per person or $50,000 per accident for personal injury or death and $20,000 for property damages.
Insurance policy exclusion denying coverage is enforceable where:
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The insured occupies a vehicle the insured owns, but which is not the insured vehicle.
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Government vehicles.
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Vehicles located for use as a residence, such as motor homes.
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Vehicles designed primarily for off-road use.
If a household member's injuries are excluded under the liability coverage, then the member's claim recovery may be possible under the Uninsured or Underinsured policies' provisions.
The insurance coverage would become available if the insured has renewed her annual policy despite wrong information provided in the initial application.
An insurance contract can be voided for material “misrepresentation” if it is made with
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The actual intent to deceive or
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Materially affects either the acceptance of the risk or the hazard assumed by the company.
A “misrepresentation” is a statement of fact that is untrue, or an omission of fact.
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It is “material” if “reasonably careful and intelligent persons would have regarded the facts stated (or omitted) as substantially increasing the chances of the events insured against, so as to cause a rejection of the application.
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Where there have been innocent answers to questions on the insurance application, misrepresentation does not exist.
UNINSURED MOTORIST POLICY COVERAGE OF INJURIES CAUSED BY UNINSURED OR UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER
Uninsured Motorist. If the at-fault driver ran away from the scene of the collision (a “hit-and-run” collision) or had no automobile liability insurance covering the subject collision, then the injured person’s automobile insurance carrier will pay for injury compensation under the “uninsured motorist” policy the purchase of which is mandatory in Illinois.
To obtain compensation for injuries sustained in collisions with vehicles driven by uninsured or unidentified driver (in case of a hit-and-run accident):
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An injured claimant must not be at fault in such collisions and
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The claimant must prove a physical contact between the claimant, hurt as a pedestrian or bicyclist having a respective auto insurance policy or vehicle occupant, and the at-fault and escaped vehicle.
Uninsured motorist policies may provide for a two-year limitations period for an insured to demand arbitration or file a declaratory action suit against the insurer.
Two year demand filing period may be extended from the time when an insured makes a claim until the claim is denied.
The policyholder does not need to pursue the “hit-and-run” vehicle to determine the vehicle or driver’s identity.
USE OF UNDERINSURED MOTORIST ("UIM") INSURANCE POLICY
The Underinsured Motorist Coverage Act allows a reduction in underinsured motorist limits based on the actual damages recovered under the tortfeasor's policy.
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The language of the insurance policy controls regardless of any interpretation of the Uninsured Motorist Act.
The Underinsured Motorist Coverage Act policies exclude compensation for insured's injuries where:
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Vehicles are insured under the same insurer's policy.
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Vehicles furnished for the regular use of the policyholder, the policy holder's spouse, or the policy holder's relatives.
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The "household" or "family car" regularly used by someone else in the family.
Underinsured / UIM auto insurance policy covers the compensation for injuries:
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In excess of the at-fault party’s liability policy surrendered to the insured / injured
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Driver and passenger in case of their insufficient injury compensation.
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There must be either direct or indirect physical contact between the hit-and-run vehicle and the insured person (e.g., a pedestrian) or vehicle.
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