In Illinois, vehicle owners must comply with the Mandatory Vehicle Insurance Law.
Illinois insurance law touches all types of insurance, whether through insurance company regulations or consumer regulations. All vehicle owners in Illinois are required to minimally insure the vehicle against personal liability in the event of an accident, for example. While new health insurance laws continue to change due to the National Health Insurance Reform Act, there are many laws governing insurance companies and aimed toward protecting consumers. Homeowners insurance, unemployment insurance, and worker's compensation insurance are just three more areas of insurance affected by Illinois law.
Mandatory Vehicle Insurance
In Illinois, vehicle owners must comply with the Mandatory Vehicle Insurance Law by purchasing minimum dollar amount coverage in three areas of a policy: personal liability for the damage of another person's property (minimum coverage---$15,000), personal liability in the injury or death of one person in an accident (minimum coverage---$20,000) and personal liability for the injury or death of more than one person in an accident (minimum coverage---$40,000). Proof of insurance must be in the vehicle (including cars, trucks, buses, vans, motorcycles, and RVs) it covers at all times and demonstrated to a police officer upon request. The minimum fine for driving an uninsured vehicle is $500.
Health Insurance
Due to the National Health Insurance Reform Act, health insurance law in Illinois has recently changed. Currently, Illinois law does permit insurers to deny an individual coverage based on preexisting conditions. According to Individual-health-plans.com, these "conditions can be excluded for a maximum period of 24 months." This law is set to change by early 2014.
There are no laws which limit monthly premium prices, although recent changes have required premium increases to be examined and "insurance companies are required to post information justifying premium increases on their websites," according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. If a policy holder becomes ill, state law forbids insurance companies from canceling the policy. Also, parents of young adult dependents (up to age 26, or 30 for military veterans) are allowed by law to add their young adult children to their existing insurance coverage.
Homeowners Insurance
A homeowner is not required by Illinois law to buy a homeowner's policy, however, nearly all mortgage companies require that a buyer purchase insurance because property is a very large investment which is bank-owned until the mortgage is paid in full. Illinois law doesn't require insurance companies to provide coverage for floods, earthquakes or pest infestations, and this coverage must be purchased in addition to the main policy. Most policies cover fire damage, storm and lightning damage; smoke, theft and vandalism damage.
Insurance companies may raise their homeowners' insurance premiums for whatever reason; there's no law which governs rate increases.
A homeowner's credit report is taken into account when insurance companies process an application, but an application cannot be denied based solely on the credit report, by law.
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment insurance is provided in the state of Illinois under a variety of circumstances. If a worker quits a job due to sexual harassment, unbearable conditions, abusive behavior, a detrimental cut in hours or pay, or the supervisor breaks a labor law, unemployment insurance will, by law, cover the quitting worker. Fired personnel qualify for unemployment insurance in the state of Illinois unless they were fired due to misconduct. By law, an applicant who is denied unemployment insurance may appeal the decision.
Worker's Compensation Insurance
According to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, the law in Illinois "requires employers to provide workers' compensation insurance for their employees. Section 1(b)2 provides that almost everyone who is hired, injured or whose employment is localized in Illinois is covered by Illinois law. ...[It's] estimated that 91 percent of Illinois employees are covered under the Act." Although it is required that employers protect their employees with this insurance, some employers do not comply with the law. If an employer is negligent in obtaining workers' comp insurance, it's a Class A misdemeanor; however, if an employer knowingly doesn't purchase insurance, it's a Class 4 felony.
Tags: personal liability, comply with, Health Insurance, insurance companies, Mandatory Vehicle
