What is a car accident claim worth in Illinois?
Every rule below is quoted from Illinois law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
The short answer
Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in Illinois, and the Illinois rules that raise or lower what you collect. $27,477 was the average injury claim paid in Illinois in 2022.
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Averages come from NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report. State rules are quoted from Illinois law on this site, each with a link.
What claims paid in Illinois
Injury claims in Illinois averaged $27,477 each in 2022.
Car and property damage claims averaged $5,973.
| Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance | $27,477 |
|---|---|
| Car and property damage | $5,973 |
| Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy | $4,157 |
| Collision coverage, paid by your own policy | $6,260 |
These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.
What changes the number in Illinois
If you were partly at fault
Illinois uses modified comparative fault with a 51 percent bar. You can collect money only if your share of fault is 50 percent or less. If your fault is more than 50 percent, you cannot collect anything.
“the plaintiff shall be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought. The plaintiff shall not be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is not more than 50%”
The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling
Illinois requires liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injury, and $20,000 for property damage.
“every such policy or bond is subject, if the motor vehicle crash has resulted in bodily injury or death, to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of not less than $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of any one person in any one motor vehicle crash and ... to a limit of not less than $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of 2 or more persons ... and, if the motor vehicle crash has resulted in injury to or destruction of property, to a limit of not less than $20,000”
If the other driver has no insurance
Illinois requires every auto liability policy to include uninsured and hit and run motorist coverage at the same limits as the state minimum liability coverage. Unlike some states, this coverage is built into the policy rather than something you can simply decline.
“No policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death ... shall be renewed, delivered, or issued for delivery in this State unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto, in limits for bodily injury or death set forth in Section 7-203 of the Illinois Vehicle Code”
The deadline that ends the claim
You have 2 years from the crash to sue for your injuries.
“Actions for damages for an injury to the person ... shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued”
What a lawyer takes if you hire one
Illinois has no statute or rule capping the percentage a lawyer can charge in a personal injury contingency fee. The lawyer conduct rule only requires that the fee be reasonable and be put in a signed written agreement, and it bans contingent fees only in divorce cases and criminal defense.
“A fee may be contingent on the outcome of the matter for which the service is rendered, except in a matter in which a contingent fee is prohibited by paragraph (c) or other law. A contingent fee agreement shall be in a writing signed by the client and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.