Selecting the Right Home Insurance in Illinois
Homeowners insurance in Illinois helps residents in the Prairie State protect their home and personal property. Your home in Illinois faces serious risks like fires, lightning and burglary. With Illinois
homeowners insurance through the AARP
® Homeowners Insurance Program from The Hartford,
1 you can stay protected if your property gets damaged.
What Exactly Does IL Home Insurance Cover?
Home insurance can help protect your property wherever you are in Illinois, whether that’s Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Springfield or anywhere in between. Your home insurance policy from The Hartford comes with standard coverages that help protect you against different risks, up to your policy limits. These types of insurance coverages that are typically found in a homeowners policy include:
- Dwelling coverage to help protect your home, and the structures attached to it, from property damage.
- Personal property coverage to help cover your costs to fix or replace damaged belongings from a covered loss.
- Personal liability coverage to help cover claims that say you’re responsible for bodily injury or property damage.
- Other structures coverage to help protect buildings on your property that aren’t attached to your home.
- Loss of use coverage to help pay for your living expenses if your house is unlivable due to damages from a covered loss.
- Medical payments coverage to help cover someone else’s treatment expenses if they get hurt on your property. It also can help cover any injuries caused by a member of your household or pet, regardless of where it happens.2
- ProtectorPLUS Zero Deductible Benefit coverage‡‡ to waive up to $5,000 off your base policy deductible if your home sustains a large loss in damages. Say a tree falls during a storm and lands on your roof. After you file a claim, your home insurance company determines there is $30,000 in damages. This benefit would waive your deductible.
Does Illinois Require Homeowners Insurance?
Illinois doesn’t require homeowners insurance by law. However, it’s still a good idea to get coverage to help protect your home and belongings. If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender may also require you to have insurance.
Additional Homeowners Insurance Coverages for IL Homeowners
To help cover your unique needs, you can customize your IL homeowners insurance policy.
Some insurance coverage options you can add to your home policy are:
- Additional Limits coverage to help cover your costs to rebuild your home, at an amount up to 125% of your policy limits, if it’s a total loss. Depending on where you live, your policy can cover your costs up to 150% of your coverage limits. So, if a fire damages your home, this coverage can help cover costs for building materials and construction.
- Water backup and sump pump overflow to help protect your property from backed up water or overflow from your sump pump. It’s important to know this coverage doesn’t cover damages from flood or surface water. So, if a heavy rainstorm causes flooding damage, it won't cover your claim.
- Valuable items blanket coverage to increase coverage limits on your valuables, like silverware and jewelry. This coverage increases the limit to $10,000 per item and extends coverage for lost or damaged valuables.
- Reimbursement for replacing locks to help cover up to $500 to replace locks if your keys get lost or stolen, with a $100 deductible.
- Identity fraud expense coverage to help you recover after fraud or identity theft by compensating you for out-of-pocket expenses up to certain limits (see your policy for limits).
- Personal injury liability coverage to help cover damages from a slander or libel claim.
- “New for Old” Protection‡‡ to replace your destroyed belongings with new ones of the same quality. So, if a fire destroys your furniture, we’ll help provide the actual cost to replace them.
- Disappearing property deductible,‡‡ which reduces your deductible each year if you go three consecutive years without filing a claim.
- Equipment breakdown coverage to help cover mechanical or electrical breakdown of your appliances. For example, if your dishwasher’s electrical components break down, we can help cover your repair costs. Keep in mind this does not cover normal wear and tear. This benefit also provides coverage if you want to make “green” upgrades. It pays up to 125% of your cost to replace any covered equipment with items that are similar, but more energy efficient or environmentally friendly.
Be aware that your Illinois homeowners policy doesn’t cover certain natural disasters, like floods. Also, your policy may have an additional deductible for wind or hail. And in a state that has a city known as the Windy City, making sure you have the right coverage to protect against these risks is important. You can work with one of The Hartford’s insurance specialists by calling
888-413-8970 to find the best coverage to protect your home in Illinois.
What Is the Average Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Illinois?
According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), the average
homeowners insurance rate in Illinois in 2019 was $1,054, which was lower than the national average of $1,272.
3 Different factors, like your location, affect home insurance premiums, which means the cost of homeowners insurance will vary.