For the Illinois Personal Lines exam, the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is tested two ways: the national policy structure and the Illinois auto laws layered on top of it. This standalone guide walks through the lettered parts every PAP uses, then focuses on the Illinois rules an agent must apply every day—financial-responsibility minimums, the at-fault legal system, the mandatory uninsured-motorist requirement, underinsured-motorist coverage, and how policies can be cancelled or nonrenewed. Spend your study time on the Illinois overlay; that is where the state questions live.

The national fundamentals (quick version)

The Personal Auto Policy insures individuals and families for the vehicles they own and drive. It is divided into clearly labeled parts:

• Part A — Liability Coverage: pays for bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally responsible for, and includes a duty to defend with defense costs paid on top of the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical and funeral expenses for the insured and passengers regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM): pays your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, paid at Actual Cash Value (ACV).
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions set the rules.

An insured generally includes the named insured, the resident spouse, resident family members (including a child away at school), and anyone using the covered auto with permission. Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos, pickups, and vans not used primarily for business. That skeleton is the same nationwide; Illinois changes the dollar limits and the legal environment around it.

Illinois is an at-fault (tort) state

Illinois follows a tort (at-fault) system rather than a no-fault system. Whoever causes the crash is financially responsible, and the injured person recovers from that driver's liability insurance—or sues. Because of this, liability coverage and proof of financial responsibility are the backbone of Illinois auto regulation.

When both drivers share blame, Illinois uses modified comparative negligence. Picture a simple cutoff: an injured person who is more than 50% responsible recovers nothing at all. If their share is 50% or less, they can still collect, but the payout is trimmed by their own percentage of fault. This differs from a pure comparative system (where any at-fault claimant recovers something) and from a no-fault system (where each driver turns first to their own coverage).

Financial responsibility: the 25/50/20 minimums

Illinois drivers must demonstrate financial responsibility, almost always by buying liability insurance that meets the state's minimum split limits of 25/50/20:

• $25,000 bodily injury per person
• $50,000 bodily injury per accident
• $20,000 property damage per accident

Agents say this aloud as "25/50/20." These are bare-minimum floors—most clients should buy more to protect their assets. Illinois verifies coverage electronically, and an uninsured driver faces fines, suspension of the vehicle's registration/plates, and reinstatement fees. A bond or deposit can technically satisfy the law, but auto liability insurance is the everyday method.

Mandatory uninsured motorist coverage

Here is a point Illinois agents must never get wrong: Uninsured Motorist (UM) bodily injury coverage is required on every Illinois auto policy, written at limits at least equal to the 25/50 bodily-injury minimums. UM protects you and your passengers when the at-fault driver carries no insurance or flees the scene (hit-and-run).

Unlike states where UM is merely "offered," Illinois builds it in as a mandatory coverage. An applicant cannot end up with a legal Illinois policy that has no UM.

Underinsured motorist coverage

Underinsured Motorist (UIM) handles the situation where the at-fault driver has insurance, just not enough to cover your injuries.

• UIM must be provided or offered at limits matching your UM/BI limits.
• When you buy UM above the state minimum, UIM generally must be included at the same limits; higher UIM amounts can usually be declined in writing.
• UIM pays the difference between the other driver's lower BI limit and your UIM limit—so a client with strong UIM is protected even against a bare-minimum at-fault driver.

The recurring theme: UM is mandatory, and UIM tracks the bodily-injury limits rather than standing alone.

No PIP, plus the optional coverages

• Illinois does not require PIP / no-fault coverage. Medical Payments (Med Pay) is available as an optional first-party coverage that pays medical and funeral costs regardless of fault.
• Collision and Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) are optional, though a lender will usually require them on a financed vehicle. Remember that damage from hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision.

Cancellation and nonrenewal notice

Illinois limits how and when an insurer can end a personal auto policy. The timelines are commonly cited as follows:

• Cancellation for nonpayment of premium uses a shorter notice (often around 10 days).
• Other mid-term cancellations require a longer advance written notice (commonly around 30 days), and after a policy has been in force a set time (often 60 days) the insurer may cancel only for limited reasons—chiefly nonpayment, driver's-license suspension/revocation, or fraud/material misrepresentation.
• Nonrenewal (declining to continue at the end of the term) likewise requires advance written notice, commonly around 30 days, so the insured can shop for replacement coverage.

Keep the short nonpayment window separate from the longer ordinary-cancellation / nonrenewal window.

Required vs. optional coverages in Illinois

Key Illinois numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Illinois is at-fault, not no-fault—there is no mandatory PIP here.
• 25/50/20—don't transpose the $20k property-damage figure into a bodily-injury slot.
• UM is mandatory in Illinois; it is not an optional add-on the customer must request.
• Modified comparative negligence: more than 50% at fault means no recovery (the 50% bar—watch the exact wording).
• UIM fills the gap (your UIM limit minus the other driver's BI payment); it isn't a second full benefit on top.
• Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision.
• Liability defense costs are paid in addition to the limit (national rule that still applies in Illinois).

Quick recap

• The PAP keeps its national Parts A–F structure; Illinois changes the limits and legal context.
• Illinois is a tort/at-fault state using modified comparative negligence, where a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
• Financial-responsibility minimums are 25/50/20.
• Uninsured Motorist BI is mandatory (at least 25/50), and Underinsured Motorist is provided/offered at the policy's BI limits.
• Illinois has no mandatory no-fault/PIP; Med Pay, Collision, and Comprehensive are optional.
• Cancellation for nonpayment uses a short (~10-day) notice; ordinary cancellation/nonrenewal uses a longer (~30-day) notice.