Under 215 ILCS 5/143.24b, an Illinois auto insurer must tell you the at-fault driver’s liability policy limits within 30 days after you send a proper certified request. You don’t need to file a lawsuit first, and you don’t need an attorney. The statute gives injured claimants a direct way to learn the ceiling on available coverage before deciding whether to settle, sue, or turn to their own underinsured motorist policy.1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage
What Goes in the Request
The documentation list is short. You need to send two things: a certified letter asking for disclosure of the policy limits, and a brief description of your injuries together with a statement of your medical bills to date and copies of your medical records.1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage
The injury description doesn’t have to be long or written in legal language. A plain summary of what happened, what body parts were injured, and what treatment you’ve received will do. Attach a total of your bills so far and copies of records from your treating providers. The statute sets no minimum dollar figure, so even modest medical expenses satisfy the requirement as long as records back them up.
A police accident report is not on the list. Crash reports can be useful later when you’re negotiating an injury claim, but including one is not what triggers the insurer’s obligation under this section.
Who Can Send the Letter
Two categories of people can make the request: the injured claimant, or an attorney representing the claimant.1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage The statutory language reaches “any attorney purporting to represent any claimant,” so a lawyer who has been retained but has not yet filed suit can send the request. If you’re handling the matter yourself, you can send it directly.
How to Send It
The statute requires a certified letter. Regular first-class mail, email, or a fax will not start the clock. Use USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested and address it to the insurer’s claims department. The return receipt matters because it establishes the date the insurer received your letter, which is the date the 30-day response window begins.
Keep a complete copy of everything you send, including the medical records and bills, along with your postal receipts. If the insurer later says the request never arrived or was incomplete, your copies are the proof.
The 30-Day Response Deadline
Once the insurer receives a compliant request, it has 30 calendar days to send the coverage information back to you by certified mail, return receipt requested.1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage The statute doesn’t dictate a specific form for the response beyond the dollar amount of liability coverage. Insurers commonly send a copy of the declarations page or a claims department letter stating the limits.
Section 143.24b itself doesn’t spell out a penalty for missing the deadline. A separate provision, Section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code, allows courts to award attorney fees and additional damages of up to 60% of the recovery, or up to $60,000, when an insurer’s conduct is found to be “vexatious and unreasonable.”2FindLaw. Illinois Code 215 ILCS 5/155 Ignoring a valid disclosure request is the kind of conduct that provision addresses.
What This Statute Does Not Cover
The disclosure obligation applies to “personal private passenger automobile liability insurance.”1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage By its text, that language does not reach commercial fleet policies, trucking insurance, or coverage issued to government entities. If a commercial vehicle or a municipal truck was involved, this statute is not the vehicle for obtaining policy limits.
The statute also does not mention umbrella or excess policies. Even when the at-fault driver carries a personal umbrella above the standard auto policy, the insurer’s obligation here runs to the primary auto policy only. In serious injury cases where the primary policy is clearly insufficient, identifying additional coverage layers may require formal discovery in litigation.
Confidentiality of the Number You Receive
The disclosed policy limit is legally confidential. Access is restricted to the claimant, the claimant’s attorney, and staff in the attorney’s office with access to the case file.1Illinois General Assembly. 215 ILCS 5/143.24b – Disclosure of Liability Coverage You cannot share it publicly or hand it to parties outside that circle. Providing the number is not an admission of fault by the insurer, and the confidentiality rule reinforces that the disclosure is a settlement tool.
Using the Policy Limits Number
The disclosed figure is the maximum the insurer will pay on the at-fault driver’s behalf for your claim. Compare it against your total losses: medical bills already incurred, expected future treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
If your losses clearly exceed the limit, you have a few paths. You can pursue the at-fault driver’s personal assets through a judgment, though collection against individuals is often difficult. Your own underinsured motorist coverage, if you carry it, can fill the gap between the other driver’s policy and your actual damages.
If the limits are close to or above your total losses, you’re in a stronger position to negotiate a settlement without filing suit. Many injury claims resolve through a demand letter and back-and-forth with the adjuster. Knowing the ceiling before you start prevents months of work on a case the policy cannot pay.