Updated July 2026
What Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
Personal Injury Protection covers medical expenses, lost wages, and sometimes funeral costs for you and your passengers after a crash, without requiring you to prove who was at fault. It pays out immediately after the accident, up to your policy limit, regardless of whether you caused the collision or the other driver did. PIP functions as first-party coverage, meaning it protects you directly rather than covering damage you cause to others.
- You lose control on ice and hit a tree. You suffer a broken collarbone with $4,200 in emergency room bills and miss two weeks of work, losing $1,800 in wages. Your PIP policy with a $5,000 limit pays the full $6,000 immediately, regardless of fault. Without PIP, you'd file a claim through your health insurance, which may deny coverage for auto accidents or require you to exhaust liability claims first.
- You rear-end another car at a stoplight. You have $3,500 in medical bills from whiplash, and your passenger has $2,100 in bills. Your $10,000 PIP policy pays both claims totaling $5,600 without waiting for a liability determination. The other driver's injuries are covered by your bodily injury liability, not your PIP.
- You're a passenger in a friend's car when they cause a crash. You have $6,800 in medical bills. If you carry PIP on your own policy, it pays your bills immediately. If you don't have PIP, you must file a claim against the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability coverage, which can take months to settle and may require proving negligence.
Who Needs Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
PIP makes sense if your health insurance excludes auto accidents, has high deductibles, or doesn't cover lost wages. It's particularly valuable for self-employed drivers who can't afford unpaid recovery time, households with passengers who lack health coverage, and drivers in high-traffic areas where crash risk is elevated.
Compare your health insurance deductible to typical PIP limits. If your health plan has a $3,000 deductible and PIP costs $15 per month, you're paying $180 annually to cover that gap. If you have a $500 health deductible and rarely carry passengers, the overlap may not justify the cost. Factor in lost-wage coverage if your employer doesn't offer paid sick leave.
How Much Does Personal Injury Protection Insurance Cost?
PIP typically adds $8 to $25 per month to an Illinois auto insurance premium, or $96 to $300 annually, depending on coverage limits and deductible choices.
- Coverage limit selection — higher limits ($10,000 vs. $2,000) increase premiums proportionally.
- Deductible amount — choosing a $500 or $1,000 deductible reduces monthly cost by 15 to 30 percent.
- Health insurance coverage — carriers may offer lower PIP rates if you already have comprehensive health insurance that covers accident injuries.
- Household size — policies covering multiple drivers or passengers cost more because PIP extends to all insured individuals.
- Zip code medical costs — areas with higher average emergency room and hospital charges see higher PIP premiums.
- Claims history — prior PIP claims can raise renewal rates, though less severely than at-fault liability claims.