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Top 5 Home Insurance Myths
Most homeowners do not learn what their policy actually covers until they file a claim. By then it is too late. After...
PERSONAL INSURANCE · ILLINOIS
Illinois Landlord Insurance
A local independent brokerage with offices in Huntley and Elgin, writing rental property coverage across Illinois. We know which carriers want a McHenry County duplex and which will decline a 1920s Chicago three flat, before you waste a week finding out.
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The short answer
Illinois landlord insurance costs about $2,100 to $4,200 a year for a rental with a $300,000 dwelling limit, depending on county. Cook County prices highest. Downstate prices lowest.
The single largest variable in between is the age of your roof, because Illinois ranks among the top three states in the country for hail claims.
Figures on this page are estimated ranges for the Illinois market as of August 2026. They are not quotes.
On this page
Is it required by law? · What landlords pay by county · Why hail drives your premium · Which ordinance applies to you · The Smoke Detector Act · The Illinois FAIR Plan · Four Illinois exposures · Frequently asked questions
Is landlord insurance required by law in Illinois?
No Illinois statute requires a landlord to carry insurance on a rental property.
Three things effectively require it anyway:
Your lender. Every mortgage on an investment property requires property coverage, and most require evidence of loss-of-rents coverage as well.
Municipal rental registration. A number of Illinois municipalities operate rental registration or licensing programs that require proof of coverage at registration or renewal. Requirements vary, so check your village or city directly.
Your own exposure. Illinois has no cap on premises liability, and a tenant injury claim reaches your personal assets if the policy limit runs out.
More detail in our guide to whether landlords have to have insurance by law and what landlord policy is required in Illinois.
What Illinois landlords pay by county
Illinois landlord premiums range from about $2,100 downstate to $4,200 in Cook County for the same $300,000 dwelling limit.
Estimated annual premium, single-family rental, $300,000 dwelling limit, replacement cost with a 12-month loss-of-rents limit.
| Region | Estimated annual premium | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago and near suburbs | $2,900 – $4,200 | Pre-1940 stock, combined sewers, density |
| DuPage and Lake | $2,600 – $3,700 | Higher property values, hail exposure |
| Kane and McHenry | $2,400 – $3,400 | Hail corridor, Fox River flood zones |
| Will and Kendall | $2,400 – $3,400 | Newer stock, moderate hail |
| Winnebago and Rockford area | $2,200 – $3,100 | Older stock, lower values |
| Central Illinois | $2,300 – $3,300 | Highest tornado density in the state |
| Southern Illinois | $2,100 – $3,000 | Lowest values, New Madrid earthquake |
Two properties with the same dwelling limit in Chicago and in Effingham can differ by 40% or more, and roof age can move either one further than the county does.
For ranges by dwelling limit and property type rather than by region, see our landlord insurance cost guide.
Why hail drives your Illinois landlord premium
Illinois ranks second or third nationally in hail claims paid, and that single fact explains most of what has happened to Illinois property rates.
State Farm, the largest writer in the state, publishes its Illinois claim data:
Illinois hail claims paid by State Farm, by year, with national rank.
| Year | Illinois hail claims paid | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $263 million | 4th |
| 2023 | $906 million | 3rd |
| 2024 | $899 million | 2nd |
| 2025 | $558 million | 3rd |
Through June 19, 2026 the company reported nearly 50,000 severe-weather home and auto claims in Illinois, with homeowner claims running 47% above the ten-year average. Illinois recorded 121 confirmed tornadoes in 2023, 142 in 2024, and 126 in 2025. A March 10, 2026 storm produced hailstones six inches or larger in Kankakee County, potentially a state record.
What that means for your policy
Roof age decides your terms. Published carrier thresholds range from 10 to 16 years before a roof moves to depreciated settlement. Past that line a hail claim pays actual cash value, which on a 20-year-old roof is commonly half the replacement cost. Some carriers will not write an older roof at all.
Your wind and hail deductible is probably not what you think. State Farm now requires a minimum 1% wind and hail deductible on Illinois policies, and other carriers have moved the same direction. On a $300,000 dwelling that is $3,000 before the carrier pays anything, not the flat $1,000 on your declarations page for other perils.
Cosmetic damage may be excluded. Some Illinois forms now exclude cosmetic hail damage to metal roofing and siding, meaning dents that do not affect function are not covered.
Ten minutes that could be worth thousands
If you own an Illinois rental and have not looked at your roof age and your wind and hail deductible together, that is the highest-value ten minutes available to you. Send us your declarations page and we will read it back in plain English, free, whether or not you move your coverage.
Have Us Review My PolicyCall 833-776-4671Illinois landlord-tenant ordinances: which one applies to you
Illinois has no single statewide landlord-tenant ordinance. Which rules apply depends on exactly where the property sits, and there are four different answers.
Which landlord-tenant ordinance governs an Illinois rental, by location.
| Where the property is | Which ordinance governs | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| City of Chicago | Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) | Exempts owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer. Since May 1, 2024 a summary of the ordinance must be attached to every written lease and renewal |
| Suburban Cook County | Cook County Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), effective June 1, 2021 | Excludes Chicago. Exempts owner-occupied buildings of six or fewer units. Landlords must notify a prospective tenant whether the property is excluded before accepting any fees |
| Oak Park, Evanston, Mount Prospect | Their own municipal ordinances | Carved out of the Cook County RTLO |
| Kane, McHenry, DuPage, Lake, Will, downstate | No local ordinance. Illinois state law only | Fewer procedural requirements, but state law on deposits, notice, and habitability still applies |
Our offices sit in Elgin and Huntley, which fall in the fourth tier. Many of our clients own in the first three.
An underwriting angle most owners miss
The Chicago RLTO's six-unit owner-occupancy exemption sits close to the line where a property stops being a dwelling fire risk and becomes a commercial habitational risk. If you are at five or six units and owner-occupying, you are near two different boundaries at once, and they do not move together.
The Illinois Smoke Detector Act and why it affects your liability
Since January 1, 2023, Illinois requires smoke alarms with self-contained, non-removable, ten-year sealed batteries in most dwellings.
Alarms are exempt if they are hardwired to AC power, part of a centrally monitored system, or wireless with low-battery notification.
The part most landlords missed: the amendment removed the prior exemption for municipalities over one million residents, so Chicago properties are covered for the first time. Chicago enforcement provides a 90-day cure period, then fines of $100 escalating every 30 days to a cumulative $1,500.
The insurance consequence is not the fine
A fire loss in a unit with non-compliant alarms creates a liability exposure that your dwelling policy limit may not comfortably absorb, and it hands a plaintiff a straightforward negligence theory. This is one of the more concrete arguments for an umbrella policy on an Illinois rental.
What if no carrier will write your property? The Illinois FAIR Plan
The Illinois FAIR Plan is the state's market of last resort, and its commercial form carries no liability coverage at all.
Formed in 1968 and supported by nearly 500 Illinois insurance companies, the FAIR Plan writes Dwelling Property, Commercial Property, and Homeowners coverage statewide for properties that cannot obtain coverage in the standard market. Commercial applications require proof of three declinations, certified under 215 ILCS 5/524.
Limited perils. Fire, lightning, wind, hail, explosion, smoke, vehicles, aircraft, vandalism and malicious mischief. Earthquake is available by endorsement with a 5% standard deductible, which matters in southern Illinois given New Madrid exposure.
Actual cash value settlement on the commercial form, not replacement cost.
No liability coverage at all on the commercial form, and coverage caps at $1,000,000.
Rates are rising. The FAIR Plan implemented a 13.8% dwelling fire rate increase effective April 1, 2025, and an 11.6% homeowners increase effective April 1, 2026.
The gap that catches people
A landlord placed on the FAIR Plan commercial form has property coverage and no premises liability. If a tenant is injured, there is no defense and no indemnity. If you are on the FAIR Plan, you need a separate general liability policy alongside it, and most owners do not know that until something happens.
Four Illinois exposures we see on almost every rental
Water backup, river flooding, frozen pipes, and pre-1940 building systems account for most of the Illinois claims and declinations we see.
Water and sewer backup
Chicago and many older Illinois municipalities run combined sewers, and heavy rain pushes water back into finished basements and garden units. It is excluded on a base form, it costs relatively little to add, and it is the highest-frequency claim in Illinois rental housing.
Fox River and river-basin flooding
Elgin, Algonquin, Carpentersville, and McHenry sit along the Fox. The Rock, Des Plaines, and Illinois river basins create the same exposure elsewhere. Flood is never covered by a landlord policy. It requires a separate flood policy, and the mortgage requirement only applies in mapped high-risk zones, which means a lot of at-risk property is uninsured for it.
Freeze and burst pipes
Dwelling forms condition frozen-pipe coverage on maintaining heat, commonly 55 degrees. That collides directly with a vacant unit between tenants in an Illinois January. A burst supply line running for days in an unoccupied building is one of the most expensive and most preventable losses in the state.
Pre-1940 housing stock
Illinois has a great deal of it, and Chicago two-flats alone represented roughly 27% of the city's housing stock as of 2015. Knob and tube wiring, fuse boxes, 60-amp service, galvanized supply lines, original cast-iron drains, and unreinforced masonry all affect eligibility before they affect price. Ordinance or law coverage matters more on these buildings than on anything else, because a partial loss triggers current code compliance on the rebuild.
Where we work
Pro Insurance Group is an independent brokerage with offices in Elgin and Huntley, writing landlord and rental property coverage across Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Lake, Will, and Kendall counties, plus Rockford, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, and downstate.
We also serve property owners as an independent agent in Kane County and McHenry County, and write Illinois home insurance for owner-occupied property.
As an independent broker we quote your property across our full carrier panel rather than a single company's rates. On an Illinois rental the spread between the highest and lowest carrier quote typically runs 35% to 45%, and the cheapest quote is not always the best one once you compare roof settlement terms.
What Our Clients Say
Illinois Landlord Insurance FAQ
How much is landlord insurance in Illinois?
About $2,100 to $4,200 a year for a single-family rental with a $300,000 dwelling limit, depending on county. Cook County prices highest, southern Illinois lowest.
Is landlord insurance required by law in Illinois?
No Illinois statute requires it. Lenders require it on mortgaged properties, and some municipal rental registration programs require proof of coverage.
Why is Illinois landlord insurance getting more expensive?
Hail. Illinois has ranked second or third nationally in hail claims paid for three consecutive years, and Illinois property rates rose roughly 50% between 2021 and 2024 according to Consumer Federation of America analysis.
Can I require Illinois tenants to carry renters insurance?
Yes. Illinois permits a landlord to require renters insurance as a lease term. It protects the tenant's belongings, adds a layer of liability coverage, and several carriers credit it on your policy.
Do I need flood insurance on an Illinois rental?
Landlord policies never cover flood. If the property sits in a mapped high-risk zone your lender will require separate flood coverage. Along the Fox River and other Illinois river basins, properties just outside mapped zones still flood, and coverage there is cheap.
Does the Chicago RLTO apply to my property?
Only if the property is in the City of Chicago. Suburban Cook County properties fall under the Cook County RTLO instead, except in Oak Park, Evanston, and Mount Prospect, which have their own ordinances. Collar county and downstate properties follow state law only.
What is the Illinois FAIR Plan and should I use it?
It is the state's insurer of last resort for properties that cannot get standard coverage. It writes limited perils, settles commercial claims at actual cash value, and carries no liability coverage on the commercial form. Use it only after the standard and surplus lines markets have declined, and pair it with a separate liability policy.
Does my roof age really matter that much in Illinois?
Yes, more than almost any other single factor. Carriers commonly move roofs past 10 to 16 years to actual cash value settlement, and given Illinois hail frequency that is the difference between a covered roof replacement and paying half of it yourself.
What is a percentage wind and hail deductible?
A deductible calculated as a percentage of your dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount. State Farm now requires a minimum 1% in Illinois. On a $300,000 dwelling that is $3,000 for a hail claim even if your all-other-perils deductible is $1,000.
Do I need an umbrella on an Illinois rental?
If you own more than one property or have meaningful personal assets, yes. Illinois places no cap on premises liability, and excess liability typically costs a few hundred dollars a year.
Does landlord insurance cover sewer backup in Illinois?
Not on a base form. It requires an endorsement, and in Chicago and older Illinois municipalities with combined sewers it is the claim most likely to occur.
Do I need landlord insurance if I rent out one room in my house?
Usually not a full landlord policy, but you do need to tell your homeowners carrier. Renting a room changes the occupancy your policy was written for, and an undisclosed rental arrangement can jeopardize a claim.
How much landlord insurance do I need in Illinois?
Enough dwelling coverage to rebuild at current Illinois construction costs, a loss-of-rents limit matched to your actual rents, water and sewer backup, ordinance or law on anything pre-1980, and liability high enough that a tenant injury does not reach your other assets.
Illinois rentals are our home market
Offices in Elgin and Huntley, writing landlord and rental property coverage across Illinois. We quote your property across our full carrier panel rather than a single company's rates.
Get My Illinois Landlord Quote Call 833-776-4671Same business day on most single-property quotes. Prefer to text? Send quoteme to 312-878-9416.
DR
Reviewed by Dave Rysavy
VP, Personal Lines · Pro Insurance Group. Dave places personal lines and rental property coverage for Illinois property owners at Pro Insurance Group.
Sources and methodology: Premium figures are estimated ranges for the Illinois market as of August 2026 and are not quotes. Illinois hail claim data and rate/deductible changes, State Farm newsroom. Severe convective storm losses, Insurance Information Institute. Illinois FAIR Plan coverage terms and rate filings, illinoisfairplan.com. Chicago RLTO, City of Chicago. Cook County RTLO. Illinois Smoke Detector Act, Public Act 102-0046. Illinois rate history, Consumer Federation of America. Chicago housing stock, DePaul University Institute for Housing Studies. Reviewed August 2026.
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