When you consider car insurance, you should always remember that buying a car can be cheap, but owning one is costly. Insurance premiums can be well over $1,000 each year. Moreover, it is against the law to drive without insurance. That is where insurance companies come into the picture. You must confirm whether you are protected with liability insurance. If you hit someone, damages charged to you can be really high.

In Chicago, if you injure or kill a person, the minimum liability insurance coverage is $20,000, $40,000 for injuring or killing more than one person and $15,000 for damage caused to the property of others. Random computer checks, issuing traffic tickets, and reports on accident will enforce the insurance.

In Chicago, penalties include a minimum $500 traffic fine for driving a car without insurance for the first offense. Beyond that you can lose your license for two months, be fined $100 to get your license reinstated and be charged a minimum $1000 for driving with suspended plates if you are caught.

Chicago drives should have a SR-22 certificate from an insurance companies that is filed with the Secretary of State. It covers motorists driving a vehicle they do not own. If the motorist does not own a vehicle, the financial responsibility requirement can be met through the Operator's Certificate.

Owner's Certificate covers vehicles owned by the driver. The type of vehicle must be listed on the SR-22 or may be issued for "All owned vehicles." Operators-Owners Certificate covers all vehicles owned or non-owned by the driver.

Financial Responsibility Insurance (SR-22) is the mechanism to monitor the insurance of problematic drivers and authorize the Secretary of State to suspend upon cancellation (SR-26) or expiration. With the help of SR-22 and SR-26 process, insurance is made mandate and enforced in the most efficient way.

An SR-22 may be obtained by contacting an insurance company that is authorized to write SR-22 policies. The insurance agency gets the payment and the agent submits a request for an SR-22 certificate to the central office. Now the certificate will be sent directly to the Secretary of State. This process may consume 30 days. On accepting, you will receive a copy of the SR-22 from the insurance company and a letter from the Secretary of State.