Insurance companies in Illinois rely on insurance company tactics like delaying investigations, lowballing settlements, disputing injuries, requesting recorded statements, and monitoring social media to reduce or deny payouts. Under Illinois law (215 ILCS 5/155), insurers that act in vexatious or unreasonable bad faith can be ordered to pay attorney fees and additional damages.
The most common tactics to watch for:
These are not isolated decisions. Every major carrier trains adjusters to follow the same approach, and Illinois drivers across Chicago, the suburbs, and downstate see the same patterns. The advantage in Illinois is that state law gives you specific tools to push back. Chicago personal injury lawyers can help you use them.
Most insurer behavior in Illinois accident claims fits into a three-part strategy known as the 3 D’s: Delay, Deny, and Defend. It is the playbook adjusters work from, even when the wording sounds reasonable on a phone call.
Each D works on its own, but they also work together. A delay puts you under financial stress. A denial makes you question whether your claim has value. And the threat of litigation makes settling for less feel like the easier choice.
These are the common tactics insurers use across the country, and Illinois is no exception. The section below breaks down the specific tactics that fall under each D.
The tactics below show up in claims across Illinois, grouped by what the insurer is trying to accomplish. Insurance company delay tactics are the most common starting point.
Illinois law (215 ILCS 5/154.6) makes it illegal for insurers to ignore communications or drag out a settlement when liability is not in question.
Under 215 ILCS 5/154.6, misrepresenting what your policy covers and refusing to settle when liability is clear are both prohibited practices in Illinois.
If these tactics are part of a pattern of unreasonable conduct, 215 ILCS 5/155 may allow a court to award attorney fees and additional damages.
Illinois has specific laws that limit what insurance companies can do, and that give you real options when they cross the line.
This is the main tool against insurance company bad faith tactics in Illinois. In plain terms: if an insurer drags out your claim, denies it without justification, or forces you into a lawsuit to collect what they already owe, a court can order them to pay for it.
What you can recover under this statute:
The statute applies to claims on your own policy (first-party claims), not third-party liability disputes.
This statute lists specific insurer behaviors that are illegal in Illinois:
If your insurer is doing any of the above, you can file a free consumer complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance. The complaint is separate from any personal injury claim you may have. It does not replace a lawsuit, but it puts the insurer on record with state regulators and can push them to respond faster.
The Illinois statute of limitations on personal injury claims is short and unforgiving. Insurance companies know the clock is running, which is part of why delay tactics work.
If your accident happened outside Illinois or you split time between states, the statute of limitations by state varies and is worth confirming before you assume you have time.
No. Filing or negotiating an insurance claim does not pause the 2-year deadline. The clock keeps running even if the insurer says they are “still investigating,” and settlement negotiations, no matter how active, do not extend it.
It does not matter if the adjuster told you not to worry about the deadline. Verbal assurances have no legal effect. Once the 2 years pass, your right to sue is gone, regardless of how the claim was being handled at the time.
If you are getting close to the 2-year mark and the insurer is still stalling, that is the moment to talk to a lawyer, not after.
Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a 50% bar (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). If you are found 50% or more at fault for the accident, you recover nothing. If you are found less than 50% at fault, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
A quick example: at 30% fault on a $100,000 claim, you recover $70,000. At 51% fault, you recover $0. The financial difference between 49% and 51% is the entire claim.
This is why adjusters push so hard to assign you any portion of fault. Every recorded statement, every social media post, every casual phone comment can be used to argue your fault percentage upward.
A common tactic is to ask leading questions designed to get you to agree with a premise that puts fault on you. “You didn’t see them coming, did you?” sounds harmless. In a comparative fault analysis, it can be used to argue that you were not paying enough attention.
Taking these steps in the first weeks of a claim limits what insurers can use against you:
The mistakes below come up over and over, and most of them happen in the first few conversations. Insurance adjuster tactics rely on you making one of these moves.
Not every claim needs a lawyer. These are the situations where it matters most:
Once any of these patterns shows up, waiting gives the insurer more time to build their case against yours. Insurance companies have legal teams from day one. You should not have to negotiate against them on your own.
Thompson Law has recovered over $1.9 billion for injury victims and knows how to push back against bad faith tactics under Illinois law. If your insurance company is delaying, denying, or undervaluing your accident claim, you do not have to face them alone. Contact us for a Free Consultation. No Fee Unless We Win.
The most common tactics fall under three categories: delay, deny, and devalue. Delay tactics include stalling investigations and demanding repetitive documentation. Deny tactics include disputing liability and downplaying injuries. Devalue tactics include lowball settlement offers, recorded statements, broad medical authorizations, and social media surveillance.
Under Illinois law (215 ILCS 5/155), bad faith means an insurer handled your claim in a way that was unreasonable or deliberately unfair. If a court agrees, the insurer can be ordered to pay your attorney fees plus additional damages. A separate statute (215 ILCS 5/154.6) lists specific insurer behaviors that are illegal in Illinois, including refusing to settle when liability is clear and failing to respond to claims promptly.
Illinois law requires insurers to acknowledge claims promptly and act on them in a reasonable timeframe, but there is no fixed statutory deadline for settling every claim. What matters most is the 2-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If the insurer drags the claim past that deadline and you have not filed suit, you lose your right to recover.
Yes. If the delay is part of unreasonable conduct under 215 ILCS 5/155, you can sue for the underlying claim and recover attorney fees plus additional damages. You can also file a free complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance, which runs parallel to a lawsuit.
Sí. Thompson Law ofrece consultas gratuitas en español para personas que tienen problemas con su compañía de seguros tras un accidente en Illinois. Si la aseguradora está retrasando, negando o subvalorando su reclamo, hablamos con usted en español y le explicamos sus opciones bajo la ley de Illinois. No cobramos honorarios a menos que ganemos su caso. Contáctenos.
Thompson Law charges NO FEE unless we obtain a settlement for your case. We’ve put over $2.1 billion in cash settlements in our clients’ pockets. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your accident, get your questions answered, and understand your legal options.
State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an injury accident, so call today.
