A car hit your house: vehicle impact claims in Illinois
Two insurers can pay for the same wall. We represent you on your homeowners claim, find the damage hidden behind the dent, and keep the driver's limit from becoming the limit of your repair.
One impact, two possible claims for the same damage
- Who it works for
- You. You are the policyholder, and the policy's duties run to you.
- Deductible
- Yes, yours applies. The insurer can try to recover it from the driver later.
- Limit
- Your own dwelling, contents and loss of use limits.
- Where we come in
- We document, price and present this claim for you.
- Who it works for
- Its own driver. The state calls that its primary obligation.
- Deductible
- None for you.
- Limit
- Whatever the driver bought. The Illinois minimum is $20,000 per accident for property damage.
- Catch
- Payment usually comes with a release, and after that you get nothing more from it.
Why a $20,000 auto policy does not rebuild a wall
Illinois law requires a driver to carry at least $20,000 of property damage liability per accident (625 ILCS 5/7-203, as the Illinois Department of Insurance shopping guide puts it). That one number has to cover everything the car hit. The bar below sets it against one impact into the front corner of a brick house. The figures are an illustration, not a quote and not a result.
- Wall framing and header$14,200
- Brick and sheathing$11,800
- Front window$3,900
- Porch and steps$6,500
- Drywall, floor, paint$7,600
- Furniture and TV$6,400
- Four weeks in a hotel$8,000
- Total$58,400
The most a minimum auto policy pays for every piece of property in the crash, your house included.
What is left over if the auto claim is the only claim, and you sign its release.
What the homeowners claim is measured against, less your deductible. Then your insurer can go after the driver.
When your own insurer pays and then recovers from the driver's insurer, it often returns your deductible from what it collects. That is the usual reason to open the homeowners claim even when the driver is insured. The hotel line belongs to loss of use; our page on additional living expenses claims shows how those receipts are kept.
What a car does inside the wall
From the driveway, most impacts look like a dent and some broken brick. A car that stops against a house has pushed its force into the layers behind that face, and a carrier's estimate written from outside tends to price the face.
We open the question layer by layer, and where the framing or the foundation is in doubt, a structural engineer's report goes in the file. Our guide to the engineering report in an insurance claim explains what to ask the engineer to look at.
If the car stopped in a garage, a fence or a shed instead, that part is claimed under other structures; see Coverage B for detached structures.
- Brick, siding or stoneCracked and pushed units, and the question of whether matching brick still exists.
- Sheathing and wrapSplit boards and torn wrap that let water into the wall the next time it rains.
- Studs, header and corner postsA wall that is out of plumb, a header that dropped over the window, a corner that has to be rebuilt.
- Sill plate and foundationA shifted plate or a fresh crack at the point of impact, checked against the rest of the foundation.
- Wiring, gas and water in the wallLines that were bent or pulled when the wall moved, checked by the trade before the wall is closed.
- Drywall, trim, floor and contentsThe room behind the wall, where glass, dust and debris landed.
Before the tow truck leaves
The car is the best evidence of how hard and where it hit, and it is gone within hours. Once everyone is safe and the fire department has checked for gas, take these few minutes.
- Photograph the car in place from four sides, and the wall from inside and outside. Our list of what to photograph after property damage covers the angles.
- Write down the driver's name, plate, insurer and policy number, and the police report number.
- Ask the responding officers which department wrote the report, so you can order a copy.
- Have the opening boarded or shored and keep the invoice. See emergency board-up in a claim.
- Report the loss to your own insurer, even if the driver's insurer calls you first.
The driver's insurer may ask you for a recorded statement. You are not its policyholder. Read our note on the recorded statement before you agree to one.
Who was driving changes which policy pays
The house is always your property claim. What changes with the driver is where the money can come back from.
A stranger with insurance
Your homeowners claimOpened for the full damage, less your deductible.
Their auto insurerA claim you can make yourself, with no deductible, up to their limit. Your insurer can also pursue it after paying you.
A stranger with no insurance, or who drove off
Your homeowners claimThe main route for the house.
Your own car policyIn Illinois, uninsured motorist property damage covers damage to your vehicle, not your house, per the state's shopping guide. It will not rebuild the wall.
You or someone you live with
Your homeowners claimThe house is still claimed here. Read the Vehicles wording on your form: some forms leave out a fence, driveway or walk hit by a vehicle a resident owns or drives.
Your auto policyCollision pays for the car itself, with its own deductible.
When a car goes through a storefront
A shop, restaurant or office hit by a car loses the front wall and, often, weeks of trade while the opening is shored and rebuilt. The building claim and the lost income are separate parts of a commercial policy, and both need their own proof. Our page on business interruption claims covers the income part.
We represent owners of commercial property across Illinois on the building claim, the same way we represent homeowners.
Send us the start of the file
The review is free and we tell you plainly what we would add to the claim. 4.9 from 34 Google reviews, on our reviews page.
- Your photos of the car in place and of the wall, inside and out
- The police report number and the driver's insurance details
- Your policy, with the declarations page
- Anything either insurer has sent you, and any release you were asked to sign
Injuries from the crash are a separate matter for an attorney. We are licensed Illinois public adjusters, and we handle the property claim. We are open seven days a week.
Questions after a car hits a house
Does homeowners insurance cover a car crashing into my house in Illinois?
Usually, yes. Damage from a vehicle is a covered cause of loss on standard homeowners forms, less your deductible. Check the Vehicles wording on your own policy for any limit on fences, driveways and walks.
Should I claim with my insurer or the driver’s insurer?
You can do both. The driver’s insurer charges you no deductible but stops at the driver's limit and asks for a release. Your own policy answers to you and pays up to your limits.
What if the driver had only the Illinois minimum coverage?
The minimum is $20,000 of property damage per accident, shared by everything the car hit. Damage above that is claimed under your homeowners policy.
Does my uninsured motorist coverage pay for my house?
No. In Illinois, uninsured motorist property damage covers damage to your vehicle. The house is claimed under your homeowners policy.
How long do I have to claim against the driver’s insurer?
For property damage, the Illinois Department of Insurance gives 5 years from the date of the accident to settle or file suit. Your homeowners policy sets its own deadlines, which can be shorter.
What does a vehicle impact claim cost me?
You pay us nothing to begin. We take an agreed percentage of the insurance money paid on your claim, written into our contract, and when no money is paid we charge nothing.
Rules for claims against another driver's insurer, including the 15 working days to send claim forms and the written explanation owed after 60 days, are on the state's page on filing a claim with another driver's insurance company.