Product Liability in Illinois

Illinois’s operative version of 735 ILCS 5/13-213 applies to product-liability actions under strict liability. It generally sets an outside period of 12 years from a seller’s first transfer or 10 years from transfer to the initial nonseller user, whichever ends sooner, subject to express-warranty, qualifying product-change and later-discovered-injury provisions. The Illinois General Assembly page displays both a version with an unconstitutional 1995 amendment and the text without it; use the latter when describing current law.

What Is Product Liability Insurance?

Product liability can cover claims that a product you make, import, distribute or sell injured someone or damaged property. If your business handles products, describe every role in the supply chain and ask how the quote treats product damage and recall costs. Read the national Product liability guide.

What to Watch for With Product Liability in Illinois

Use the operative text shown without the 1995 changes
The Illinois General Assembly’s statute page labels the version containing Public Act 89-7 as unconstitutional and separately prints the section without those changes. The latter version limits the rule to strict-liability actions; do not state the broader “any theory” rule from the unconstitutional text as current law. ¹
Identify both transfer dates
Under the operative subsection (b), the outside period is the earlier of 12 years from a seller’s first sale, lease or delivery, or 10 years from first transfer to an initial user, consumer or other nonseller. The period applies to the particular product unit alleged to have caused harm. ¹
A qualifying later change has a limited route
Subsection (c) covers a claim against a seller that made or authorized a product change, or supplied materials or instructions for it, when the change introduced a new hazard. The action must still meet the applicable limitation period and generally be filed within ten years of the change unless a longer express warranty applies. ¹
Later discovery has an outside cap
If injury, death or property damage occurs during a period allowed by the statute, subsection (d) allows filing within two years after actual or reasonably diligent discovery, but no later than eight years after the injury or damage occurred. ¹
The applicable filing limit can be shorter
The repose periods are outside limits, not a substitute for an applicable limitations period. Section 13-213 says the action must also be filed within the applicable period; Illinois’s general personal-injury statute, § 13-202, ordinarily allows two years after accrual. ^1,²

Which Product Liability Providers Have Illinois License Records?

These providers publish a national listing for Product liability; the license records below name the licensed entities and roles. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Illinois. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

Vouch
Insurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28
Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC
Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. ¹⁹
Vouch lists product liability among the core coverages in its technology-company programs.

Who Regulates Insurance in Illinois?

Illinois Department of Insurance

The Department licenses and oversees insurers and insurance producers doing business in Illinois, reviews regulated insurance activity, and investigates complaints about coverage, claims, premiums, and sales. ^3,^5,⁴

Website: Regulator website
License lookup: Search licensed producers
Complaints: File a complaint
Phone: (866) 445-5364

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Illinois

Reported tax rate. 3.5% of taxable premium plus a 0.04% stamping fee; separate 1% fire marshal tax on taxable fire premium ^7,^6,^10,^11,⁸

When Illinois is the insured’s home state, the broker reports and remits a 3.5% tax on gross taxable surplus-line premium less returned taxable premium. The separate SLAI stamping fee is 0.04% for policies effective on or after January 1, 2023; a 1% fire marshal tax also applies to taxable fire premium.

Surplus Line Association of Illinois

Illinois guaranty fund limits: For covered claims against a member insurer, the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund generally caps its obligation at $500,000 per claim; workers’ compensation claims are excepted from that dollar cap. This fund does not protect policies issued by nonadmitted surplus-lines insurers. The net-worth exclusions apply to covered claims against member insurers. ⁸
Illinois FAIR Plan: If you cannot obtain basic property coverage in the voluntary market, the Illinois FAIR Plan offers a residual-market option for eligible property. Check its current eligibility and coverage limits before relying on it for a commercial location. ⁹

Questions to Ask Before You Buy Product Liability in Illinois

Can we identify the first seller transfer and the first transfer to an initial user for every product unit involved in a claim?
Who authorized or performed repairs, retrofits or other product changes, and did the change introduce the alleged hazard?
Do express warranties extend beyond the statutory periods, and can we preserve their exact terms and the date a claimant knew of the injury?

Product Liability Insurance in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions

What outside periods appear in Illinois’s product-liability statute?

In the operative text of 735 ILCS 5/13-213, an action generally must be filed within the applicable limitation period and by the earlier of 12 years from a seller’s first transfer or 10 years from transfer to the initial nonseller user, unless an express warranty promises longer. ¹

What if the harm is discovered later?

If harm occurs within an allowed period, subsection (d) permits suit within two years after actual or reasonably diligent discovery, with an eight-year maximum from when the injury or damage occurred. The statute has separate rules for qualifying product changes. ¹

Sources for Product Liability Insurance in Illinois

1
735 ILCS 5/13-213, Product liability. Illinois General Assembly; Current page, especially subsection heading noting PA 89-7 was held unconstitutional and text without those changes at subsections (a)–(g). Accessed 2026-09-28.
2
735 ILCS 5/13-202, Personal injury actions. Illinois General Assembly; Current codification, § 13-202, personal-injury actions within two years after accrual; source note identifies P.A. 103-478 effective January 1, 2024. Accessed 2026-09-28.
3
Illinois Department of Insurance. Illinois Department of Insurance; Official agency homepage and agency information. Accessed 2026-09-28.
4
File a Complaint. Illinois Department of Insurance; Official insurance complaint intake and consumer phone. Accessed 2026-09-28.
5
Agent Lookup. Illinois Department of Insurance; Department page explains use of Illinois SBS Lookup for agents, brokers, and business entities; Department home provides company license lookup. Accessed 2026-09-28.
6
Calculating & Remitting Taxes: Surplus Line Tax. Surplus Line Association of Illinois; Current surplus-line tax applicability and rate. Accessed 2026-09-28.
7
215 ILCS 5/445: Surplus line. Illinois General Assembly; Subsections (3)(a), (12): tax and code applicability. Accessed 2026-09-28.
8
215 ILCS 5: Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund. Illinois General Assembly; Article XXXIV: cap, net-worth exclusions, exceptions, and non-admitted insurer exclusion. Accessed 2026-09-28.
9
Illinois FAIR Plan Association. Illinois FAIR Plan Association; Plan overview and current eligibility information. Accessed 2026-09-28.
10
Stamping Fees: Fee Calculation. Surplus Line Association of Illinois; Current stamping fee 0.04% of premium for policies effective January 1, 2023 or later; may be passed to insured. Accessed 2026-09-28.
11
50 Ill. Adm. Code § 2701.130: Taxes. Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; Surplus line producer pays 1% fire marshal tax on gross premiums less returned premiums for insurance subject to the Fire Investigation Act. Accessed 2026-09-28.
12
Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
13
Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
14
Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
15
About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
16
Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
17
About Risklytics. Risklytics; What we do; Who we insure; Licensing; Agency licenses table dated 2026-09-10. Accessed 2026-09-16.
18
Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
19
Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Product Liability in Illinois

What Is Product Liability Insurance?

What to Watch for With Product Liability in Illinois

Use the operative text shown without the 1995 changes

Identify both transfer dates

A qualifying later change has a limited route

Later discovery has an outside cap

The applicable filing limit can be shorter