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. ¹

What Is Product Liability?

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 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

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

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

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

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

Providers With Documented State Licenses

These providers publish a national listing for Product liability; the state records document licenses for the entities and roles shown below. 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.

VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’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

Questions to Ask Before You Buy 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?