Bill bans life insurance companies from charging felons higher rates
[June 04, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill to
prevent life insurance companies from refusing coverage or charging
higher rates to convicted felons.
House Bill 2425 provides that life insurance policies may not refuse
policies, restrict coverage or charge different rates to individuals
solely based on felony convictions.
State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, said the measure would
prevent insurers from limiting coverage or charging higher rates for
people convicted of felonies.
“There is considerable evidence that many of them discriminate against
individuals with a felony. The rates are astronomical and, therefore, in
essence, that’s a denial,” Johnson said on the Senate floor last
Thursday.
State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley, said life insurance rates are
based on averaging out the risk.
“Under this, we’re saying to one group of individuals that actuarily are
a higher risk that that should be set aside and we should make everybody
else have to pay higher rates to be able to protect that individual,”
Syverson said.
State Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, joined Syverson in opposing HB
2425. Plummer said the bill puts insurance companies in a weird spot and
could force them out of the market.
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“If this bill just said, ‘Hey, they can’t use the fact that they have a
felony against them,’ and offering the thing, I’d fully support it, but
it gets into playing with rates that insurance companies can charge,”
Plummer said. “If we really care about these people and we really want
to make sure they and their families can be taken care of at this
terrible moment in their life, we have to oppose this bill.”
Johnson, the chief sponsor of HB 2425 in the Senate, disagreed and
said increased life insurance costs can limit felons’ ability to
secure stable employment.
“So let’s make sure we remove the invisible handcuffs and remove the
invisible prison cells and allow these individuals to purchase final
expense policies so that their families are not burdened with any
financial difficulties and they are able to die with dignity and pay
for those final expenses,” Johnson said.
The bill does not require life insurance companies to provide
coverage to people who are actively incarcerated due to felony
convictions.
After passing both houses in the state legislature, HB 2425 can go
to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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