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Indiana Minimum Car Insurance Requirements, Penalties and Other Auto Insurance Laws
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What Is the Minimum Car Insurance Requirement in Indiana?
To be considered a legal driver, nearly every US state requires you to carry some form of vehicle insurance coverage. How much car insurance you need in Indiana is the first question to consider. Indiana’s law mandates that motorists must have the minimum liability insurance protection as follows:
- $25,000 per person for bodily injury
- $50,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $25,000 per accident for property damage
You can find Indiana’s minimum car insurance limits mentioned as 25/50/25. These figures are only the minimum coverage required. The amounts will be the maximum amount your insurer will provide as compensation for a claim. You can increase the limits as desired. For example, if you find that the average cost of a new car is more than $25,000, these property damage limits will not be sufficient. Hence it's best if you can increase the liability limits as much as you can afford.
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What Does This Minimum Coverage Mean?
Liability coverage is legally mandated in Indiana and covers injuries and other losses you cause to another motorist, their passengers and their property in an accident. Indiana’s motorists require a minimum of BI & PD (Bodily Injury and Property Damage) liability insurance with limits of 25/50/25. This means that your insurance policy must have a minimum of $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for all persons involved in the accident and $25,000 for property damage.
The bodily injury coverage limit per person is the maximum amount that your insurance company will pay for a single individual injured in an automobile accident caused by you. The bodily injury coverage per accident is the maximum compensation your insurer will pay for all individuals injured in the accident. And, the property damage limit is the maximum amount covered for damages caused to the other person’s property, such as their car.
It’s important to understand that your insurer will not pay you if you’re injured in an accident with a minimum liability coverage plan. Suppose you want to ensure you and your car are protected after an accident. In that case, you can purchase personal injury protection (PIP) coverage to pay for any injuries caused to you in an accident and collision coverage to cover the damages caused to your car. Besides protecting you, PIP coverage also protects other passengers in your vehicle.
How Much Does the Minimum Car Insurance Cost in Indiana?
Your car insurance costs in Indiana can be affected by various factors, including your age, ZIP code, driving history, credit score and the make and model of the car you drive. The rate also varies between different car insurance companies in the state. Erie's average quote of $290 per year is Indiana’s least expensive car insurance quote for an average driver.
These prices are only estimates based on rates for an average Indiana driver and should not be used to compare insurance prices.
MoneyGeek evaluated quotes for 25/50/25 state minimum liability coverage from multiple insurers for a 40-year-old male resident driving a 2010 Toyota Camry with a clean driving record and good credit score.
MoneyGeek also ranked the best car insurance companies in Indiana for those who want strong service and affordable rates.
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What Is the Minimum Car Insurance Requirement in Indiana While Leasing a Car?
If you use a leased car, the leasing company may have different minimum coverage requirements than the state. Most car leasing companies in the state demand full coverage car insurance with minimum liability limits of 100/300/50. Each leasing company may have a different minimum requirement. You should contact the company you leased your car from to find out their minimum insurance requirements for Indiana. If you’re new to leasing and looking for a leased car in the state, make sure you understand the agreement terms and Indiana’s car lease insurance requirements to comply.
Indiana's estimated rate of uninsured drivers is 15.8%, which is relatively high. Considering this rate, MoneyGeek recommends going for a full coverage car insurance policy in Indiana, so you will be covered for bodily injuries or property damage if an uninsured motorist hits your vehicle. If you're unsure how much car insurance coverage you need, we recommend a minimum liability limit of 50/100/50 for Indiana drivers.
Penalties for Driving Without Car Insurance in Indiana
Indiana law does not allow a person to operate a motor vehicle if the vehicle isn't insured or has no insurance to use the car. Motorists who drive without vehicle insurance in Indiana may face financial or other penalties or even suspension of their licenses.
Auto accidents, a moving violation, a major traffic violation, or being involved in a felony or misdemeanor offense can result in the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) verifying that a motorist and the vehicle meet the minimum liability insurance coverage. A convicted motorist will not be relieved from submitting proof of financial responsibility, even if the conviction order is removed or deleted from the records. Instead, Indiana BMV will send a financial responsibility verification request, which is a request to verify your car insurance, to your mailing address.
You must submit a Certificate of Compliance (COC) through your insurer within 90 days of receiving the request, failing which your driving privileges will be suspended and remain suspended until the proof is submitted. If BMV suspends your driving privileges upon conviction of traffic violations or offenses, you may be required to file an SR-22 form through your insurance provider.
If you are found guilty of any traffic offense without vehicle insurance and are convicted by the court, the penalties are as follows in Indiana:
- 90-day driver’s license suspension after the first offense and the requirement of carrying an SR-22 certificate for three years
- A second offense garners a $500 fine and a one-year license suspension, as well as the need to have an SR-22 certificate for three years.
- The third and any subsequent offenses for non-compliance will result in a $1000 reinstatement fee, a license suspension for one year and an SR-22 requirement for five years.
When the BMV finds you eligible for driving privileges reinstatement, you will be asked to submit the Reinstatement Fee Submission Form along with your SR-22 form and a reinstatement fee as applicable. Upon satisfying the necessary demands for reinstating your driving privileges, the BMV will process the request. The reinstatement requirements after suspension of the license can be as follows:
- Proof of insurance, $250 reinstatement fee and SR-22 certificate for three years after the first offense.
- Proof of insurance, $500 reinstatement fee and SR-22 certificate for three years.
- Proof of insurance, $1,000 reinstatement fee and SR-22 certificate for five years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Car Insurance in Indiana
Car insurance is mandated in Indiana, and all motorists are required to have at least 25/50/25 liability insurance coverage. Driving in Indiana without insurance or failing to submit proof of valid insurance can result in fines, penalties, suspension of license and vehicle registration.
Yes. You must provide valid proof of insurance to register a vehicle in Indiana. Failure to prove you have insurance meeting the state's minimum liability coverage requirements will make you ineligible to register your car. Besides, Indiana law mandates car insurance to drive a vehicle in the state.
Basic car insurance usually means meeting the state's minimum requirements. Indiana motorists are legally mandated to possess car insurance of at least 25/50/25 liability coverage. Anyone found driving without the state-mandated minimum car insurance may face fines, penalties, or license suspension.
The answer to this question mainly depends on the type of insurance coverage. For example, a liability insurance policy and PIP coverage always follow the insured, whereas comprehensive and collision coverage follow the insured vehicle. In some cases, the insurance company and the policy’s terms also decide whether the insurance follows the car or the driver. For example, some insurance companies in Indiana do not cover drivers whose names are not named in the policy document.
You can obtain a car insurance policy in Indiana without having a vehicle license in your name. However, the process can be complicated. First, you must list someone with a valid license as the primary driver and yourself as an excluded driver. Also, have the primary driver added as the car's co-owner. Remember that insurers want to look at your driving record to decide your insurance rates. Therefore, if you don't have a driving record, you'll be considered high-risk.
No, Indiana is not a no-fault state. Instead, the state follows an at-fault system. This means that, unlike no-fault states where the insurance company compensates the policyholder for injuries regardless of who caused the accident, Indiana's car insurance laws allow insurers to pay for the damages and injuries after considering who's at fault for the accident. As a result, Indiana law doesn’t mandate a PIP (personal injury protection) coverage for its drivers.
No, you don’t need PIP coverage to drive a car in Indiana. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage compensates medical expenses and rehabilitative costs for you and your passengers involved in the car accident, regardless of who caused the accident. However, in Indiana, the person liable for the loss is the driver who caused the accident. Therefore, their insurance company compensates on their behalf and pays up to the limits set by their insurance policy.
Uninsured motorist insurance coverage is not required in Indiana. However, considering the significantly high uninsured motorist rate in Indiana, it's best to purchase uninsured motorist insurance for further protection.
Drivers are allowed to file diminished value claims in Indiana. Diminished value is the loss of market value of your car after it was involved in an accident. The statute of limitations is six years from the date of the accident, which means you must file the claims within six years of the date of the accident. You can only claim if you are not the accident’s at-fault party. If you want to claim, you should claim the difference in your car's market value from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
Your car insurance premiums become expensive and your license may be suspended after a DUI in Indiana. The rates vary between insurance companies, but you can find the cheapest quote by shopping around. If you don’t have car insurance yet, you will be required to file an SR-22 through your insurance company. It’s proof of your financial responsibility, which shows that you meet the state’s minimum insurance requirements.
A CARCO inspection is a pre-insurance photo examination of your vehicle that certifies its present condition and is performed to lower the cost of property damage insurance coverage. In addition, it details the vehicle's mileage, physical condition, available options and installed accessories. This check is free and roughly takes 15 minutes to complete. However, Indiana isn’t one of the states that require CARCO inspections.
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sources
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- IN.gov. "Titling & Registering a Vehicle Guide." Accessed July 9, 2021.
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