Indiana Car Insurance

Indiana Car Insurance Laws

Indiana's bodily injury liability requirements of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident are on par with many other states, but the property damage liability coverage of only $10,000 is pretty low if you want to protect your savings and other assets from lawsuits. Consider raising your liability limits.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury, uninsured motorist property damage and underinsured motorist all must be offered to motorists in the Hoosier State, but these coverages can be rejected in writing.

Tort system: Indiana is not a no-fault insurance state. Indiana is a tort state. When an accident occurs, someone must be found to be at fault, and that person and their car insurance company are responsible for the damages they caused, up to the limits of that person's car insurance policy.

Cancellation and nonrenewal restrictions: Your Indiana auto insurance company may cancel a new policy within the first 60 days for any reason. After 60 days, your insurer may only cancel for certain approved reasons, such as nonpayment of premium or losing your driving privileges. If your auto insurer is not going to renew your policy, it must give you 20 days' advance notice.

Verification of minimum liability insurance: The Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) is required to verify that you have the minimum liability insurance coverage in effect whenever you're involved in:

• A car accident for which the BMV receives an accident report.
• A moving violation that carries license points within one year of receiving two other moving violations that carry points.
• A serious traffic violation, such as a misdemeanor or felony.
• Any violation that carries points by a driver who was previously suspended for failing to provide proof of financial responsibility.

If any of the preceding situations occur, a request for financial responsibility verification will be sent to your mailing address on file with the Indiana BMV. You must then arrange for your car insurance company to file a Certificate of Compliance (COC) electronically with the Indiana BMV. The COC demonstrates that the car you were driving at the time of the accident was insured to the state’s minimum motor vehicle liability protection.

The COC must be processed by the BMV within 40 days of the BMV’s mailing of a request for financial responsibility verification or your license will be suspended. If you miss the deadline, you need to have your car insurance company electronically provide the COC covering the date of the incident or accident and the vehicle involved to get your license back.

SR-22 & SR-50:

• The SR-22 confirms proof of future financial responsibility for drivers who've been convicted of certain offenses. An SR-22 must be filed with the BMV for three years.

• The SR-50 is an affidavit of current insurance and provides the BMV with the beginning and ending dates of your current policy.

Points: Points on your driving record stay active for a two-year period from the conviction date. While after this time period the points are inactive, the offense remains on your record, which means your insurer can continue to rate on it.

Repeat offenders: If the BMV finds you have committed repeat traffic violations over a 10-year-period it will classify you as a habitual traffic violator. The habitual traffic violator law allows the BMV to suspend the license of a repeat offender for five years, 10 years or life.

Uninsured motorist penalties for Indiana: When caught driving with no insurance in Indiana, you may be fined up to $1,000, your license may be suspended and you may be required to file an SR-22 form.

Expired license plates: The fine for driving with expired license plates in Indiana is normally around $150.

Electronic proof of insurance: Indiana law allows drivers to show proof of insurance during a traffic stop on a smartphone. It is one of 31 states that does so.

Largest car insurance companies for Indiana by market share