Indiana Auto Insurance Requirements

The Indiana State Financial Responsibility laws governing auto insurance require you to be capable of paying for damages and injuries you may cause to another individual in the case of an accident. You may demonstrate that proof by possessing a bond or certificate of self insurance, place a $40,000.00 cash deposit with the state or carry Indiana’s minimum liability insurance on your vehicles. The Indiana State Department of Revenue and the Indiana State Department of Insurance are the government agencies you need to present your proof of insurance to. You may also need to contact the Motor Vehicle Division. All eligible drivers in a household must be covered under a liability auto insurance policy.

Mandatory liability auto insurance is also required on rental vehicles by the state of Indiana. Most states, including Indiana, require car rental agencies to supply the state minimum liability when they rent a vehicle. Your personal auto insurance policy generally covers rental cars but if it does not provide coverage for rental vehicles, you may want to check with the credit card that you used to rent the car on. Credit card companies sometimes cover insurance on rental cars. You may waive the insurance offered by the rental company if the rented vehicle is covered under either of these policies by filling out a CDW. If neither option applies to your situation, you must purchase the minimum liability insurance from the rental company. This policy will generally run $7.00 to $14.00 per day. Keep the rental agreement in the vehicle through out the term of the agreement. This will be your proof of insurance in case of an accident or traffic stop.

You must have proof of insurance with you at all times. Indiana’s mandatory minimum liability auto insurance limits are $20,000.00 per individual injury or death, $50,000.00 for all injured persons, and $10,000.00 for damage to property. Auto insurance policies purchased in Indiana will include the mandatory liability minimum insurance limits. The state of Indiana does require drivers to carry underinsured and uninsured auto insurance coverage in the amounts of $20,000.00 per individual and $50,000.00 per accident for injuries for the uninsured motorist and $10,000.00 for property damage. If you decide to skip the uninsured motorist coverage, you may choose to carry underinsured motorist coverage of $50,000.00. You must sign a waiver if you choose to forgo this coverage.

Allowing your coverage to lapse in the state of Indiana is the same as not having the required minimum insurance coverage. If you are caught driving without the proper coverage, you will be penalized. You must show proof of insurance to the police officer at the time of any traffic stop or accident and you must also present it in court.



Indiana requires motorists to be covered by the mandatory liability auto insurance policy at all times. Should you become involved in an accident or be stopped for a traffic violation and you do not have proof of the required liability policy, you will be cited as an uninsured motorist. Even if the accident is not your fault, you can still be cited for lacking proof of insurance. This will result in fines, the suspension of your driver’s license and the possible loss of your registration. The penalties will increase with repeat offenses. The exemptions to the mandatory liability insurance are off highway vehicles and non operational vehicles.

Upon the first offense, you will be charged up to $150.00 as well as losing your driver’s license for 90 days. With the second offense you will be charged $225.00. If the repeat offense occurs within 3 years of the first, your license can be revoked for 1 year. All succeeding offenses will result in a $300.00 fine. You will have to present proof of current insurance coverage in order to get your license reinstated. The same requirements apply if you have two or more moving violations in the prior 12 months or you have already had your license suspended. Vehicle registrations will also be suspended if you are found guilty of driving without proper liability auto insurance or submit false proof of insurance.



You must produce proof of insurance upon request by the authorities. This proof needs to include the name of the insurance company, the dates of coverage, and the amount of liability coverage. It also needs to include the policy number, VIN number of the vehicles covered, the make and model of the vehicles as well as the name of the policy holder. The auto insurance needs to be authorized by a qualified auto insurance company. The proof may be in the form of a legal document from the state proving that you have a certificate of self insurance, or have deposited a cash deposit in sufficient amounts to cover damages cause in an accident. The third form of proof is an insurance identification card issued by the insurance company.

Remember that you may need your proof of minimum liability auto insurance at any time. You will definitely need it at the time of registering your car, in the case of involvement in an accident either as the cause of the accident or the victim of the accident, or if you should be stopped for a traffic violation.