Indiana Auto Insurance Requirments
by Doug Cohen

Before shopping for car insurance, it’s important to know what is required to operate a car on the Indiana highways. The Hoosier State has specific mandatory requirements you must maintain in order to be in compliance. Let’s take a look at what this means.

So what is the Mandatory Auto Insurance Law in Indiana?
Indiana state law requires, whether you are driving in Indianapolis, Indiana’s state capital, or Evansville, Gary or Muncie, Ft Wayne or South Bend, or somewhere in between, to have an auto insurance liability of - at least - the required minimum limits. However, experts recommend considering higher limits.

What are those Minimum Limits required by the 19th State?
Under Indiana law, you are required to have car insurance Liability limits of at least 25/50/10. What does this mean? It means:
$25,000 per person, for bodily injury you cause,
$50,000 per accident, for bodily injury, and
$10,000 per accident, for damage to another’s property, usually their car.

And unless you reject UM in writing, which you can do (although it is estimated that 25% of drivers in Indiana have no insurance) you must also carry Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Limits of:
$25,000 per person,
$50,000 per accident.

Proof of Insurance
If you get stopped by Indiana highway patrol or any law enforcement officer, you must present your insurance identification (ID) card showing that the car is insured. Your auto insurance carrier should provide you with an ID card whenever they issue or renew your car insurance liability policy. You can also get an ID card or temporary proof of insurance for each car covered under your policy if you purchased your auto insurance from sites like InstantCarInsurance.com or Ensurance.com after comparison shopping online auto insurance rates. The advantage to these sites is you can print your own ID cards online anytime, day or night, as opposed to waiting for the insurance company phone lines to open up. Nobody likes that.

These insurance ID cards include the name of the car insurance company, the policy number, and the policy effective and expiration dates. They also include a description of the insured car(s) and/or the name of the insured driver(s). Your signature on the Indiana Vehicle Renewal Registration Application affirms that your vehicle will be properly insured throughout the registration period too.

What is the Penalty for Driving without Auto Insurance in Indiana?
If you don’t carry proof of auto insurance and you are stopped by Indiana law enforcement, your license gets suspended for 90 days to 1 year, a reinstatement fee of $150. The second time the fee is $225. If it happens three or more times it will cost you $300 each time. For more information on this, contact the Indiana Department of Insurance or the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).

The moral of the story: Keep current (up to date) proof of Indiana auto insurance ID cards in the cars with you at all times.

How to Find the Best Auto Insurance Rates in Indiana
Everyone claims to have the lowest price today. That’s why it’s so important to comparison shop for the best coverage at the lowest rate, especially considering Indiana Auto Insurance can be so expensive. There are many basic online resources that provide free quotes from licensed Indianan insurance companies and are approved by the Indiana BMV. If you suspect you may be paying too much for auto insurance, residents of Indiana can save time and money by comparing car insurance rates quickly and anonymously between top name Indiana auto insurance carriers simply by logging on to InstantCarInsurance.com.

Some insurers do not sell auto insurance to drivers who have been driving uninsured. If that’s you and you have problems getting car insurance, look into the Indiana Auto Insurance Plan.

The State of Indiana requires minimum auto insurance of 25/50/10 as long as you have a valid Indiana car tag and car registration. Keep this in mind when shopping for basic coverage and evaluate it against car insurance quotes with higher coverage for a little more money. You may need it someday despite not being as cheap.

Money Saving Tip: Most people do not realize that insurance companies change rates continuously and typically repost new rates twice monthly. Thus we recommend returning to InstantCarInsurance.com to re-rate your cars monthly to be sure you are still getting the best deal at the rock-bottom, lowest, cheapest price you can for auto insurance! Why not? It’s free.

At the same time keep in mind, the cheapest auto insurance is not always the best auto insurance. So it’s also a good idea to evaluate the number of complaints an insurance company has against them versus the number of cars they insure. Here’s a chart you might find informative.