Insurance Requirements

Indiana operates under an at-fault insurance system, meaning the driver responsible for a crash is financially liable for resulting damages. Injured parties pursue compensation from the at-fault driver's insurer, file a lawsuit directly against the at-fault driver, or both.

Minimum required coverages

All drivers operating a vehicle in Indiana must carry the following minimum liability coverage:

• Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident
• Property Damage Liability: $25,000 per accident

At these levels, coverage can be exhausted quickly in serious crashes. Higher voluntary limits are advisable for most drivers.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM)

Every newly written liability policy in Indiana must include UM/UIM coverage automatically, at minimums of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for UM and $50,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for UIM, unless the driver declines it in writing. UM coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance. UIM coverage applies when the at-fault driver's limits are insufficient to cover your full losses. Confirm your policy's insurance information reflects these limits before you need to rely on them.

What is Indiana's "No Pay, No Play" law?

Under Ind. Code §§ 27-7-5.1 and 34-30-29.2, a driver classified as an "uninsured motorist with a previous violation" cannot recover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, from an at-fault driver, even if that other driver was entirely responsible for the crash.

Indiana is one of a minority of states with such a "No Pay, No Play" statute, though its version is narrower than similar laws in other states. Also, this restriction does not apply to every uninsured driver. It targets repeat offenders specifically: someone who owns an uninsured vehicle and, within the preceding five years, was required to carry proof of future financial responsibility, typically because of a prior insurance-related violation. A first-time uninsured driver retains full rights to pursue non-economic damages if the other driver was at fault.

The law also does not apply to injured parties under 18, or in any case where the at-fault driver was convicted of a crime connected to the accident. Economic damages, including medical bills and lost wages, remain fully recoverable regardless of this restriction.

Medical Payments (MedPay)

Indiana does not require Personal Injury Protection since it is an at-fault state. MedPay is available as an optional add-on covering medical expenses for you and your passengers regardless of fault, up to the policy limit. It pays without waiting for a fault determination and can cover deductibles and co-pays that health insurance does not address.

Rideshare coverage requirements

For drivers working for Uber, Lyft, or similar platforms, Indiana law establishes coverage requirements based on driver status:

• App on, no ride accepted: $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident for bodily injury; $25,000 for property damage
• Ride accepted or passenger onboard: $1,000,000 in liability coverage, $1,000,000 in UM/UIM coverage, and comprehensive and collision coverage with deductibles up to $2,500

Rideshare drivers should confirm their personal auto policy does not exclude coverage during rideshare activity, since gaps between personal and platform coverage can leave drivers exposed depending on their status at the time of a crash.

Penalties for non-compliance

Indiana enforces insurance compliance primarily through a suspension-and-reinstatement process administered by the BMV, separate from any court-level fine for the underlying offense.

• BMV verification requests: The BMV may require proof of financial responsibility after an accident, certain moving violations, or a misdemeanor or felony traffic conviction. Your insurer must submit a Certificate of Compliance within 90 days of the request, or your driving privileges are suspended
• Reinstatement after a BMV suspension: Your insurer files a Certificate of Compliance showing valid coverage, and applicable reinstatement fees apply
• SR-22 requirement: If your privileges are suspended for failing to file proof with the BMV, they can be restored once your insurer files an SR-22 and maintains it for 180 consecutive days
• Court convictions: A separate criminal conviction for operating without insurance may also apply; this can carry its own fines, and clearing it generally requires addressing the matter with the court that issued the conviction

An uninsured driver who causes a crash may also be personally liable for the full cost of the damages, since no insurer will step in on their behalf.

Fault & Negligence Laws

Modified comparative fault

Indiana follows a modified comparative fault rule under Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6, commonly called the 51% bar rule, or modified comparative negligence. An injured party can recover damages as long as their own fault does not exceed 50 percent. A plaintiff found 50 percent at fault or below recovers, with their damages reduced proportionally by their own share of fault. A plaintiff found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing.

A concrete example: if you are found 20 percent at fault and your total damages are $10,000, you recover $8,000. If you are found 51 percent at fault for the same crash, you recover nothing.

This positions Indiana alongside the majority of states using a modified comparative fault framework. For a broader explanation of how these systems compare across states, see our article on comparative and contributory negligence.

Indiana's Comparative Fault Act, by its own terms, does not apply to claims against government entities or public employees acting within the scope of their duties. The details of this exception are covered in full in the dedicated section below.

Seat belt evidence

Effective July 1, 2024, Indiana changed its evidentiary rules to allow defendants to introduce evidence of whether a plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt at the time of a crash. Previously, this evidence was excluded from trial entirely. Now, a jury may consider seatbelt non-use as part of assessing whether the plaintiff failed to take reasonable steps to minimize their own damages, which can reduce the compensation ultimately awarded even when the seatbelt issue doesn't affect fault for causing the crash itself.

How fault is determined

Fault is established through police reports, witness statements, dashcam and surveillance footage, physical evidence such as skid marks, medical records, and, in contested cases, accident reconstruction analysis. Insurance adjusters begin their own investigation to gather evidence promptly after any significant crash. Under Indiana's 51 percent bar, the margin between being found 50 percent and 51 percent at fault is the difference between a reduced recovery and no recovery at all, making early legal involvement and careful handling of recorded statements to insurers particularly important.

Multi-vehicle collisions

In multi-vehicle car crash cases, fault is allocated among all drivers based on the evidence developed during the claims process or, if necessary, court proceedings. Each party's ability to recover is reduced by their own individual percentage of fault. Proper documentation, eyewitness accounts, and expert accident reconstruction are critical in establishing fault and ensuring fair compensation.

Special considerations for passengers

Passengers injured in a crash may file claims against any at-fault driver, whether that is the driver of the vehicle they were riding in or another involved party. If the passenger's own actions, such as failing to wear a seatbelt, contributed to the severity of their injuries, their compensation may be reduced accordingly under Indiana's modified comparative fault rules and the seatbelt evidence change discussed above.

Indiana's Government Vehicle Exception: Why Contributory Negligence Still Applies

Most Indiana drivers who understand the state's 51 percent comparative fault rule assume it governs every car accident claim in the state. It doesn't. Buried in the same statute that establishes modified comparative fault is a carve-out that reverts an entire category of crashes back to a much older, much harsher legal standard, and it is one of the most consequential and least understood features of Indiana accident law.

What the statute actually says

Indiana Code § 34-51-2-2 states plainly that the Comparative Fault Act does not apply to tort claims brought against governmental entities or public employees acting within the scope of their employment. When that exception applies, courts don't fall back to a modified version of comparative fault. They fall back to Indiana's pre-1983 common-law rule of pure contributory negligence, the same all-or-nothing standard still used today in only a small handful of states, including Alabama, which was covered earlier in this series.

Under contributory negligence, an injured party who bears any degree of fault for a crash, even 1 percent, is barred from recovering anything at all. There is no proportional reduction. There is no threshold. A single percentage point of shared responsibility eliminates the entire claim.

What counts as a government-vehicle crash

This exception applies whenever the defendant is a governmental entity or a public employee acting within the scope of their duties. In practice, that covers a wide range of everyday collisions: a rear-end crash caused by a city bus, a county snowplow that slides through an intersection, a state trooper's cruiser responding to a call, a school corporation's bus, or a public works truck. It also extends beyond vehicle-to-vehicle crashes to situations like a dangerous public road, a defective traffic signal, or another government-maintained condition that contributed to the crash.

Why this matters so much in practice

The practical gap between the two standards is enormous. Against a private driver, an Indiana claimant found 50 percent at fault still recovers half of a $300,000 claim, or $150,000. Against a government defendant in the exact same fact pattern, that same claimant recovers nothing, because contributory negligence doesn't reduce a claim proportionally. It extinguishes it entirely the moment any fault attaches to the injured party.

This creates a genuine trap for the unwary. A driver injured in a crash involving a government vehicle should understand their legal rights before assuming the ordinary 51 percent rule applies. Insurance adjusters and government defense counsel are well aware of this distinction, and any evidence suggesting even minor contribution to the crash, a slightly late reaction, a rolling stop, an unproven allegation of following too closely, becomes far more consequential in a government-defendant case than it would be against a private driver.

How this interacts with the Tort Claims Act's other requirements

The government-vehicle contributory negligence exception operates on top of, not instead of, the Indiana Tort Claims Act's other restrictions. As discussed in the statute of limitations section below, a claim against a government entity must clear a much shorter notice deadline than an ordinary claim, and as discussed in the compensation section, recovery is also capped regardless of the severity of the injury and punitive damages are unavailable entirely. A crash victim facing a government defendant in Indiana is navigating three separate obstacles simultaneously: a harsher fault standard, a compressed notice deadline, and a damages ceiling.

Why this deserves attention before it becomes relevant

Because contributory negligence turns on facts developed at or near the scene of the crash, and because the standard is so unforgiving of even minor shared fault, documentation matters more here than in almost any other Indiana accident scenario. A crash victim who suspects a government vehicle or government-maintained condition was involved should treat that fact as urgent from the outset, both because of the short notice deadline and because the fault standard leaves essentially no room for error.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit after a car accident. Missing the applicable deadline almost always bars the claim permanently.

Standard filing deadlines in Indiana

• Personal injury: 2 years from the date of the accident under Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4
• Property damage: 2 years from the date of the accident
• Wrongful death: 2 years from the date of death

This two-year period is what most people mean by Indiana's deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. Note, though, that the wrongful death period runs from the date of death, which may differ from the date of the accident if the injured person survived before dying from their injuries.

Claims against government entities

As discussed in the dedicated section above, a crash involving a government vehicle or employee is already governed by a harsher fault standard than an ordinary Indiana claim. It also comes with a dramatically shorter procedural timeline, and both deadlines must be independently satisfied for the claim to survive.

Under the Indiana Tort Claims Act, written notice must be delivered, in person or by certified or registered mail, to the correct government body within:

• 180 days of the loss, for claims against a political subdivision such as a city, county, township, or school corporation
• 270 days of the loss, for claims against the State of Indiana or a state agency, sent to the Attorney General or the relevant agency

This notice requirement is entirely separate from, and much shorter than, the standard two-year statute of limitations, and it is a strict presentment requirement rather than a formality: missing it typically bars the claim permanently, even when the underlying negligence case is strong and even though two years would otherwise remain to file suit. The notice must include specific details, including the date and description of the incident and the damages sought, and should be sent by certified or registered mail with the receipt retained as proof of timely delivery.

After a properly completed notice is filed, the government entity generally has 90 days to respond before a lawsuit can proceed. The underlying two-year statute of limitations for the lawsuit itself still runs in parallel, so a claimant who files notice properly must still file suit within two years of the crash, not two years from when notice was given.

Given how compressed these deadlines are, and how much harsher the underlying fault standard is, anyone whose crash may have involved a government vehicle, employee, or maintained roadway should seek guidance from an experienced attorney immediately.

Tolling and exceptions

• Minors: The statute of limitations is tolled while the injured party is under 18, after which the standard two-year filing period begins. The 180-day and 270-day Tort Claims Act notice deadlines are not necessarily tolled for minors in the same way, making prompt action critical when a government entity is involved
• Discovery rule: Where injuries or damages were not immediately apparent, the limitations period may begin from the date the injury or damage was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, rather than the date of the crash itself

MVA Procedures & Police Involvement

When to report an accident

Under Ind. Code § 9-26-1-1.1, a driver involved in a crash must immediately stop and remain at the scene to exchange information, including their names, vehicle registration number, and driver's license numbers, with anyone involved in the accident. Beyond that baseline duty, additional notification obligations apply when:

• Injury or death: the driver must provide reasonable assistance as directed by law enforcement, medical personnel, or a 911 operator, and immediately notify the local police department (within a municipality), the county sheriff or nearest state police post (outside a municipality), or a 911 operator
• Unattended vehicle or property damage: the driver must make reasonable efforts to locate and notify the owner, and if the owner cannot be found, must contact law enforcement directly

Failing to meet these duties is a criminal offense, not merely a fine-and-suspension matter. Knowingly or intentionally leaving the scene without complying is a Class B misdemeanor at minimum, escalating to a Class A misdemeanor if the crash caused bodily injury, a Level 6 felony if it caused moderate or serious bodily injury (or the driver has a qualifying prior conviction within the past five years), a Level 4 felony if it caused death or catastrophic injury, and a Level 3 felony if it occurred during or after an OWI offense causing serious injury or death. Each injured or deceased person constitutes a separate offense.

Filing accident reports

If law enforcement responds to the scene, they will file an official crash report. In some cases, it becomes the driver's own responsibility to file documentation:

Operator's Proof of Insurance/Crash Report: Indiana law requires motorists to file this form with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of the crash. This form verifies that the driver had valid insurance coverage at the time of the crash and must be signed by their insurer

Steps for filing:

1. Obtain the Operator's Proof of Insurance/Crash Report form from the Indiana BMV website
2. Complete the form with the accident's date, time, location, and involved parties
3. Submit the signed form to the BMV electronically or by mail

Failure to file the required report can result in suspension of your driver's license and license plates.

How to access your accident report

The Indiana State Police maintains the central repository of crash reports for the state, and reports are available to the general public through the state-designated portal:

• Online: Purchase an electronic copy through BuyCrash.com, the Indiana State Police's official crash report platform, for a fee
• Government agencies: Agencies requesting a report for official business use a separate Public Records Request process through ISP's Contact page rather than BuyCrash
• In person or by mail: Contact the specific law enforcement agency that investigated the crash directly, since not every report is indexed through BuyCrash immediately

Processing times and exact fees vary and should be confirmed directly through BuyCrash or the investigating agency at the time of request. Accident victims should keep a copy of the report for their own records.

Compensation: Types & Limits

Indiana does not cap economic damages in personal injury cases, allowing victims to recover the full extent of their measurable financial losses. Non-economic damages are also generally uncapped for private defendants, though punitive damages and claims against government entities are each subject to their own distinct limits.

Economic damages

Economic damages cover measurable financial losses and are uncapped in Indiana vehicle accident cases against private defendants. They include:

• Medical expenses, past and future
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity
• Property damage and vehicle repair or replacement costs
• Out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the crash and recovery
• Future care costs where injuries require ongoing treatment

The paid-versus-billed rule for medical expenses

A significant complication in valuing economic damages comes not from a statute but from Indiana case law. Since Stanley v. Walker, 906 N.E.2d 852 (Ind. 2009), and the later decision in Patchett v. Lee, Indiana courts have allowed defendants to introduce evidence of the discounted amount a medical provider actually accepted as payment in full, rather than the higher amount originally billed, as evidence of the reasonable value of the care received. Insurance company adjusters and defense attorneys sometimes refer to this discounted figure informally as the "Stanley number."

This matters because medical providers routinely bill at a higher rate than what health insurers or negotiated payment plans ultimately pay. A bill for $34,000 might be settled by an insurer for $17,000. Before Stanley v. Walker, a jury would typically hear only the $34,000 figure. Now, a defendant can present both numbers, and juries frequently anchor closer to the lower, paid amount. Because insurance adjusters build settlement offers around the medical damages figure, this rule quietly reduces the practical value of many Indiana injury claims, even though it applies to the evidence presented rather than a formal statutory cap on damages.

Non-economic damages

Non-economic damages address losses that cannot be reduced to a bill or receipt, including pain and suffering, loss of companionship or consortium, and reduced quality of life. Indiana imposes no general statutory cap on non-economic damages in a standard personal injury claim against a private defendant. A spouse or domestic partner of a seriously injured person may bring a separate loss of consortium claim for the loss of companionship and support.

As discussed in the Insurance section above, Indiana's narrow No Pay, No Play statute bars non-economic recovery for repeat uninsured drivers specifically, not uninsured drivers generally.

Wrongful death damages

When a crash results in death, surviving family members or the estate may pursue a wrongful death claim. Recoverable damages include the financial support the deceased would have provided, funeral and medical expenses, and the loss of companionship and guidance.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages in Indiana are intended to penalize defendants for egregious misconduct rather than to compensate the injured party. They are capped at the greater of $50,000 or three times the total compensatory damages awarded, whether economic or non-economic. Two categories of claims cannot include punitive damages at all under Indiana law, regardless of how egregious the underlying conduct was: wrongful death claims and claims against government entities or employees acting within the scope of their duties.

Claims against government entities

As discussed in the dedicated section above, a crash involving a government vehicle or employee is already subject to a harsher, contributory-negligence fault standard rather than Indiana's ordinary 51 percent bar. Recovery is also capped under Ind. Code § 34-13-3-4 regardless of how severe the injury is:

• $700,000 per individual claimant, for any cause of action accruing on or after January 1, 2008 (the cap was $500,000 for 2006–2008 and $300,000 before 2006)
• $5,000,000 total for all claimants arising from a single occurrence

Even a claim involving significant property damage is subject to this ceiling.

Punitive damages are never available against a government entity or an employee acting within the scope of their duties, confirmed directly under the same statutory subsection. Claims must also clear the 180-day or 270-day notice deadlines discussed in the statute of limitations section above before any of these caps become relevant at all. See our article on sovereign immunity and suing the government for more on this framework.

Medical Coverage Considerations

Indiana's at-fault system means the at-fault driver's liability insurance is the primary source of coverage for your medical expenses, though compensation is often delayed until fault is determined and the claim is resolved.

The at-fault driver's liability insurance

The at-fault driver's bodily injury liability policy is the primary source of coverage for your medical expenses. The involved process can delay compensation, leaving you responsible for covering immediate costs while a claim is developed. As discussed in the Compensation section above, the discounted amount your provider accepted, not the original bill, can end up shaping the medical damages figure in a liability claim.

Medical Payments (MedPay)

MedPay is an optional add-on available in Indiana auto insurance policies, covering medical expenses for the policyholder and passengers regardless of fault. It may cover emergency medical services, hospitalization, surgical procedures, and rehabilitation and physical therapy. MedPay provides immediate financial support without waiting for a liability determination, though reimbursement to the insurance provider may be required from any settlement you later receive.

Health insurance

Health insurance can serve as a secondary source of coverage, paying for medical expenses not covered by auto insurance. While health insurance helps manage immediate costs, insurers often seek reimbursement, known as subrogation, from any settlement received. Understanding this process is important to avoid unexpected financial obligations once a claim resolves.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Indiana auto insurance policies automatically include UM/UIM coverage unless a driver declines it in writing. This coverage is critical when the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient coverage to meet damages. As discussed in the Insurance section above, however, Indiana's narrow No Pay No Play statute can bar non-economic recovery for a repeat uninsured claimant, making UM/UIM coverage on your own policy especially important.

Government assistance programs

Programs such as Medicaid and Medicare can serve as a resource of last resort for eligible individuals. These programs generally require reimbursement from any settlement or judgment obtained, and recipients must often document expenses for the at-fault driver’s insurance company as part of that process.

Unique Local Factors

Weather and road conditions

Indiana's diverse seasonal weather presents distinct challenges to drivers throughout the year. Winters bring snow, ice, and reduced visibility, especially in northern regions and areas near Lake Michigan, where black ice is a frequent hazard on major highways like I-80 and I-65. Spring and summer bring heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flash flooding that create slippery roads and elevated risk on rural roads and low-lying areas. Autumn brings wet leaves that reduce traction and foggy mornings that impair visibility.

Traffic hazards and wildlife

Cities like Indianapolis and Fort Wayne experience heavy traffic during peak hours, particularly on major highways like I-465 and I-69, with construction delays common in urban areas during summer months.

Indiana's extensive network of rural roads sees frequent deer crossings, especially at dawn and dusk, and Indiana ranks high nationally in deer-related crashes. A wildlife collision is generally treated as a single-vehicle incident for insurance claims, making comprehensive coverage the relevant policy for vehicle repairs rather than liability coverage. In agricultural areas, slow-moving farm vehicles often share the road, requiring drivers to exercise extra caution and be prepared to adjust to slow-moving or stationary equipment.

Tourism and events

Indiana hosts numerous events and attractions that draw heavy traffic, particularly on weekends and holidays. The Indianapolis 500 brings thousands of visitors annually, increasing congestion on I-70 and local roads around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. State parks such as Brown County State Park and Indiana Dunes National Park see heightened traffic during peak seasons, often with unfamiliar drivers on local roads. Festivals, including the Covered Bridge Festival and the Indiana State Fair, draw large crowds, increasing the risk of accidents in small towns and surrounding areas.

An out-of-state or unfamiliar driver's lack of local road knowledge does not reduce their legal requirements under Indiana's modified comparative fault standard; they are held to the same standard of reasonable conduct as any Indiana driver.

Local Resources & Contacts

Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)
Provides road condition updates, traffic reports, and construction alerts.

• Website: in.gov/dot
• Phone: (855) 463-6848

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
Offers resources for accident reporting, insurance compliance, financial responsibility verification, and registration or license suspension matters.

• Website: in.gov/bmv
• Phone: (888) 692-6841

Indiana State Police (ISP)
Maintains the central repository of Indiana crash reports and provides public safety guidance.

• Website: in.gov/isp
• Crash reports: BuyCrash.com
• Phone: (317) 232-8248

Indiana Attorney General's Office
Handles tort claim notices filed against the State of Indiana under the Indiana Tort Claims Act.

• Website: in.gov/attorneygeneral

For accident laws in other states, visit our state-specific legal information page.