Cheap Car Insurance in Indiana

Indiana is one of the most diverse states in the entire country. Besides being the largest steel-producing state in the U.S., Indiana has three national parks, snow skiing, and a rich Native American cultural past and present. Nicknamed the “Hoosier State,” Indiana is the 38^th largest state in size and has an impressive array of beautiful lakes, as well as having a Lake Michigan shoreline within its borders. There are many great colleges and universities in Indiana, including University of Notre Dame and Purdue University.

In 2019, there were more than 4.5 million drivers in Indiana, so making sure you are protected with good, cheap car insurance in Indiana is very important for you and your family.

Quick Facts

On average, Indiana drivers pay $367 per year for the state-required minimum liability car insurance. Considering that the national average cost of minimum liability car insurance is $565 per year, the cheapest insurance in Indiana is a money-saver on your car insurance.

If drivers elect to have full coverage car insurance in Indiana, they’ll be paying on average $1,254 per year. That’s still really cheap compared to the national average of $1,674 per year.

Indiana drivers will pay on average $105 monthly for full coverage insurance.

What is “full coverage?” Full coverage refers to policies that include liability insurance, collision insurance and comprehensive coverage. This offers enhanced protection for you and your vehicle (for example, comprehensive insurance can protect your car from Indiana’s many tornadoes), but it can increase the premium that you pay. If your vehicle is financed, your lender will require you to carry full coverage.

This higher monthly premium means enjoying the peace of mind that comes from protecting your car from any unexpected accidents, vandalism, theft, and even certain natural disasters! And you can reduce your monthly cost by raising your deductible.

The minimum car insurance required by the state costs, on average, $31 per month.

If you get only the minimum car insurance for Indiana, then you are getting only liability car insurance coverage. Later on, we’re going to explore the exact amounts of liability coverage you will need to comply with state requirements.

While that may sound like a great way to save money, keep in mind that those with only minimal car insurance protection may be very vulnerable in the event of a car accident.

Yes, there are. Every insurance company offers car insurance discounts. This may include everything from keeping grades up as a student to installing anti-theft devices on your car.

The exact discounts offered vary from insurance company to insurance company. However, every insurance carrier offers good driver discounts that help you save money if you have few (or no) insurance claims within a certain period of time.

You won’t know exactly what the discount is, or exactly how much you can save, until you contact your insurance carrier and ask. Some common discounts include:

Like every state, Indiana has car insurance rules and regulations. We are going to detail the mandatory car insurance requirements in Indiana momentarily, but one of the most important things you need to understand is that Indiana is an “at fault” state.

Simply put, this means that when there is a car accident, the person who is at fault is the one who will be paying for the damages. This is why everyone is required to have liability insurance: If a driver causes a car accident, this insurance will help them pay for the bodily damage and property damage of the other driver(s) and their passengers.

If there is an accident and you are found at fault for it, then simply having liability insurance means you will receive no payout to help cover your own injuries or the damage to your vehicle.

What Are the Mandatory Car Insurance Requirements in Indiana?

At a minimum, you need liability insurance with $25,000 bodily injury/death liability insurance per person, $50,000 bodily injury/death liability coverage per accident, and $25,000 for property damage liability insurance.

Even if you stick to only liability insurance, you may want to consider higher coverage limits. And, as we touched on before, you should strongly consider getting additional forms of coverage (such as collision, which will pay out to cover damage to your car even if you were at fault for the accident).

What Is the Penalty for Driving Without Insurance in Indiana?

For the first offense, your license will be suspended for 90 days. Even worse, you may need to get an SR-22 certificate for the following three years.

If there is a second offense, your license is suspended for an entire year, and you must pay a $500 fine. You will be required to get an SR-22 certificate for three years.

If you commit a third offense (or any offenses beyond the third), your license is suspended for a year, and you will need to pay $1,000 to reinstate it. And you will now be forced to get an SR-22 certificate for five years.

Previously, we covered how where you live is one of the factors that determines how much you pay for car insurance. That is only one of many different factors that insurance carriers in Indiana are allowed to consider when setting your premium.

Some of the factors insurance companies use to determine your rates include:

All of the penalties for driving without car insurance in Indiana involve getting an SR-22 certificate. But what, exactly, is the SR-22 certificate?

Basically, the SR-22 is a certificate filed with the state of Indiana that verifies you have at least the minimum amount of car insurance required. While the SR-22 is merely a certificate, having to get such a certificate will usually increase your insurance premiums. Insurance companies view drivers who are required to file an SR22 as a higher risk to insure. You may end up paying for high-risk car insurance, which can be substantially higher than before.

For this reason, some drivers refer to “SR-22 insurance” as car insurance they can get when an SR-22 is required. This is an important distinction because there are certain carriers that may not offer car insurance to risky drivers who are legally required to file an SR-22. However, drivers should still shop around and compare car insurance quotes when looking for SR22 insurance.

If there is an accident in Indiana that causes injury or death, or that traps someone, you need to call 911. You must also contact authorities if the accident caused any property damage beyond the vehicles themselves.

You are under no legal obligation to report a minor fender bender that only damages the cars in the accident. But what if you are the one involved in a car accident? Assuming there are no injuries or property damage beyond the cars involved, it is up to you and the other driver whether to call the authorities. If the other person is at fault and you are considering suing them for damages, then it is important that you contact the police as soon as possible.

In this state, an estimated 15.8% of the driving population has no car insurance at all. If you want to protect yourself from such drivers, you can always add uninsured motorist coverage to your existing insurance policy. Additionally, your collision insurance coverage can help pay to repair or even replace your car in the event that the other driver does not have insurance (or simply does not have enough insurance).

We have already covered “the big three” when it comes to car insurance: liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage. By getting all three of these, you can enjoy the protections of “full coverage” insurance. There are still additional types of insurance that you may find beneficial as well.

Medical Payments (also known as MedPay) insurance is a great way to protect yourself in the event of an accident. MedPay helps to pay for the medical bills that you and/or your passengers may have if you are injured in an accident. MedPay has coverage limits but does not require any deductible or copay, making it a great choice for anyone who wants to keep expensive medical debt at bay.

Personal Injury Protection (also known as PIP) insurance is like an enhanced version of MedPay. That is because PIP pays for medical expenses like MedPay does, but it also pays out for things like funeral expenses, household expenses, childcare, and lost wages due to accidents. If the family breadwinner passes away in an accident, PIP will also pay a survivor’s loss benefit.

PIP is required in many states, but it is not required in Indiana. Nonetheless, this is one of the best insurance policies you can get to protect yourself and your family.