Indiana Insurance Laws on the State Licensing Exam

Indiana's state section draws from Indiana Code, Title 27 — administered by the Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI). The approximately 20-25 state questions on each Indiana exam cover IDOI Commissioner authority, IC 27-1-15.6 producer licensing provisions, unfair practices, and line-specific Indiana law. For Life/A&H exams, Healthcare.gov (Indiana's federal exchange — NOT state-based), HIP 2.0 (Healthy Indiana Plan with POWER accounts — Indiana's distinctively structured Medicaid expansion), and the Annuity Best Interest training requirement (760 IAC 1-72-4.5; July 1, 2024) are highest-priority state topics. For P&C exams, Indiana's modified comparative fault (51% bar), at-fault auto system (25/50/25), UM/UIM automatically included (can reject in writing), and the ICRB (Indiana's independent workers' comp rating bureau — not NCCI) are the core state law areas.

Indiana's Insurance Legal Framework

IDOI Commissioner Authority

IDOI contacts:

311 West Washington Street, Suite 103, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2787

317-232-2389; [email protected]; in.gov/idoi

Commissioner: Amy L. Beard

Commissioner authority:

License, suspend, revoke producers and insurers

Market conduct examinations

Investigate unfair practices

Issue cease and desist orders; impose civil penalties

Oversee IDOI's Company Services Division (regulates workers' comp insurers and ICRB)

Producer Licensing (IC 27-1-15.6)

All key facts tested:

PLE: 20 hours per line; 6-month certificate validity; 70% PLE exam; bring Certificate to Pearson VUE; $4 roster fee

Designation exemptions: CLU, CFP, CFC, CPCU, CIC, AAI; bachelor's in insurance; email [email protected]; exam still required

Pearson VUE exam: $69; 70%; 48-hr retake; 1 OnVUE attempt; 6-month score window; Ivy Tech/Pearson VUE/military sites

Gemalto fingerprinting: ~$47.35

Application: Sircon or NIPR; $40 + $5.60; 5-7 business days

Apply within 6 months of PLE completion and passing exam

All applicants: US citizens or legal aliens with work authorization

180-day temporary license

Renewal: 2 years; last day birth month; $40; late fee $160

CE: 24 hours (3 Ethics); Sircon/NIPR tracking

Professional org CE: up to 2 hours per 2-year period (IC 27-1-15.7-2.4; HEA 1329, 2023)

License grounds for action:

Misrepresentation in application

Violation of Indiana insurance law

Misappropriation of premium funds

Incompetence or untrustworthiness

Prior license action in any state

Fraud or unfair trade practice

Indiana Unfair Trade Practices

Named practices — all tested:

Misrepresentation, twisting, churning, rebating, defamation, unfair discrimination, unfair claims settlement

Indiana Life Insurance State Laws

Annuity Best Interest (760 IAC 1-72-4.5; eff. July 1, 2024) — most testable recent IN rule:

One-time 4-hour training course before selling annuities

Required for any producer holding a life insurance line of authority intending to sell annuities

Producers who obtained life line before July 1, 2024: must complete within 6 months of July 1, 2024

Producers who obtain life line after July 1, 2024: must complete within 6 months of obtaining the line before selling annuities

IDOI-approved courses; contact brwalters@idoi.in.gov or 317-232-5858 (Brooke Walters, Education Coordinator)

Indiana LTC training: Standard initial LTC training before selling LTC products; ongoing training each CE cycle.

Indiana A&H Insurance State Laws

Healthcare.gov: Indiana does NOT have a state-based ACA exchange. Indiana residents purchase marketplace coverage through Healthcare.gov. Indiana producers selling marketplace plans use Healthcare.gov portal. Annual open enrollment follows the federal calendar.

HIP 2.0 (Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0) — Indiana's most distinctive health law: Indiana expanded Medicaid through HIP 2.0 — a distinctive, Indiana-specific approach:

Adults up to 138% FPL qualify for HIP 2.0

POWER accounts (Personal Wellness and Responsibility Accounts): Member contributions to a health spending account:

HIP Plus: For members who contribute to their POWER account — includes full HIP benefits; no premiums for income below 100% FPL; sliding-scale contributions above 100% FPL

HIP Basic: For members who don't contribute to POWER account — more limited benefits; subject to lockout penalties for non-payment

The POWER account mechanism is distinctively Indiana — no other comparison state has an equivalent structure

HIP 2.0 represents Indiana's conservative approach to Medicaid expansion, emphasizing personal responsibility through member contributions

No Indiana individual mandate: Indiana does not have a state tax penalty for being uninsured.

Indiana P&C Auto Insurance Laws

Indiana is an at-fault state.

25/50/25 liability minimums (confirmed from Indiana BMV official source):

$25,000 bodily injury per person

$50,000 bodily injury per accident

$25,000 property damage per accident

Modified comparative fault — Indiana's most tested P&C state law (IC 34-51-2): Indiana uses modified comparative fault with a 51% bar:

Plaintiff at 50% or less fault: recovery reduced proportionally by fault percentage

Plaintiff at more than 50% (51%+) fault: completely barred from recovery

This is the "51% bar" — different from MN/CO's 50% bar but similar in structure

Example: Driver A is 30% at fault; Driver B is 70% at fault; total damages = $100,000. Driver A recovers $70,000 (100% - 30% = 70%). If Driver A were 51% at fault, Driver A recovers nothing.

Compare to comparison states:

Maryland/Virginia: Contributory negligence (any fault = bar)

MN/CO: Modified comparative, 50% bar (>50% = bar)

Indiana: Modified comparative, 51% bar (>50% = bar) — same practical effect as MN/CO but with 51% threshold

UM/UIM:

Required to be offered; automatically included unless rejected in writing

UM: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident bodily injury; $25,000 PD

UIM: $50,000 per person bodily injury

High-risk drivers: Indiana Auto Insurance Plan (INAIP) = assigned risk pool

PIP: Not required in Indiana (at-fault state). MedPay available as add-on.

Diminished value: Indiana allows diminished value claims (1 of 15 states); 6-year statute of limitations; can file against at-fault driver's insurer.

Statute of limitations — auto personal injury: 2 years (IC 34-11-2-4).

Indiana Workers' Compensation (IC 22-3-2-2)

Coverage: 1+ employee (full-time and part-time)

Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau (ICRB):

NOT NCCI — Indiana is an independent bureau state

ICRB is a private, non-profit, unincorporated association of all insurance companies licensed to write workers' comp in Indiana

Administers rates, classification system, statistical plan, and experience rating for all Indiana workers' comp carriers

Indiana rates are among the 4th lowest nationally

Administered by: Workers' Compensation Board of Indiana; 402 W. Washington St., Rm W196, Indianapolis, IN 46204; 800-824-COMP

IDOI Company Services Division regulates workers' comp insurers and ICRB

Non-compliance: Class A infraction (IC 22-3-4-13); $100/day civil penalty; misdemeanor with up to 1 year prison + $5,000 fine

Exclusive remedy (IC 22-3-2-6): Workers' comp is the exclusive remedy for covered work-related injuries.

Private market: Competitive; no state monopoly fund. Travelers is the state fund carrier for residual market.

Medical fee schedule: Capped at 200% of Medicare reimbursement rate for medical facilities.

TTD benefits: 2/3 of average weekly wage; maximum average weekly wage $1,205 (for injuries on/after July 1, 2023); max TTD = $804/week; up to 500 weeks.

Indiana State Law Numbers Summary

5 Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Indiana's comparative fault standard and how does it differ from neighboring states? Indiana uses modified comparative fault with a 51% bar (IC 34-51-2) — a plaintiff is completely barred if found more than 50% at fault. Ohio uses a 51% bar as well (same structure); Illinois uses a 51% bar. This is different from Maryland/Virginia's contributory negligence (any fault = bar), and different from Minnesota/Colorado's 50% bar (where the threshold is at exactly 50% rather than 51%). In practice, Indiana's 51% bar and MN/CO's 50% bar produce similar results in most cases.
• What makes HIP 2.0 distinctive on the Indiana exam? HIP 2.0's POWER account mechanism — member contributions to a health spending account determining HIP Plus vs. HIP Basic eligibility — is specifically Indiana. It reflects Indiana's conservative, personal-responsibility approach to Medicaid expansion. On the exam, understanding the HIP Plus/Basic distinction (contribution-based benefits) is the key HIP 2.0 state section fact.
• What is ICRB and why does Indiana not use NCCI? Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau (ICRB) is Indiana's own statutory rating organization — a private, non-profit association of all companies licensed to write workers' comp in Indiana. Unlike most states that use NCCI for rating administration, Indiana has its own independent bureau (similar to a handful of other independent bureau states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas). This means Indiana's workers' comp class codes, statistical plan, and experience rating may differ from NCCI.
• What is the 760 IAC 1-72-4.5 annuity training rule? Indiana Administrative Code 760 IAC 1-72-4.5 — IDOI's Annuity Best Interest rule effective July 1, 2024 — requires life line producers who intend to sell annuities to complete a one-time 4-hour training course on the Best Interest Standards of Conduct for Annuity Sales. This is the most recent significant IDOI rule change prior to the current exam cycle and is specifically testable as a current Indiana regulatory development.
• Does Indiana require UM coverage on all auto policies? UM and UIM are automatically included in Indiana auto policies unless the policyholder rejects them in writing. Indiana requires insurers to offer UM/UIM — it is automatically included as a default but can be waived. This is different from Maryland (where UM cannot be waived at all) and similar to many other at-fault states where UM is offered but optional. Given Indiana's ~16% uninsured driver rate, keeping UM/UIM coverage is strongly recommended.

Own the Indiana State Section

Indiana's HIP 2.0 POWER accounts, Healthcare.gov, Annuity Best Interest rule, 51% comparative fault, and ICRB all require specific Indiana preparation. JustInsurance's IDOI-approved Indiana courses are built around the Pearson VUE content outline with Indiana state law depth.

Enroll today and master the Indiana state law that determines your exam outcome.