For the Indiana Personal Lines exam, the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is tested two ways: the national policy structure and the Indiana auto laws layered on top of it. This standalone guide walks through the lettered parts every PAP uses, then focuses on the Indiana rules an agent must apply every day—financial-responsibility minimums, the at-fault legal system, the uninsured- and underinsured-motorist offer requirement, and how policies can be cancelled or nonrenewed. Spend your study time on the Indiana overlay; that is where the state questions live.

The national fundamentals (quick version)

The Personal Auto Policy insures individuals and families for the vehicles they own and drive. It is divided into clearly labeled parts:

• Part A — Liability Coverage: pays for bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally responsible for, and includes a duty to defend with defense costs paid on top of the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical and funeral expenses for the insured and passengers regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM): pays your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, paid at Actual Cash Value (ACV).
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions set the rules.

An insured generally includes the named insured, the resident spouse, resident family members (including a child away at school), and anyone using the covered auto with permission. A newly acquired auto typically receives automatic coverage for a limited time if reported as required. Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos, pickups, and vans not used primarily for business. That skeleton is the same nationwide; Indiana changes the dollar limits and the legal environment around it.

Indiana is an at-fault (tort) state

Indiana follows a tort (at-fault) system rather than a no-fault system. Whoever causes the crash is financially responsible, and the injured person recovers from that driver's liability insurance—or sues. Because of this, liability coverage and proof of financial responsibility are the backbone of Indiana auto regulation.

When both drivers share blame, Indiana uses modified comparative fault. Picture a simple cutoff: an injured person who is more than 50% responsible recovers nothing at all (often called the 51% bar—verify). If their share is 50% or less, they can still collect, but the payout is trimmed by their own percentage of fault. This differs from a pure comparative system (where any at-fault claimant recovers something) and from a no-fault system (where each driver turns first to their own coverage).

Financial responsibility: the 25/50/25 minimums

Indiana drivers must demonstrate financial responsibility, almost always by buying liability insurance that meets the state's minimum split limits of 25/50/25:

• $25,000 bodily injury per person
• $50,000 bodily injury per accident
• $25,000 property damage per accident

Agents say this aloud as "25/50/25." These are bare-minimum floors—most clients should buy more to protect their assets. An uninsured driver faces fines, suspension of license/registration, and reinstatement steps, and certain drivers must file an SR-22 certificate verifying the required liability coverage. A bond or deposit can technically satisfy the law, but auto liability insurance is the everyday method.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Here is a point Indiana agents must get right: Indiana insurers must offer Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage, and the applicant may accept or reject it (rejection is generally required in writing—verify).

• UM protects you and your passengers when the at-fault driver carries no insurance or flees the scene (hit-and-run).
• UIM handles the case where the at-fault driver has insurance, just not enough. It pays the difference between the other driver's lower BI limit and your UIM limit.
• Because coverage is offered rather than built in, an Indiana policy can legally end up without UM/UIM if the insured signs the proper written rejection.

The recurring theme: in Indiana UM/UIM must be offered, and the insured may decline in writing.

No PIP, plus the optional coverages

• Indiana does not require PIP / no-fault coverage. Medical Payments (Med Pay) is available as an optional first-party coverage that pays medical and funeral costs regardless of fault.
• Collision and Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) are optional, though a lender will usually require them on a financed vehicle. Remember that damage from hitting an animal, or theft, fire, hail, and falling objects, is Comprehensive, not Collision.
• Rental reimbursement and towing/labor are common low-limit add-ons.

Cancellation and nonrenewal notice

Indiana limits how and when an insurer can end a personal auto policy. The timelines are commonly cited as follows:

• Cancellation for nonpayment of premium uses a shorter notice (verify the exact days).
• Other mid-term cancellations require a longer advance written notice, and after a policy has been in force a set time the insurer may cancel only for limited reasons—chiefly nonpayment, driver's-license suspension/revocation, or fraud/material misrepresentation.
• Nonrenewal (declining to continue at the end of the term) likewise requires advance written notice so the insured can shop for replacement coverage.

Keep the short nonpayment window separate from the longer ordinary-cancellation / nonrenewal window.

Required vs. optional coverages in Indiana

Key Indiana numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Indiana is at-fault, not no-fault—there is no mandatory PIP here.
• 25/50/25—don't transpose the $25k property-damage figure into a bodily-injury slot, and note the PD floor is $25k (higher than some neighboring states).
• UM/UIM is offered, not mandatory in Indiana; the customer may reject it in writing.
• Modified comparative fault: more than 50% at fault means no recovery (the 51% bar—watch the exact wording).
• UIM fills the gap (your UIM limit minus the other driver's BI payment); it isn't a second full benefit on top.
• Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision.
• Liability defense costs are paid in addition to the limit (national rule that still applies in Indiana).

Quick recap

• The PAP keeps its national Parts A–F structure; Indiana changes the limits and legal context.
• Indiana is a tort/at-fault state using modified comparative fault, where a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
• Financial-responsibility minimums are 25/50/25.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage must be offered, and the insured may reject it in writing.
• Indiana has no mandatory no-fault/PIP; Med Pay, Collision, and Comprehensive are optional.
• Cancellation for nonpayment uses a short notice; ordinary cancellation/nonrenewal uses a longer notice—verify the exact days.