What Do My Car Insurance Coverages Mean? Your Indiana Declarations Page, Line by Line

Key takeaways

• Your car insurance policy is not one coverage. It is a bundle of six to ten separate coverages, each with its own limit or deductible, and each one pays for a different kind of loss.
• Indiana's legal minimum is 25/50/25 — $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per accident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage. The average bodily injury liability claim in the U.S. was $28,278 in 2024, according to Triple-I — already above the per-person minimum.
• Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and you can only turn it down in writing. Once rejected, that rejection can carry forward to every renewal unless you ask for the coverage back in writing.
• Hitting a deer is generally a comprehensive claim, not a collision claim — which matters in the three months that State Farm's data shows account for 41% of the year's animal collisions.

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What's in this guide

1. What car insurance coverages mean
2. Why this matters more in Indiana than people think
3. Liability: the three numbers at the top of the page
4. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
5. Collision and comprehensive: the coverages that fix your own car
6. The smaller lines: medical payments, rental, towing and gap
7. The whole page at a glance
8. How to read your own declarations page in 20 minutes
9. Frequently asked questions

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The renewal packet shows up in November, the way it does every year. You open it, skip past the letter, and land on a page that looks like this:

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BI 50/100 · PD 50,000 · UM 50/100 · UIM 50/100 · UMPD 25,000 · MED 5,000 · COMP $500 ded · COLL $1,000 ded · RENTAL $30/day

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It is your car insurance, and you pay for every one of those lines. But if someone asked you to explain what each one does — who it pays, when it pays, and what happens when the number runs out — most people would be guessing past the first two.

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That is not a knock on anyone. Nobody hands you a key to this page. This guide is that key: car insurance coverages explained for Indiana drivers, one line at a time, with the Indiana rules that shape each one and the questions worth asking before your next renewal rather than after your next accident.

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What do car insurance coverages mean?

Your policy's declarations page lists each separate coverage you bought, along with its limit (the most it will pay) or its deductible (what you pay first) — and each coverage responds to a different kind of loss.

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The easiest way to sort them is by who they protect:

• Coverages that pay other people when you cause a crash. Bodily injury liability and property damage liability. These are the ones Indiana law requires.
• Coverages that protect you from other drivers who can't pay. Uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage, for injuries and, separately, for vehicle damage.
• Coverages that fix or replace your own car. Collision and comprehensive, each with its own deductible.
• Smaller add-ons that smooth out the aftermath. Medical payments, rental reimbursement, towing and roadside help, and — for financed or leased cars — gap coverage.

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A policy can carry every one of these or only the required two. The declarations page (insurers often shorten it to "dec page") is simply the list of which ones you have and at what levels. Everything else in your policy packet is the fine print that defines how they work.

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Why this matters more in Indiana than people think

Three Indiana facts make this page more important than it looks.

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First, the legal minimum is low compared with what injuries cost. The Indiana BMV sets the floor at $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage — the familiar 25/50/25. Triple-I's figures put the average U.S. bodily injury liability claim at $28,278 in 2024. That is the average. A serious injury, a hospital stay, or lost wages for a working parent can run many times higher, and the difference between the claim and your limit does not disappear. It becomes a question of what you personally own.

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Second, a meaningful share of the drivers around you carry no insurance at all. The Insurance Research Council estimated that 14.0% of Indiana drivers were uninsured in 2023, ranking the state 22nd nationally (the U.S. figure was 15.4%). Put in plain arithmetic, that is roughly one driver in seven. Many more carry only the state minimum, which may not stretch far if they injure you badly.

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Third, Indiana is a fault-based state. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the damage, and Indiana's modified comparative fault rules generally let an injured person recover only if they are not more than 50% at fault. That makes your liability limits the main thing standing between a bad afternoon and a lawsuit — and it makes your uninsured and underinsured coverage the main thing that pays you when the at-fault driver can't.

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Liability: the three numbers at the top of the page

Liability coverage pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people. It usually appears as three numbers separated by slashes, or as two lines — bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD).

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Split limits, in plain English:

• The first number is the most your policy pays for injuries to any one person.
• The second number is the most it pays for all injuries in one accident.
• The third number (or the PD line) is the most it pays for damage to other people's property — their car, a fence, a mailbox, a storefront.

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So 25/50/25 means $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 in property damage. 100/300/100 means $100,000, $300,000 and $100,000.

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A worked example. You slide through an intersection on a wet November evening and hit a car with two people in it. One passenger's medical bills and lost wages come to $40,000. The other's come to $30,000. Total: $70,000.

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At 25/50/25, the per-person cap applies first. Your policy pays up to $25,000 for the first person and $25,000 for the second — $50,000 total, which also happens to be your per-accident cap. The remaining $20,000 is not covered by your policy. The injured people can pursue you for it.

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At 100/300/100, both claims fit inside the per-person limit and well inside the per-accident limit. Your policy responds to all $70,000, subject to its terms.

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Same crash. Same injuries. A $20,000 difference in what lands on your household.

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Property damage deserves its own thought. Triple-I's average property damage liability claim was $6,770 in 2024, which makes $25,000 sound roomy. The average hides the tail: a chain-reaction crash on I-465 can involve several late-model pickups and SUVs, and one of them alone can use up a $25,000 limit.

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What liability does not do: it never pays for your own injuries or your own car. For households with significant savings, a home, or a teen driver, liability is also where an umbrella policy fits — a layer on top of your auto and home liability. We wrote about when that layer makes sense in our guide to umbrella insurance in Indiana.

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Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: the line people turn down without knowing

If there is one section of your declarations page worth checking tonight, it is this one.

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Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage responds when you are injured by a driver who has no insurance, or by a hit-and-run driver who can't be identified. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage responds when the at-fault driver has insurance, but their limits are too low to cover your injuries.

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Indiana's statute on this is specific, and a few of its details surprise people:

• Your insurer has to offer it. Indiana Code 27-7-5-2 requires insurers to make UM and UIM available on auto liability policies delivered in Indiana, in limits at least equal to your bodily injury liability limits.
• You can only turn it down in writing — both together, or UM alone.
• A rejection can follow you. After a rejection, the insurer does not need to offer the coverage again on a renewal or replacement policy unless you later request it in writing. A form signed years ago to shave a few dollars off a first policy can still be shaping your coverage today.
• Property damage has its own rule. Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) helps with damage to your car caused by an uninsured driver, and Indiana only allows it alongside uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage.
• UIM has a floor. It must be available in limits of not less than $50,000.

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Why it matters, in arithmetic. Say an at-fault driver carrying the Indiana minimum injures you, and your medical bills and lost income reach $80,000. Their per-person limit is $25,000. Without underinsured motorist coverage, the $55,000 gap is yours to pursue from the other driver personally — and a driver who carries the minimum often has little else to collect from.

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With UIM, your own policy can step in, up to your limit and subject to its terms. Exactly how the payment is calculated depends on your policy language and Indiana law, so ask your agent to walk through a sample claim with your actual numbers. That five-minute conversation is worth more than any general rule.

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The common mistake: assuming UM and UIM come automatically. On a new Indiana policy they are generally included unless rejected in writing — but "unless rejected" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The only way to know is to look.

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Collision and comprehensive: the coverages that fix your own car

These two lines pay to repair or replace your vehicle, and they are the ones people most often mix up.

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Collision responds when your car collides with another vehicle or an object — a guardrail, a pole, a ditch — or rolls over. It applies regardless of fault, though if another driver caused the crash, their property damage liability may be the first place the claim goes.

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Comprehensive (sometimes called "other than collision") responds to damage from things other than a collision: theft, vandalism, fire, hail, flooding, a falling tree limb, a cracked windshield from road debris — and animals.

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The deer question. Hitting a deer is generally handled under comprehensive, not collision. Swerving to avoid the deer and hitting a tree instead is often handled as collision. That distinction matters because the two coverages usually carry different deductibles, and some drivers carry one without the other. State Farm's data for July 2024 through June 2025 found October through December accounted for 41% of animal collision claims, and Indiana's deer firearms season runs November 14–29 this year, per the Indiana DNR. We covered this in detail in our guide to comprehensive coverage and Indiana deer collisions.

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What the numbers say. In Triple-I's 2024 figures, 4.16% of collision policyholders had a claim, averaging $5,489, and 3.95% of comprehensive policyholders had a claim, averaging $2,306. Most drivers carry both — 77% buy collision and 80% buy comprehensive.

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How deductibles work, with real numbers. Your deductible is what you pay toward a covered repair before the policy pays the rest. With a $1,000 collision deductible and a $5,489 repair, you pay $1,000 and the policy pays $4,489. With a $500 deductible, you'd pay $500 and the policy $4,989. A higher deductible generally lowers what you pay for the coverage; the right number is the one your emergency fund could cover next week without strain.

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Both are optional under Indiana law — but if you finance or lease, your lender almost always requires them. Winter shifts the mix of claims, too: more slide-offs, parking-lot fender-benders and cracked glass. Our winter driving guide for Indiana covers the season-specific side.

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The smaller lines: medical payments, rental, towing and gap

These lines cost less and get less attention, but they are often the ones that decide whether a claim feels manageable.

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Medical payments (Med Pay). Optional coverage that helps pay medical bills for you and, usually, your passengers after an accident, up to a set limit, regardless of fault. It can help with health insurance deductibles and co-pays after a crash. Limits are usually modest, which is exactly why people forget they have it.

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Rental reimbursement. Helps pay for a rental while your car is repaired after a covered claim, typically as a daily amount with a maximum — say, $30 a day up to 30 days. Check the arithmetic: if rentals near you run $55 a day and the shop is backed up three weeks, a $30 limit leaves you covering $25 a day, about $525 over 21 days.

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Towing and roadside assistance. Helps with towing, jump-starts, flat tires and lockouts. Check it against any roadside plan you already have through a warranty, credit card or auto club, so you're not paying twice.

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Gap coverage. If your car is totaled or stolen, collision or comprehensive generally pays what the car was worth at the time — its actual cash value. On a newer financed or leased car, that can be less than you still owe. Gap coverage is designed for that difference, and it matters most early in a loan, when a car's value drops fastest.

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The whole page at a glance

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     Coverage | What it generally pays for | Required in Indiana? | The detail worth knowing

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Bodily injury liability (BI) | Injuries you cause to others | Yes — $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident minimum | Average U.S. BI claim: $28,278 in 2024 (Triple-I)

Property damage liability (PD) | Damage you cause to others' property | Yes — $25,000 minimum | One late-model truck can use up the minimum

Uninsured motorist (UM) | Your injuries caused by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver | Must be offered; rejected only in writing | 14.0% of Indiana drivers uninsured in 2023 (IRC)

Underinsured motorist (UIM) | Your injuries when the at-fault driver's limits run out | Must be offered; rejected only in writing | Must be available at $50,000 or more

UM property damage (UMPD) | Damage to your car from an uninsured driver | Optional | Only available alongside UM bodily injury

Collision (COLL) | Your car, after a collision or rollover | Optional (lenders usually require it) | Average claim: $5,489 in 2024 (Triple-I)

Comprehensive (COMP) | Theft, hail, fire, vandalism, glass, animals | Optional (lenders usually require it) | Oct–Dec = 41% of animal collisions (State Farm)

Medical payments (MED) | Medical bills for you and passengers, regardless of fault | Optional | Helps with deductibles and co-pays

Rental reimbursement | A rental during covered repairs | Optional | Compare the daily limit to local rental prices

Gap | Loan balance above the car's value after a total loss | Optional | Most relevant early in a loan or lease

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How to read your own declarations page in 20 minutes

You don't need an expert for this. You need your current declarations page, a pen, and about twenty minutes.

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1. Find the page. It's usually the first page or two of your policy packet, and most insurers also post it in their app. Make sure it's the current term — the dates are at the top.

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2. Check the basics first. Are all your vehicles listed, with the right VINs? Are all the drivers in your household listed — including a teen with a new license or a college student home for the holidays? A missing car or driver is a bigger problem than any limit.

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3. Write down your three liability numbers. If they read 25/50/25, you're carrying Indiana's legal minimum. Next to them, jot down roughly what your household owns: home equity, savings, retirement accounts, future income. The question is whether your limits protect those or leave them exposed.

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4. Find UM and UIM — or notice they're missing. If they're there, compare their limits to your bodily injury limits. If they're missing, you may have rejected them in writing at some point, and that choice can carry forward until you ask for the coverage in writing.

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5. Look at both deductibles. If you had to pay each one next Tuesday, could you? If not, it may be too high. If you have a healthy emergency fund and a very low deductible, you may be paying for a smaller check you'd rarely need.

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6. Scan the add-ons. Compare the rental daily limit to real rental prices near you, and check whether gap still makes sense given your loan balance.

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7. Write down every question you couldn't answer. That list is the agenda for a fifteen-minute call. "Am I covered?" is a hard question to answer well. "What happens under my UIM coverage if the other driver has 25/50 and my bills are $80,000?" is an easy one.

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Do it again whenever something changes: a new car, a new driver, a paid-off loan, a move. For the full picture of Indiana's requirements and rules, start with our complete guide to car insurance in Indiana.

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The bottom line

The bottom line is simple: every line on your declarations page answers a different "what if," and the only way to know whether your answers are the right ones is to read them.

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Start with the three questions that matter most. Do my liability limits protect what my household owns? Are uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on my page, and at what limits? Could I pay my deductibles next week without strain? If you can answer all three, you understand your policy better than most drivers on the road.

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If you'd like a second set of eyes, get a quote or request a personalized policy review from the AOG Group team, or call us at 317-981-2046. You can also read more about how we approach auto insurance. We work with drivers across Indiana, and walking through a declarations page is one of our favorite conversations.

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Nothing in this article states what any particular policy covers or what any driver should purchase. Coverage, limits, availability and eligibility are determined solely by the terms of your own policy, your carrier's underwriting, and applicable Indiana law. Statistics cited are published figures from the sources below, not quotes or predictions for any individual driver.

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About the author

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Lee Boyer is a licensed Property & Casualty and Life & Health insurance agent with more than seven years at Allstate, all of them inside the AOG Group agency in Indiana. He writes about coverage the way he explains it at his desk — in plain English, without the sales pitch.

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Sources

• Indiana BMV — Proof of Financial Responsibility (minimum liability of $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000) · https://www.in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/suspension-and-reinstatement/proof-of-financial-responsibility/ · accessed September 30, 2026
• Indiana Code 27-7-5-2, via FindLaw — uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: must be made available, limits at least equal to BI limits, rejection in writing, rejection carries to renewals unless requested in writing, UMPD requires UM bodily injury · https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-27-insurance/in-code-sect-27-7-5-2/ · accessed September 30, 2026
• Delventhal Law — What Are Indiana's Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements? (UIM available in limits of not less than $50,000; Indiana's modified comparative fault rule) · https://delventhal-law.com/blog/what-are-indiana-minimum-auto-insurance-requirements/ · accessed September 30, 2026
• Triple-I — Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance (2024 claim frequency and severity for bodily injury, property damage, collision and comprehensive; share of drivers buying collision and comprehensive) · https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-auto-insurance · accessed September 30, 2026
• Triple-I — Facts + Statistics: Uninsured motorists (Insurance Research Council estimate: Indiana 14.0% uninsured in 2023, ranked 22nd; U.S. 15.4%) · https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-uninsured-motorists · accessed September 30, 2026
• Indiana DNR — Deer Hunting Seasons (2026 firearms season November 14–29) · https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/hunting-and-trapping/deer-hunting/deer-hunting-seasons · accessed September 30, 2026