Hit by a Minimally Insured Driver in Indiana? Here’s What Actually Happens to Your Claim

July 16, 2026

• Nearly 14% of drivers in Indiana have minimal insurance, which means that it might not cover all of your bills if you are hit.
• If this happens, you will need to file an Underinsurance Motorist claim with your insurance company…which means your own insurance will suddenly be against you.
• Dealing with multiple insurance companies after an accident can be exhausting and frustrating. That’s why having an experienced Indiana car accident lawyer on your side can be crucial to the success of your claim.

A car accident can slam you into a new world. Before you know it, you could be dealing with medical bills, rehab, modified work schedules, lawyers, and insurance companies. If you are hit by someone else, you might take comfort in this new world with the knowledge that the other person has insurance to pay for your mounting costs.

But if you are hit by a minimally insured driver in Indiana, the other driver’s insurance may not pay for everything. When this happens, the process becomes even more complicated. In essence, you will need to file a claim with your own insurance, and your own insurance will start to fight against you.

The process of becoming whole requires more work when hit by a minimally insured driver. That’s why you want an Indiana car accident attorney who will fight for you the entire time. When the other driver’s insurance is minimal, you need a team that gives maximum effort.

Underinsurance and Minimally Insured Drivers in Indiana

Everyone has to buy insurance. While we all have frustrations with the industry, insurance is a social contract that says “If I do something wrong, I can make it right.” Purchasing insurance protects yourself and everyone else on the road.

But insurance is also expensive. And over the last decade, more and more people have bought minimal coverage. Buying minimal coverage can help you meet legal requirements, but it generally does not cover all the costs associated with causing a car accident.

Drivers who have coverage that doesn’t meet the costs of an accident are officially called “underinsured motorists,” and their ranks have been rising. According to the Insurance Research Council, the rate of underinsured motorists has risen nationwide from a little over 10% in 2017 to 18% in 2023.

In Indiana, 14% of motorists are underinsured. This means that if you are in an accident, there is nearly a 1-in-7 chance that the motorist doesn’t have adequate insurance.

Instead, these drivers may only have enough insurance to satisfy the state’s “25/50/25 rule.”  Under this requirement, the coverage has to account for:

• $25,000 for bodily injury to or the death of one (1) individual,
• $50,000 for bodily injury to or the death of two (2) or more individuals in any one (1) accident
• $25,000 for damage to or the destruction of property in one (1) accident

Numbers like these are nowhere near enough to cover the damages for a major accident. So what happens then?

What Happens to Your Claim When You’re Hit by a Minimally Insured Driver?

You might be in an accident on the Lloyd Expressway in Evansville. You might get sideswiped somewhere on 465. You might have a collision in Fort Wayne near that dangerous interchange where 930 hits 69. But no matter where in Indiana you have an accident, you have to hope the other driver has insurance to cover you.

14% of drivers, as we’ve found out, won’t. And that can be scary. After all, your expenses are potentially going to add up. This can include:

• Medical bills
• Rehab
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering

You can see how this can quickly go over $25,000.

The process of getting compensated will begin by proving the liability of the other driver. Your legal team will collect the police report, witness statements, photographs, and more to establish who is to blame. They will help you total up your medical and other expenses and start to negotiate with the other driver’s insurance company.

Let’s say, for the sake of simplicity, that your total is $50,000. And let’s say further, for the sake of even more simplicity, that the other insurance company sees the proof and agrees to pay. The only hitch is that the insurance company will only pay $25,000 – the max amount its client has purchased. That leaves you $25,000 in the hole.

When this happens, you can file a claim for Underinsured Motorist Coverage on your own insurance policy. This will compensate you for the remainder of the costs up to the remaining balance of your policy limit. If your UIM policy is for, say, $75,000, there should in theory be no problem covering the $25,000 gap.

Of course, it is never that simple. Insurance companies don’t make money by paying out. They will want to fight your claim. Suddenly, your own insurance company is as much an antagonist as that of the other driver and will want to examine your medical costs and fight you over everything.

That’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. It’s annoying. You didn’t cause the accident, and you pay for insurance just in case something like this happens.

When you’re in an accident, the last thing you want to do is battle multiple insurance companies.

That’s why you want an Indiana legal team who will enter the battle for you.

Reach Out to Our Experienced Indiana Car Accident Attorneys

Being hit by a minimally insured driver creates more challenges than normal. Your lawyers need to be prepared to take on not just the other driver’s insurance company, but yours as well, like the car accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Simply call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Indiana car accident attorney.