Best Small Business Insurance in Indiana

Indiana Insurance Requirements

The State of Indiana currently requires most businesses with part- or full-time employees to carry workers' compensation insurance. Commercial auto insurance is also required for vehicles that are used for business purposes.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Indiana state statute sets the minimum amount of auto insurance coverage required:

IN Code § 9-25-4-5 (2021)

Sec. 5. Except as provided in section 6 of this chapter, the minimum amounts of financial responsibility are as follows:

(1) Subject to the limit set forth in subdivision (2), twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for bodily injury to or the death of one (1) individual.

(2) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for bodily injury to or the death of two (2) or more individuals in any one (1) accident.

(3) Before July 1, 2018, ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for damage to or the destruction of property in one (1) accident. Beginning July 1, 2018, twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for damage to or the destruction of property in one (1) accident.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

The State of Indiana requires most businesses with employees to have workers’ compensation insurance, with a handful of exceptions.

These exceptions, listed in state statute IC 22-3-6-1, include:

• Railroad employees in train service
• Farm laborers
• Employees of Indiana municipal corporations who are members of the fire department or police department 
• ​Independent contractors

Data Breach Insurance

Indiana’s data breach notification statute was signed into law on April 26, 2005. It became effective on July 1, 2006. The law compels a “data base owner”, defined as a person that holds personal information, to inform the individuals if that personal information has or may have been breached. 

The law increases the likelihood that businesses that suffer a data breach will face claims of negligence. Data breach insurance will allow individuals who have been affected to be compensated for any losses. 

§ 24-4.9-3-1: Disclosure of Breach

A “data base owner shall disclose the breach to an Indiana resident whose:

(1) unencrypted personal information was or may have been acquired by an unauthorized person; or

(2) encrypted personal information was or may have been acquired by an unauthorized person with access to the encryption key;

if the data base owner knows, should know, or should have known that the unauthorized acquisition constituting the breach has resulted in or could result in identity deception…identity theft, or fraud affecting the Indiana resident.

§ 24-4.9-2-3: Data Base Owner

"Data base owner" means a person that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information.

§ 24-4.9-2-9: Person

"Person" means an individual, a corporation, a business trust, an estate, a trust, a partnership, an association, a nonprofit corporation or organization, a cooperative, or any other legal entity.

Indiana Insurance Resources

Indiana Department of Insurance Small Business Insurance Information
Indiana Department of Insurance Auto Insurance Information
Workers’ Compensation Board of Indiana
Indiana Workers’ Compensation Statute

General Liability Insurance

The vast majority of Indiana companies purchase general liability insurance from an insurance company even though it is not legally required. This type of business liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage, advertising liability, libel, slander, copyright issue, and other common claims faced by companies across various industries. 

General liability insurance is one of the most important types of business insurance your company can purchase.

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an affordable way to bundle business insurance coverages. This type of policy includes commercial general liability insurance with commercial business property insurance. Many small business owners with a physical business space opt for this coverage.

Commercial Auto Insurance

You need to carry commercial auto insurance if your company uses vehicles to transport people or goods. This type of insurance is very similar to personal auto insurance and covers liability, medical costs, collisions, and uninsured/underinsured motorists. A commercial auto policy also covers vehicles rented or owned by your company and employees who use their own vehicles for company business.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Indiana requires most businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to subscribe to such insurance. Taking out workers' compensation insurance puts a limit on the amount and type of compensation that an injured employee may receive. The limits are set by law.

Employee Health/Life/Disability Insurance

Companies that provide health, life, and/or disability insurance as a fringe benefit will need appropriate Indiana insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, firms with more than 50 full-time employees must offer health insurance or pay an expensive penalty.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance covers financial risks to attorneys, accountants, and other people who provide professional services or expertise. Professional liability coverage varies depending on the industry but usually includes negligence, legal defense, slander or libel, and copyright and trademark disputes. 

Professional liability insurance includes errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

Data Breach Insurance

If your company hosts customers’ personal information on its servers and those servers are hacked, lawsuits and damages can result. Data breach insurance protects you in these cases. 

Cyber Liability Insurance

Similar to but more comprehensive than data breach insurance, cyber liability insurance may pay for legal expenses related to a data breach or set up a call center for individuals affected by a breach. It also may pay for active protection against cyberattacks.

Commercial Crime Insurance

Crimes like extortion, forgery, burglary, computer fraud, and embezzlement are covered by commercial crime insurance. Situations in which this type of insurance is particularly useful include dishonest or libelous acts by employees.

Fiduciary Liability Insurance

Fiduciaries, who are legally required to act in plan participants’ best interests rather than the company’s when choosing advisors and investments, should consider this type of insurance coverage. It covers them if they are sued for allegedly providing negligent investment advice or administering plans or benefits incorrectly. 

Third parties like out-of-company consultants and benefit plan administrators are usually not protected.

Directors and Officers Insurance

Any company with directors and officers should consider directors and officers (D&O) insurance coverage, a type of liability insurance that reimburses directors and officers for claims made against them regarding harm allegedly caused by their management decisions.

Executive Risk Coverage

Executive risk insurance is business liability insurance that provides coverage for fraud, D&O, employment practices, initial public offerings, pension funds, extortion, and professional negligence.