TL;DR: Indiana's intrastate floors mirror the federal amounts exactly: $300,000 for for-hire property under 10,000 pounds, $750,000 above, passenger tiers at $1,500,000 and $5,000,000, hazmat at federal tiers. One $1,000,000 policy clears the state certificate, federal filings, and broker contracts, with Indiana's moderate venue keeping excess sizing conventional.
What liability limits does Indiana require for trucks?
| Layer | Operation | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| DOR certificate, intrastate for-hire | Property, under 10,000 lbs | $300,000 CSL |
| Property, 10,001 lbs and up | $750,000 CSL | |
| DOR passenger tiers | 15 or fewer passengers | $1,500,000 |
| 16 or more | $5,000,000 | |
| Federal, interstate | General freight, 10,001 lbs and up | $750,000 |
| Hazmat by commodity | $1,000,000 / $5,000,000 | |
| Registration, light vehicles | Passenger rules | 25/50/25 |
Why does Indiana mirror federal law completely?
Administrative sense at a freight crossroads: with most Indiana carriers touching interstate commerce, the DOR pegged its intrastate floors, weight tiers, passenger tiers, and hazmat treatment to the federal amounts, producing the cleanest alignment in the region. The practical consequence is the familiar one: no restructuring at the intrastate-interstate boundary, one policy clearing both systems, and the $1,000,000 broker standard governing everything commercial with room above every floor.
What do working Indiana carriers carry?
$1,000,000 combined single limit and $100,000 cargo as the baseline, clearing certificate, filings, and contracts at once. Excess buying runs conventional: Indiana's moderate venue environment, generous compared to Cook County next door, lets fleets size towers to corridor severity rather than venue terror, with junction pileups and steel-trade severity the honest drivers. Chicago-adjacent operations crossing into Illinois inherit that state's calculus for the miles they run there, a border reality underwriters price by lane.
How do the trade exposures bear on limits?
Steel hauling out of the northwest mills carries coil and securement severity that the specialty market prices with its own expectations; limestone and aggregate work adds dump-trade exposures; and the distribution economy's van freight runs standard. None of it changes the floors; all of it shapes prudent limits and terms, with securement documentation the currency of the steel trade's market. Cargo terms deserve northwest-corridor theft awareness for target commodities.
How does the state-line differential work?
Meaningfully for border operations: the same crash prices differently in Lake County, Indiana, than five miles west in Cook County, Illinois, and carriers structured to domicile and garage on the Indiana side capture a real premium differential, while their Illinois miles still carry Illinois exposure. Underwriters model where the trucks actually run, so the differential rewards honest lane declarations rather than address games, and ELD data audits the answers eventually.
Where are current numbers verified?
DOR Motor Carrier Services and the CMV guidebook for the state floors, 49 CFR 387.9 for the federal amounts, and the Department of Insurance, (317) 232-2385, for policy questions. The alignment is stable, and the contract layer moves commercially as everywhere. The DOR's CMV guidebook consolidates the state's requirements in one document, which makes it the rare state reference worth downloading and keeping with the compliance files, and its update cycle is worth checking at each annual renewal. For border operations, the honest summary is that the floors are the easy half of the question: they are aligned, stable, and cleared by any working policy, while the venue-aware sizing of excess above them is where an Indiana program earns its keep.
Real questions Indiana owner-operators and fleet managers ask
What is the minimum insurance for a semi in Indiana?
$750,000 combined single limit at 10,001 pounds and up, mirroring the federal floor, for state certificate and federal filing alike. Brokers require $1,000,000, which is what working carriers carry.
What do light trucks need for Indiana authority?
$300,000 under 10,000 pounds, the federal-mirror light tier. Brokered freight carries the $1,000,000 contract standard regardless, and crossing 10,001 pounds moves the floor to $750,000.
Do Indiana steel haulers need special limits?
The legal floors are unchanged, but coil and securement severity puts steel work in a specialty market where documented securement practice shapes terms as much as limits, and prudent programs size above minimums for the trade's claim profile.
How does garaging in Indiana versus Illinois affect limits?
The floors are similar; the venue environments are not. Indiana domicile captures a real premium differential, while Illinois miles still price as Illinois exposure. Honest lane declarations, not address strategies, make the differential durable.
Do Indiana hazmat haulers follow state or federal amounts?
Federal tiers by commodity, $1,000,000 or $5,000,000, which Indiana's mirror makes the state requirement too. The commodity's classification sets the tier for intrastate and interstate work alike.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in Indiana?
Not directly today. Morrow is the brand name of Afthonea Inc, licensed in Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas. If your trucking company is based in Indiana, we can refer you to a licensed Indiana agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public Indiana and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related Indiana trucking guides
The other Indiana trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in Indiana (start here)
- Trucking insurance requirements
- Intrastate authority and filings
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in Indiana
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- Commercial auto for trucking fleets
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with Indiana DOR Motor Carrier Services and the Indiana Department of Insurance before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.