State guide · Midwest
Indiana subrogation law guide
A claimant whose fault is greater than the combined fault of everyone else who caused the harm is barred, so 51% or more defeats the claim. The Comparative Fault Act does not apply to claims against governmental entities, where common law contributory negligence bars any claimant at fault.
Indiana at a glanceIN
- Property damage
- 2 years
- Bodily injury
- 2 years
- Fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Gov. notice
- 180 days
Overview
Indiana's Comparative Fault Act bars a claimant at 51% fault and abolishes joint and several liability, so each defendant pays only its own share and defendants routinely shift blame to nonparties. The Act does not reach governmental entities, where common law contributory negligence still applies: any insured fault defeats a claim against a city, county or state agency, and the Tort Claims Act adds a 180-day notice for political subdivisions and 270 days for the State. Limitation periods split by property type. Damage to personal property, including vehicles and contents, runs 2 years under Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4, while injury to real property runs 6 years under § 34-11-2-7, so a single house fire can carry two clocks. Bodily injury is 2 years. Product claims face a 10-year repose from delivery under § 34-20-3-1. Insureds are protected by a default made-whole rule that ordinary subrogation clauses do not displace, and the lien reduction statute (§ 34-51-2-19) trims subrogation claims when comparative fault or limited coverage reduced the insured's recovery. Construction subrogation must clear Teton, which reads AIA waivers broadly to cover any loss the owner's property policy pays.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 2 years
- Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 (injury to personal property); 6 years for injury to real property (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-7)
- Bodily injury SOL
- 2 years
- Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4
- Product liability
- 2 years from accrual and within 10 years after delivery to the initial user or consumer; a claim accruing at least 8 but less than 10 years after delivery may be filed within 2 years after accrual (Ind. Code § 34-20-3-1).
- Written contract
- 10 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6; § 34-51-2-2 (Act does not apply to governmental entities)
- Government notice of claim
- 180 days
- Indiana Tort Claims Act: written notice within 270 days after the loss for claims against the State (Ind. Code § 34-13-3-6) and within 180 days for claims against a political subdivision such as a city, county or school corporation (Ind. Code § 34-13-3-8). Suit may follow only after the claim is denied, and a claim not approved within 90 days is deemed denied (Ind. Code §§ 34-13-3-11, 34-13-3-13).
Fault rule in practice
How Indiana's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
A claimant whose fault is greater than the combined fault of everyone else who caused the harm is barred, so 51% or more defeats the claim. The Comparative Fault Act does not apply to claims against governmental entities, where common law contributory negligence bars any claimant at fault.
Authority: Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6; § 34-51-2-2 (Act does not apply to governmental entities)
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in IN | Under pure comparative |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| 50% | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| 60% | Barred | $20,000 |
Doctrines that move the number
Indiana doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Indiana applies the made-whole doctrine by default: the insured must be fully compensated before the insurer shares in a recovery, and standard subrogation wording does not override that rule; only clear and unequivocal contract terms do (Capps v. Klebs, 382 N.E.2d 947 (Ind. Ct. App. 1978); Willard v. Automobile Underwriters, Inc., 407 N.E.2d 1192 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980)). Separately, Ind. Code § 34-51-2-19 reduces a subrogation claim or lien in proportion to the claimant's comparative fault or uncollectible damages.
Economic loss doctrine
Indiana bars tort recovery of purely economic loss, including among parties linked by a network of construction contracts without direct privity (Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library v. Charlier Clark & Linard, P.C., 929 N.E.2d 722 (Ind. 2010)). Damage to other property stays recoverable, and Gunkel v. Renovations, Inc., 822 N.E.2d 150 (Ind. 2005) treats property acquired separately from the defective product as other property.
Joint and several liability
The Comparative Fault Act abolished joint and several liability among defendants: each pays only its own percentage of fault, and defendants may shift fault to a nonparty through the Act's nonparty defense (Ind. Code ch. 34-51-2). Claims against governmental entities fall outside the Act and follow common law rules.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
Under Board of Commissioners of Jefferson County v. Teton Corp., an AIA-style waiver of subrogation bars the owner's carrier from recovering any loss covered by the owner's property insurance, including damage to property outside the contract work. Pull the construction contract before pursuing any contractor.
Practice notes
Working Indiana subrogation files.
- 1
When a city truck, county road crew or school bus causes the loss, the Comparative Fault Act does not apply (§ 34-51-2-2) and any insured fault defeats the claim. Combined with the 180-day Tort Claims Act notice, the government file becomes all or nothing. Document the insured's conduct early (speed, lookout, maintenance records) and serve notice on the correct political subdivision, not just the agency named in the crash report.
- 2
Fault math example: a fictional Fort Wayne insured's $40,000 vehicle total and rental claim arises from an intersection crash where the jury finds the insured 20% at fault and the other driver 80%. Against a private driver the recovery is $32,000 ($40,000 less 20%). If the other vehicle had been a city plow truck, the government contributory negligence rule would turn the same 20% into a complete bar.
- 3
Indiana splits property damage by asset type. Vehicles and contents are personal property with a 2-year period under § 34-11-2-4, while buildings and other real property run 6 years under § 34-11-2-7. A house fire file can therefore hold a contents claim expiring at year two and a dwelling claim that survives to year six. Docket them separately, and never let the longer date set the pace for the whole file.
- 4
On medical payments and other injury-related reimbursement, expect insureds to invoke § 34-51-2-19, arguing that a policy-limits settlement or the insured's own fault should cut the carrier's claim proportionally. Courts apply the statute where comparative fault or uncollectibility actually reduced the recovery, not on a bare claim of settling for less. Participate in the underlying claim and get the settlement allocation in writing.
- 5
Ishqkala scores Indiana files with separate 2-year and 6-year property clocks keyed to the damaged asset class in the estimate (dwelling lines versus contents and auto lines), and adds a 180-day or 270-day notice alert when a public entity appears in the narrative. Where the adverse party is governmental, the liability model treats evidence of insured fault as disqualifying rather than as a percentage reduction.
Key cases
Board of Commissioners of Jefferson County v. Teton Corp.
30 N.E.3d 711 (Ind. 2015)
Adopted the any-insurance approach to the AIA waiver of subrogation: the waiver reaches all damage covered by the owner's property insurance, including non-Work property, which barred the county's subrogated courthouse fire claim.
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library v. Charlier Clark & Linard, P.C.
929 N.E.2d 722 (Ind. 2010)
Applied the economic loss doctrine to bar negligence claims for purely economic loss against parties in a connected construction contract chain, leaving damage to other property as the path for tort recovery.
Capps v. Klebs
382 N.E.2d 947 (Ind. Ct. App. 1978)
Held the insured must be made whole before the insurer recovers through subrogation unless the policy displaces that rule in clear and unequivocal terms, a standard ordinary subrogation clauses do not meet.
Inter-company arbitration
Indiana auto physical damage disputes between signatory carriers go to Arbitration Forums, Inc., where arbitration is compulsory up to $100,000 in total company-paid damages. Claims against cities and counties usually fall outside AF unless the entity has joined, so those files need the Tort Claims Act notice and a litigation plan built around the contributory negligence rule. For product-driven property losses filed in AF, the rules require reasonable access to inspect the alleged defective product, and refusing it can lead to withdrawal of the case.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
IN rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Indiana loss state are calendared against the 2 years property damage period or the 2 years bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under modified, 51% bar before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Files involving a public entity get a 180-day notice deadline that outranks the general SOL in the priority queue.
- Alerts fire at 180, 90, 45 and 15 days before the controlling deadline.
Other modified, 51% bar jurisdictions
FAQ
Indiana subrogation FAQ
2 years (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 (injury to personal property); 6 years for injury to real property (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-7)). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Modified, 51% bar (Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6; § 34-51-2-2 (Act does not apply to governmental entities)). A claimant whose fault is greater than the combined fault of everyone else who caused the harm is barred, so 51% or more defeats the claim. The Comparative Fault Act does not apply to claims against governmental entities, where common law contributory negligence bars any claimant at fault.
Indiana Tort Claims Act: written notice within 270 days after the loss for claims against the State (Ind. Code § 34-13-3-6) and within 180 days for claims against a political subdivision such as a city, county or school corporation (Ind. Code § 34-13-3-8). Suit may follow only after the claim is denied, and a claim not approved within 90 days is deemed denied (Ind. Code §§ 34-13-3-11, 34-13-3-13).
Indiana applies the made-whole doctrine by default: the insured must be fully compensated before the insurer shares in a recovery, and standard subrogation wording does not override that rule; only clear and unequivocal contract terms do (Capps v. Klebs, 382 N.E.2d 947 (Ind. Ct. App. 1978); Willard v. Automobile Underwriters, Inc., 407 N.E.2d 1192 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980)). Separately, Ind. Code § 34-51-2-19 reduces a subrogation claim or lien in proportion to the claimant's comparative fault or uncollectible damages.
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