Home insurance in Indianapolis, when the renewal does not come.

What Indiana law gives you when the letter arrives

Indiana Code chapter 27-7-12 covers homes of up to four units where one is your principal residence. Under section 4 as it applies in November 2026, a non-renewal notice must be in writing, mailed to your last known address at least 20 days before the policy period ends. The insurer does not have to print the reason, but it must send a written explanation of the specific reasons if you ask, and section 5 requires that explanation to be clear enough for a lay person to identify the basis without further inquiry. Ask the day the letter arrives.

• No noticeIf the insurer does not give the required notice, coverage is treated as renewed for the next policy period on the same terms once you pay the premium, unless you agreed to the non-renewal or took a replacement policy.
• Mid-termAfter 60 days in force, or after a renewal, an insurer may cancel only for listed reasons: nonpayment, fraud or material misrepresentation, willful or reckless acts that increase the hazard, a substantial change in the risk, a code violation that substantially increases the hazard, or property taxes delinquent two years or more. Notice is 20 days, or 10 for nonpayment.
• Barred reasonsSection 7 prohibits ending coverage because another insurer declined or dropped you, because you were once insured through a residual market plan, or on the age or location of the residence unless there is a real business purpose that is not a pretext.

Your agent hears first: the insurer must notify an independent producer at least 10 days before it mails your notice. Complaints go to the Indiana Department of Insurance in writing, and its online portal is the preferred way; the Department says an insurer has 20 business days to respond.

The 2027 change: 60 days, and rules for roof photos

Public Law 86-2026 rewrote two parts of the chapter. For policies issued, delivered, amended or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, the non-renewal notice must be mailed at least 60 days before expiration instead of 20.

The same law adds section 6.5 for non-renewals based solely on aerial images. The notice must tell you how to request copies of the images, which must have been taken within the past 24 months. The insurer must set up a point of contact for you to send proof of completed work and an appeal process to correct errors, and must give you at least 60 days to cure the conditions it identified. If you submit proof that they were cured, it must offer the renewal, and may then non-renew only for an unrelated reason. Until your policy renews into 2027 the short clock still applies, so I check which version governs your policy period before planning anything.

The Indiana FAIR Plan, in plain words

The Indiana Basic Property Insurance Underwriting Association, known as the FAIR Plan, was established on October 28, 1968. It describes itself as a last resort that is not meant to compete with the regular market. These points come from its own site and product summary:

• Who qualifiesApplicants declined by at least three unrelated insurance companies, verified on the application. At each renewal you must show three declinations again, dated within the prior 60 days.
• LimitThe maximum dwelling limit is two hundred fifty thousand dollars. On a dwelling fire policy that cap includes contents.
• SettlementActual cash value. The Plan states it takes depreciation into account and will not insure a home for its replacement cost.
• FormsBasic and broad dwelling fire forms for owner or non-owner occupied homes, and HO-8 and HO-2 homeowners forms for owner-occupied homes only. Personal liability comes only with the homeowners forms.
• Not offeredNo condominium policy and no payment plan. Its consumer page says a vacant or unoccupied home is not eligible unless a licensed contractor is renovating it for occupancy within 90 days.
• BindingYour agent cannot bind. Nothing is in force until the Plan approves in writing, and every risk gets an interior and exterior inspection, basement included.

A home that would cost more to rebuild than the cap, or an owner who needs replacement cost, usually belongs with a surplus lines insurer instead. Section 7 of the non-renewal chapter also means time on the FAIR Plan cannot later be used as a reason to drop you.

Wind, hail and tornadoes in central Indiana

Straight-line wind is the steady source of roof claims here. The National Weather Service in Indianapolis recorded a derecho on June 29, 2023 with gusts over 70 miles per hour and power out for days in some areas, and another on the night of July 15 to 16, 2024 with gusts of 75. On April 2, 2025 a tornado that began in Hendricks County crossed into northwestern Marion County with EF-1 damage through Eagle Creek Park, and a gust of 80 miles per hour was measured near Homecroft.

Hail comes with the same storms: stones up to four inches across fell in central Indiana on June 25, 2023. The benchmark tornado inside the city is May 30, 2004, when a tornado rated F2 at its worst cut across southern and eastern Marion County and damaged about 600 homes, 24 apartment buildings and 90 commercial buildings. After years like these, underwriters ask the roof's age first. Check whether a quote settles the roof at replacement cost or actual cash value, and whether the wind and hail deductible is a flat amount or a percentage of the dwelling limit.

Flood and earthquake are separate purchases

In August 2026, repeated storms from the 11th through the 17th dropped over a foot of rain on parts of central Indiana. The Weather Service reported the White River at Nora at its highest level since the 1913 record, with new record crests upstream at Noblesville and Anderson. A homeowners policy does not pay for that. Indiana Code 27-7-13 requires a residential policy that excludes flood to carry a notice that flood coverage may be available through the National Flood Insurance Program, and private flood insurers are a second option. The Department of Insurance's flood alert adds that most sewer and drain backup provisions exclude backup caused by flood.

Earthquake is also an endorsement or its own policy. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security says the state is near two major seismic zones and tells owners to consider earthquake insurance for homes and rental properties. Even the FAIR Plan lists earthquake as optional by endorsement.

What I need to quote

The address, year built and square footage, roof type and the year it was replaced, updates to wiring, plumbing and heating, your current declarations page, the non-renewal notice and any written reasons you received, your claims in the last five years, and the date coverage must start. If roof or tree work was done after the notice, send the invoice and photos.

Common questions

General information about home insurance in Indianapolis and central Indiana as of November 2026, not legal advice. Statute summaries are from the Indiana General Assembly's 2026 Indiana Code; the 60-day notice and aerial image rules apply to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. Insurer appetite and FAIR Plan rules change. Read your own notice and policy, and confirm deadlines with the Indiana Department of Insurance. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.