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The Warranty RecordAn independent record of home warranty, auto, and other warranty providers — US & Canada

Last reviewed: 9 October 2026

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United States

Indiana regulates vehicle service contracts by statute; this page identifies no home-warranty licensing law

Indiana's Service Contracts chapter is a detailed statute, but its definition covers only a motor vehicle. This page identifies no comparable statute for a home warranty. The Indiana Department of Insurance has said, though, that it treats many other service contracts, including some covering homes, under older bulletin guidance.

Correction (9 October 2026): this page previously said that Indiana has no law for a home warranty "at all," called the Indiana situation a first "genuinely different case," described a 2014 House Bill 1377, said no state license or registration or funded-reserve requirement applies, and speculated about what stands behind an Indiana home warranty. This page identifies a detailed statute for vehicle service contracts and no home-warranty licensing statute; the Indiana Department of Insurance has also published bulletins that may apply to other service contracts. The House Bill 1377 description has been removed pending primary-source confirmation, and the consumer-law remedy description has been corrected.

Chapter 43.2 is real regulation — written for a motor vehicle

Indiana Code Title 27, Article 1, Chapter 43.2 (Service Contracts), administered by the Indiana Department of Insurance, defines "service contract" to mean an agreement to repair, replace, or maintain — or indemnify for the repair, replacement, or maintenance of — a motor vehicle following operational or structural failure from a defect, accidental damage, or normal wear, plus incidental coverage like towing or a rental car. A provider can't sell one in Indiana unless it's insured under a reimbursement policy from an authorized insurer, or maintains its own funded reserve of at least 40% of gross consideration received (less claims paid) on outstanding Indiana contracts (§ 27-1-43.2-11); the chapter requires no license. The commissioner can investigate and impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation (§ 27-1-43.2-15). The insurance-or-40%-reserve shape matches our Missouri page and Washington's law, described elsewhere in this Library. The chapter's service-contract-form requirements also make a provider spell out, in the contract itself, whether consequential damages and pre-existing conditions are covered or excluded.

That definition is written to cover a car — not a furnace or a water heater

Chapter 43.2's own definition of "service contract" is motor-vehicle-specific; it does not reach a home system or appliance by its text. This page identifies no parallel chapter for what other states in this Library call a "home warranty" or "residential service contract."

Department bulletins that may apply to other service contracts

The Indiana Department of Insurance has published two bulletins on service contracts. Bulletin 210 (June 26, 2014) states that "many service contracts are insurance" and that the Department "will continue to apply the concepts announced in Bulletin 78" to service contracts not addressed by the 2014 law, "including many service contracts covering homes, personal goods, and utilities." Bulletin 78 (1992) describes a reimbursement insurance policy, a direct claim against the insurer after 60 days, and proof of payment to the seller counting as payment to the insurer. These are Department positions, not a licensing statute, and this page does not state how they would be applied to a particular provider.

General consumer-sales law may also apply

Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act (Indiana Code § 24-5-0.5), enforced by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, may apply to a home warranty sale. For an uncured or incurable deceptive act, a consumer can recover actual damages or $500, whichever is greater; for a willful act, the court may increase damages up to the greater of three times actual damages or $1,000; and the court may award attorney fees to the prevailing party (§ 24-5-0.5-4). The Act carves out some real-property transactions, so whether it reaches a particular sale depends on the facts. That is a remedy after something goes wrong, not an up-front check of the kind points 3 and 4 of our standard look for.

What this means for an Indiana buyer

Read the contract for any named reimbursement insurer or backing statement; this page identifies no Indiana statute that requires one for a home warranty. For a vehicle service contract, Chapter 43.2 sets the financial-responsibility requirement described above.

Comparing states: Indiana isn't alone in having no home-warranty licensing regime that our pages identify — see our Ohio page (whose former home warranty chapter was repealed) for a state that got there by a different route.

References

  1. Indiana Code Title 27, Article 1, Chapter 43.2 (Service Contracts), § 27-1-43.2-7 ("service contract" definition, motor-vehicle scope), § 27-1-43.2-10, § 27-1-43.2-11 (financial responsibility — reimbursement insurance or 40% funded reserve), § 27-1-43.2-12 (service contract form requirements) and § 27-1-43.2-15 (commissioner investigation; civil penalty); see also Indiana Code § 27-1-2-3.
  2. Indiana Department of Insurance, Bulletin 210 (June 26, 2014) and Bulletin 78 (1992), on service contracts. in.gov — Indiana Department of Insurance
  3. Indiana Code § 24-5-0.5 (Deceptive Consumer Sales Act), including § 24-5-0.5-4 (actual damages or $500, whichever is greater; increase for a willful act up to the greater of three times actual damages or $1,000; attorney fees to the prevailing party in the court's discretion; some real-property transactions excluded); Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division.

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