State annuity protection

Indiana Annuity Guaranty Protection: $250,000 Limit Explained

Indiana generally provides up to $250,000 in protection for the present value of covered annuity benefits, subject to eligibility requirements, statutory exclusions, and a $300,000 overall aggregate.

Indiana annuity protection at a glance

Annuity benefit limit
$250,000
Present value of eligible annuity benefits after Indiana’s interest and index-credit exclusions
Overall benefit cap
$300,000
Life, annuity, and most health benefits share $300,000 per person; health benefit plans can reach $500,000.
Who provides protection
Indiana Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Indiana’s association and the receiver divide the case file between the statutory guaranty amount and the claim left in the estate.
Insurer requirement
Member insurer
The issuer must be a member insurer for the contract.

How the $250,000 limit works

One annuitant can receive at most $250,000 of qualifying present value from an Indiana member insurer.

The association’s examples measure contracts per annuitant, while the broader $300,000 aggregate can crowd annuity and other benefits together.

A different failed member insurer generates a separate Indiana proceeding.

Life, annuity, and most health benefits share $300,000 per person; health benefit plans can reach $500,000.

  • Certain governmental-plan participants funded through an unallocated annuity may receive up to $250,000 each.
  • Certain other qualifying unallocated annuity arrangements may receive up to $5 million per plan sponsor or contract owner.
  • Indiana separately limits the protected present value for a qualifying structured-settlement payee to $250,000.

A $300,000 annuity example

Assume one Indiana annuitant has $300,000 of eligible present value at a failed member insurer.

Annuity value

$300,000

Potential protection

$250,000

Possible receivership claim

$50,000

In this Indiana example, $250,000 can fall within association protection and the receiver records the other $50,000 against the failed carrier’s estate.

The illustration assumes the contract and claimant satisfy Indiana’s coverage requirements.

Which annuities are covered?

  • Fixed annuity

    Generally covered

    Indiana can protect an eligible fixed annuity up to $250,000 in present value after the statutory exclusions are applied.

  • Fixed indexed annuity (FIA)

    Generally covered

    For an Indiana FIA, guaranteed and credited contract value may qualify; excess or forfeitable index results do not, and nonannual strategies use a special valuation rule.

  • Multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA)

    Generally covered

    An Indiana MYGA follows the fixed-deferred framework, including the $250,000 ceiling and the statute’s interest-rate constraints.

  • Variable annuity

    Guaranteed portions may be covered

    Variable market risk is outside covered insurer promises.

  • Registered index-linked annuity (RILA)

    Contract-specific

    A RILA needs its guarantee separated from market exposure.

  • Unallocated annuity contract

    Limited situations

    Indiana’s special unallocated rules cap each eligible government-plan participant at $250,000 and cap another qualifying arrangement at $5 million for its owner or sponsor.

Who may qualify?

  • Protection generally follows residence when the association is activated, ordinarily at insolvency and liquidation; Indiana’s coverage date can arise earlier if the association elects to act for an impaired insurer.
  • The annuitant is material to the limit; structured-settlement payees and plan participants have tailored rules.
  • Indiana’s nonresident fallback requires an Indiana-domiciled failed carrier and denial by a comparable home-state association solely because that carrier lacked the necessary local license.
  • Indiana coverage requires the home association not to answer for an Indiana-domiciled failure.
  • The issuer must be a member insurer for the contract.

What is not covered?

  • Nonguaranteed value is outside coverage.
  • Interest above the Moody’s test is removed.
  • Unposted or forfeitable index value can be outside Indiana protection. When the interval exceeds a year, the statute computes accrual by moving the scheduled contract credit to the coverage date.
  • PBGC-backed and non-plan unallocated arrangements can be excluded.
  • Indiana leaves out sales-material and misrepresentation theories, obligations beyond the contract, penalties, and consequential, incidental, or punitive damages.

What happens after an insurer fails?

  1. 1

    Determine which rules apply

    The Association identifies the governing Indiana provisions when it becomes involved in the insurer proceeding.

  2. 2

    Confirm eligibility

    Residence, member status, and the per-annuitant unit are checked.

  3. 3

    Calculate covered benefits

    Indiana first applies the annuitant’s product limit, then checks how much of the $300,000 combined roof other benefits have consumed.

  4. 4

    Handle amounts above the limit

    The Indiana receiver treats contract value beyond association protection as a claim against the failed carrier’s estate.

How the guaranty system is financed

Indiana member insurers finance covered association duties through assessments.

Assessment allocation
Member insurers
The act allocates calls through accounts tied to Indiana premiums.
Annual assessment cap
Defined by state law
Indiana’s yearly ceiling is 2% separately for every subaccount or account, with the percentage applied to premiums from the statute’s assessment base year.
Premium-tax treatment
State-specific rule
Beginning the year after payment, Indiana allows up to 20% of an eligible assessment to reduce premium tax, adjusted gross income tax, or both each year until recovery or refund is complete.
Indiana assessment funding
Older Indiana insolvencies: the current $250,000 schedule applies when the insurer was not placed under a rehabilitation or liquidation order before January 1, 2013.

What to know before buying

  • Use the $250,000 annuity amount for ordinary planning and confirm eligibility for the particular contract and claimant.
  • Indiana law prohibits insurers and agents from using association protection to sell insurance.

How state protection differs from FDIC insurance

  • What it covers
    State protection: Indiana protection covers eligible annuity obligations through its industry-funded guaranty association.
    FDIC: FDIC protection covers eligible deposits under the federal rules applying at bank failure.
  • What system stands behind it
    State protection: Indiana member insurers support the association working beside the insurance receiver.
    FDIC: Federally insured banks support the deposit fund administered by the FDIC.
  • Coverage-limit basis
    State protection: Indiana’s statutory limit is $250,000 for covered annuity value measured per annuitant.
    FDIC: Federal aggregation turns on depositor, bank, and account-ownership category.
  • Whether it applies to annuities
    State protection: A qualifying Indiana annuity may receive protection for covered contractual obligations.
    FDIC: An annuity has no FDIC insurance because it is an insurance contract rather than a deposit.

Sources and last verified

Last verified: September 2, 2026