Minimum car insurance in Maryland
Compared to most other states, Maryland requires drivers to buy a lot of types of car insurance: Liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection (called PIP). For comparison, many states require only liability insurance and make other types optional.
Liability car insurance reimburses others for damage and injuries if you cause a car accident.
Minimum liability insurance in Maryland:
- $30,000 bodily injury per person
- $60,000 bodily injury per accident
- $15,000 property damage per accident
This is usually written as 30/60/15.
Minimum uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage:
- Maryland requires UM/UIM coverage. This pays for your injuries if you're hit by a driver with little or no liability insurance. You must buy limits of at least $30,000 per person/$60,000 per accident (30/60).
- Maryland also requires at least $15,000 in uninsured motorist property damage coverage (UMPD). This is similar to UM but covers damage to your vehicle rather than injuries.
Required personal injury protection (PIP):
Maryland also requires PIP. This insurance pays for medical, hospital and disability benefits, up to $2,500 in Maryland. It can pay out no matter who caused the accident. PIP can also cover lost wages if you can't work. To complicate matters, there are two forms of PIP to choose from in Maryland:
- Full PIP: Covers you, members of your family and non-family occupants of your vehicle.
- Limited PIP: Excludes coverage for you and your family members who are age 16 and older. Limited PIP may be right for you if you have health insurance with good hospitalization benefits.
Optional auto insurance
Medical payments (MedPay) coverage: MedPay is similar to PIP. It covers your injuries no matter who caused the accident, but it doesn't cover lost wages like PIP does. If you have both PIP and MedPay in Maryland, MedPay is supplemental to PIP, meaning PIP pays out first.
Comprehensive coverage: For theft of your vehicle or damage caused by hitting an animal, hail, flood, fire, vandalism, falling objects and explosions.
Collision coverage: For damage to your vehicle caused by hitting another car or an object, like a pole.
Rental reimbursement: Covers a rental car if your vehicle is being repaired because of an accident.
More: Cheap car insurance in Maryland
You must show an insurance ID card (or other proof of financial responsibility) in Maryland when:
- Law enforcement requests it
- Your vehicle is involved in a car accident
Penalties for not having car insurance
- Registration suspension and a fine of $150 for each vehicle without the required insurance for a period of one to 30 days.
- Beginning on the 31st day the fine will increase by $7 a day; the penalty may not exceed $2,500 for each violation in a 12-month period.
Source: Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
Car insurance complaints
Each state's department of insurance handles complaints against insurers and supplies data to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. A "complaint ratio" shows the number of complaints relative to an insurer's size of business. Shown below are national complaint ratios for the largest car insurance companies in Maryland.
Updated Aug. 10, 2018
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