Auto Insurance Requirements in Maryland

According to Maryland state law, all drivers must carry car insurance that covers at least $30,000 for bodily injury per person, $60,000 for bodily injury per accident and $15,000 for property damage. Insurers also must include $2,500 in personal injury protection, unless you decline the coverage in writing. But despite personal injury protection being offered with every policy, Maryland is not a no-fault state.

To verify your insurance status, your insurer will need to submit an FR-19 form — Maryland's insurance certificate — to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) on your behalf.

Maryland car insurance minimum requirements

A valid Maryland auto insurance policy includes liability insurance, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection. These coverages pay for the other party's medical bills and car repairs following an accident, along with some of your own expenses. Here's a deeper look:

Bodily injury (BI): $30,000/person, $60,000/accident

Requirement

Covers

Does not cover

Property damage (PD): $15,000/accident

Requirement

Covers

Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM)

Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury (UM/UIMBI) requirement

Uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage (UM/UIMPD) requirement

Covers

If the other driver's BI/PD limits are lower than yours, and their insurer doesn't offer an acceptable settlement, then you can file a claim under your UM/UIM policy — up to the difference between the two limits. Your insurer may ask you to reject the settlement or accept it and make up the difference.

Cheapest companies in Maryland for minimum liability

Personal injury protection coverage in Maryland

Often referred to as no-fault insurance, personal injury protection (PIP) in Maryland covers $2,500 of your own medical expenses when you are injured in a crash, regardless of fault, at the state minimum. Maryland is not a no-fault state, though, because it does not limit your right to sue the negligent driver in exchange for this coverage (as no-fault states do).

Maryland requires PIP but allows you to limit the amount of coverage in writing. However, once you have chosen limited PIP on one policy, it means you exclude yourself from PIP coverage under policies you don't own.

Below is a table comparison between the full (or included) PIP and limited (or excluded) PIP coverages and costs:

As an example, when you choose limited PIP for your own policy, being injured in your parents' car will not give you access to their PIP (even when you have the full option). The only exception is when you have full PIP coverage on a different policy where you're listed as the policyholder. For example, let's say you own two cars — car 1 and car 2 — and each has its own policy. Car 1 has limited PIP and car 2 has full PIP. You're still eligible for the PIP benefits under car 2's PIP coverage.

Some Maryland motorists with health insurance find PIP redundant, so they choose to limit PIP coverage to lower their premiums. However, if you're injured in an accident and can't work or perform daily tasks, Maryland's PIP would reimburse you for 85% of your lost income and provide a stipend to cover typical household chores — perks you wouldn't get with your health insurance.

Your insurer can set a deadline of at least 12 months from the date of the accident, before which you must file all of your PIP claims in order to be properly reimbursed.