Auto insurance in Maryland: what’s required, and what isn’t
Maryland requires 30/60/15 liability — above the national norm on bodily injury and below it on property damage — plus uninsured motorist coverage that defaults to your liability limits rather than to the statutory floor. It also requires $2,500 of personal injury protection unless you sign it away. Maryland is unusually exacting about administration: your policy, your vehicle record and your insurer’s electronic report all have to match, and daily fines accrue when they do not.
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What Maryland requires you to carry
| Bodily injury, per person | $30,000 |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per accident | $60,000 |
| Property damage, per accident | $15,000 |
Maryland also requires
- Uninsured motorist coverage — at your liability limits by default
- Maryland requires UM coverage, and by default it matches your liability limits rather than sitting at the statutory floor. You may waive it down — but not below 30/60/15 — and only by signing a specific affirmative waiver form.
- Personal injury protection — $2,500 unless waived in writing
- Maryland requires at least $2,500 of PIP unless you waive it. It pays medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault. Waiving it is common and is usually done to trim the premium.
These are floors, not recommendations. Maryland sets the minimum a driver may legally carry. It does not assess whether that amount would cover a claim you caused. Anything above your limits is your personal exposure.
How Maryland enforces it
Maryland is strict and specific: your insurance must be active for the entire time the vehicle is registered, must match the vehicle information on file with the MVA, and must be reported correctly by your insurer electronically. All three have to line up. A mismatch between your policy and the MVA record produces the same penalties as no coverage at all, and Maryland levies daily fines for uninsured periods.
How rates are set in Maryland
Maryland is an at-fault state. The driver responsible for a crash is responsible for the resulting injury and property damage, and their liability limits cap what the insurer pays on their behalf.
The Maryland Insurance Administration regulates carriers, reviews filings and publishes consumer material including a shopping worksheet, while the Motor Vehicle Administration owns registration and proof of coverage.
The UM structure is what makes Maryland distinctive. Coverage must be at least 30/60/15 and defaults to your liability limits; reducing it requires an affirmative signed waiver, and cannot go below the statutory minimum in any case.
Credit-based insurance scores in Maryland
Maryland permits credit-based insurance scores in rating, though the state restricts how credit may be used against existing policyholders at renewal. Maryland premiums run above the national average, so the dollar impact of any rating factor is larger here than in a cheap state.
What actually moves your premium here
Uninsured motorist coverage defaults up, not down
This is the detail worth knowing. In most states UM sits at the minimum unless you ask for more. In Maryland it matches your liability limits unless you actively sign a waiver reducing it. If you raised your liability and never signed anything, your UM went up with it.
Enhanced underinsured motorist coverage is a separate option
Maryland offers an enhanced underinsured motorist coverage that changes how your UIM stacks against the at-fault driver’s limits. It is a genuinely different product from standard UIM and insurers must explain it. Ask which one a quote includes.
The $15,000 property damage floor is the weak spot
Maryland sets bodily injury above the national norm at 30/60 and then leaves property damage at $15,000. In a high-cost corridor with a modern vehicle fleet, that is exhausted easily, and the balance is your personal exposure.
Corridor density between two major metros
Maryland carries heavy traffic between Baltimore and Washington plus significant through-traffic on I-95. High frequency, high repair costs and high medical costs together explain most of why premiums sit above the national average.
See what you’d be matched with in Maryland
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Comparing carriers in Maryland
Check what a quote assumes about uninsured motorist coverage. Because Maryland defaults UM to your liability limits, a cheaper quote may simply have applied the waiver — which is a coverage reduction rather than a better price.
Ask whether underinsured motorist coverage is standard or enhanced. They behave differently in how they stack against the at-fault driver’s limits, and the difference shows up only at claim time.
One habit matters more than any single carrier choice: re-check every year or two, and again after anything that changes your risk profile — a move across town, a new vehicle, a driver added or removed, or a violation ageing off your record. Carriers re-weight their rating factors continuously, so the one that priced you best three years ago is often not the one that prices you best today.
If you need an SR-22 in Maryland
Maryland does not use the SR-22 form the way most states do. Reinstatement after an insurance-related suspension runs through the MVA and requires proof of current coverage plus payment of accrued penalties. An SR-22 obligation imposed elsewhere belongs to the state that imposed it.
Maryland auto insurance FAQ
- What is the minimum car insurance required in Maryland?
- Liability coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury plus $15,000 for property damage, uninsured motorist coverage at the same minimums, and $2,500 of personal injury protection unless you waive it in writing.
- How much uninsured motorist coverage do I have in Maryland?
- By default it matches your liability limits, not the statutory floor. You can reduce it — but never below $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 property damage — and only by signing a specific affirmative waiver form.
- Can I waive PIP in Maryland?
- Yes. Maryland requires at least $2,500 of personal injury protection unless you waive it in writing. Waiving is common and reduces the premium, but it removes the coverage that pays your medical expenses and lost wages regardless of fault.
- What happens if my Maryland policy does not match my MVA record?
- You are treated as uninsured. Maryland requires that your coverage be active for the whole registration period, match the vehicle on file with the MVA, and be reported correctly by your insurer. A mismatch accrues the same daily fines as having no coverage.
- What is enhanced underinsured motorist coverage in Maryland?
- It is an alternative form of UIM that changes how your coverage stacks against the at-fault driver’s limits. Insurers must explain the option. It behaves differently from standard UIM at claim time, so it is worth asking which one a quote includes.
Sources
Requirements on this page were verified against Maryland’s own regulator and motor vehicle agency on the date shown at the top. Rules change — if you are making a decision that turns on an exact figure, confirm it at the source.
- Maryland MVA — Auto insurance requirements
- Maryland Insurance Administration — Notice and waiver of increased UM limits
- Maryland Insurance Administration — Understanding enhanced underinsured motorist coverage
Consumer help in Maryland: Maryland Insurance Administration, (800) 492-6116.