Maryland Auto Insurance at a Glance

  • Minimum liability: 30/60/15 ($30k injury per person / $60k per accident / $15k property)
  • Fault system: At-fault (tort), with default PIP of $2,500 (waivable)
  • UM/UIM: Mandatory, must match liability limits unless waived down in writing
  • Average minimum coverage: $1,030 per year
  • Average full coverage: $1,802 per year
  • Regulator: Maryland Insurance Administration

What 30/60/15 Actually Covers

Maryland sets its liability floor at 30/60/15: $30,000 for injuries to one person, $60,000 total per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. That last number is the tightest of the three. A single newer vehicle can blow past $15,000 in repair or replacement cost, which leaves the at-fault driver covering the difference out of pocket.

Maryland doesn't stop at liability. Every policy comes with at least $2,500 in Personal Injury Protection by default, covering medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault — you can reject it, but only with a signed waiver. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is mandatory too, and it has to match whatever liability limits you carry unless you specifically waive it down.

Why Maryland Pairs an At-Fault System With No-Fault Features

Maryland is a tort state — the at-fault driver's insurer pays the other party's damages, full stop. That's different from pure no-fault states where your own PIP pays first no matter who caused the crash. But Maryland borrowed a piece of the no-fault playbook by requiring that baseline PIP anyway, which gets medical bills paid faster after a crash instead of waiting on a fault determination.

The mandatory UM/UIM-matches-liability rule works the same way: it's a backstop built for the possibility that the other driver on I-95 or the Beltway doesn't carry enough coverage — or any at all.

How MAIF Fits Into the Picture

Most states leave high-risk drivers to shop the non-standard private market and hope for the best. Maryland runs its own fallback: the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, or MAIF, insures drivers the private market has turned down. MAIF also operates an Affordability Index that limits how much rates can climb in certain lower-income ZIP codes — a consumer protection most states simply don't have.

  • Raise your property damage limit: $15,000 is thin against a modern vehicle repair bill.
  • Don't waive UM/UIM down casually: it's the coverage that pays when the other driver can't.
  • Keep PIP unless you have strong health coverage: it pays medical bills fast, before fault is settled.
  • If you're rejected by private insurers, ask about MAIF: it exists specifically for that situation.

When the Minimum Isn't Enough

A crash on the Capital Beltway or I-95 involving multiple vehicles can exceed 30/60/15 fast — one hospital visit can approach the $30,000 per-person injury limit on its own. That's the argument for raising liability limits above the state floor, and it's worth running the numbers with our minimum vs. full coverage guide before you assume the state minimum is enough.

The Maryland Insurance Administration licenses carriers and handles consumer complaints statewide — a useful check on any insurer before you sign.

Next step: compare your current declarations page against 30/60/15, confirm your UM/UIM is at full limits rather than waived down, and get a couple of fresh quotes. Maryland's mix of tort liability, mandatory PIP, and a state-run fallback insurer is more layered than most states — it pays to actually understand what each piece is doing.