Maryland car insurance at a glance
| Requirement | Maryland rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum liability | 30/60/15 ($30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 per accident, $15,000 property damage) |
| Fault system | At-fault (tort), with $2,500 PIP included unless waived |
| Uninsured motorist coverage | Required, matching minimum liability limits |
| SR-22 | Not used; Maryland uses its own FR-19 insurance certification |
What Maryland requires by law
Maryland requires liability coverage of at least $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at matching limits. Policies also include $2,500 of personal injury protection unless you waive it in writing. As state minimums go, Maryland’s package is more serious than most.
Maryland’s enforcement is the part to respect. The MVA fines uninsured registered vehicles by the day, and the meter runs whether or not you drive. Penalties can reach thousands of dollars per vehicle per year, followed by registration suspension and debt collection. If you stop insuring a car, return the plates first. The state is not bluffing.
Is the minimum enough? A decent floor with one soft spot: $15,000 of property damage against Beltway traffic full of vehicles worth several times that. Baltimore and Washington area medical pricing also chews through 30/60 injury limits in serious crashes.
Raising to 100/300/50 costs modestly and closes both gaps.
What drives premiums in Maryland
- The Baltimore-Washington corridor. Two major metros’ worth of congestion, plus some of the densest commuter traffic in the country, drive high crash frequency in central Maryland ZIP codes.
- Uninsured drivers despite the penalties. The Insurance Research Council put 16.9 percent of Maryland drivers as uninsured in 2023, fourteenth highest nationally. Your mandatory UM coverage is doing real work here.
- Vehicle theft. Baltimore-area theft rates, amplified by the Kia and Hyundai theft wave, push comprehensive pricing up across the metro.
- Medical and repair costs. Regional hospital pricing and above-average body shop labor rates inflate both injury and physical damage claims.
How to pay less in Maryland
- Shop your renewal across carriers. Maryland is a high-average-premium state with wide spreads between insurers for identical drivers. Start with our cheapest auto insurance guide.
- Never let registered-vehicle coverage lapse. The MVA’s daily fines turn a forgotten payment into a four-figure problem. Set up autopay or surrender the plates.
- Raise comprehensive and collision deductibles, and add anti-theft measures if you drive a frequently targeted model.
- Decide on PIP deliberately. With strong health insurance, waiving PIP saves a little. Without it, $2,500 of no-fault medical coverage is cheap. Make it a choice, not a default.
- Stack discounts and try telematics if your driving is smooth. Full tactics in how to lower your premium.
For coverage basics and every state guide, start at the auto insurance hub, then pull quotes for your ZIP code.