Maryland Car Insurance Laws: Requirements, Penalties, and PIP

Maryland’s car insurance laws require every registered vehicle to carry liability coverage of at least 30/60/15, along with uninsured motorist protection and personal injury protection, and the state enforces the rule with electronic monitoring, escalating fines, and registration suspension. Knowingly driving without insurance is a misdemeanor on top of the administrative penalties. Because Maryland also uses pure contributory negligence, the coverage you carry on your own policy matters more here than in most states.

Required Minimum Liability

Transportation Article §17-103 sets the floor every registered vehicle must meet:

$30,000 for bodily injury or death to one person
$60,000 for bodily injury or death when two or more people are hurt in the same accident
$15,000 for damage to another person’s property¹

Every auto policy sold in Maryland must meet or exceed these limits.² If you cause a crash and the other driver’s bills run past your policy limits, you owe the difference personally. Medical costs alone can move past $30,000 quickly, which is why many drivers buy well above the minimum.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Roughly 15% of Maryland drivers carry no insurance, so every policy sold in the state must include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. UM pays out when the at-fault driver has no insurance or when you’re the victim of a hit-and-run. The minimum UM limits match the 30/60/15 liability floor and cover bodily injury, property damage, and loss of use while your vehicle is being repaired.³

Unless you sign a written waiver, your UM coverage automatically matches your liability limits rather than the state minimum. If you carry 100/300/100 liability, your UM defaults to the same. You can waive down to 30/60/15 to save on premium, but only on a specific written form from your insurer that spells out what you’re giving up.⁴ UM applies to you, your family members, and passengers riding with you at the time of the collision.

Enhanced Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Standard UM has a gap. When the at-fault driver has some insurance but not enough, the UM payout gets reduced by whatever the other driver’s policy already paid. Enhanced underinsured motorist (EUIM) coverage closes that gap by stacking on top of the other driver’s payment instead of offsetting against it.

Since July 1, 2018, Maryland insurers must offer EUIM in writing every time you buy or renew a private passenger auto policy.⁵ You don’t have to buy it, but the offer has to come on an official form approved by the Maryland Insurance Administration. If your insurer never presented it, the MIA is the place to raise that.

A quick example shows the difference. Say you carry $100,000 in EUIM and the at-fault driver has a $30,000 liability policy. Under standard UM, your insurer would subtract that $30,000 and cover only up to $70,000 more. Under EUIM, you collect the full $30,000 from the other driver’s policy and still tap your full $100,000 on top of it.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection (PIP) is no-fault coverage that pays your own medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. Every Maryland policy must include at least $2,500 in PIP unless you formally waive it. That $2,500 minimum covers medical, hospital, surgical, dental, ambulance, and rehabilitation expenses incurred within three years of the accident. For lost income, PIP pays 85% of what you lose because of the crash, up to $2,500 or your actual lost wages, whichever is less.⁶

What a PIP Waiver Actually Does

You can waive PIP entirely to lower your premium, but the waiver reaches further than most people expect. A waiver signed by the first named insured binds every named insured, every listed driver, and every household family member age 16 or older, unless one of them happens to be the primary insured on a separate policy that hasn’t waived PIP.⁷ Sign it and your spouse and teenage driver lose PIP too.

Before accepting a waiver, your insurer must give you written notice explaining the nature, extent, and cost of the coverage you’re dropping. The waiver form must be approved by the Insurance Commissioner, printed in 10-point boldface, and must state that the insurer cannot refuse to cover you just because you decline to waive.⁷ After a waiver, your private health insurance handles your medical costs and you absorb lost wages yourself. Passengers in your vehicle and pedestrians without their own qualifying coverage still get PIP benefits from your policy; the waiver only strips protection from people listed on it.

Why Contributory Negligence Changes the Math

Maryland is one of a few states that still follows pure contributory negligence. If you share even the slightest fault for a crash, you are completely barred from recovering damages from the other driver.⁸ Most states reduce your recovery by your percentage of fault; Maryland does not. A jury finding of 1% fault means zero recovery.

The narrow “last clear chance” doctrine can preserve recovery when the other driver had a fresh opportunity to avoid the crash despite your earlier negligence and failed to take it. It is not a reliable safety net. The practical consequence is that higher limits on your own UM, EUIM, and PIP matter more in Maryland than in comparative-fault states, because collecting from the other driver is never guaranteed.

Penalties for a Lapse in Coverage

Maryland tracks insurance status electronically. When your policy cancels, lapses, or expires, your insurer notifies the Motor Vehicle Administration and penalties start running automatically.⁹

Administrative Fines and Suspension

The MVA charges $200 for the first 30 uninsured days, then $7 for each day after that.¹⁰ Those daily fines add up to roughly $3,500 per year per vehicle.¹¹ The MVA will also suspend your registration, which makes driving the car illegal even after you get insurance back in place. Unpaid fines are eventually referred to the Maryland Central Collections Unit, which tacks on a 17% fee.¹²

If you cancel coverage and don’t plan to drive, return your plates before the policy ends. Keeping plates on an uninsured vehicle triggers fines even when the car never leaves your driveway.¹⁰

Criminal Consequences

Knowingly operating an uninsured vehicle is a misdemeanor under the Transportation Article. A first offense carries up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and five points on your driving record. Repeat offenses raise the maximum jail time to two years. These consequences sit on top of the administrative penalties, so a single lapse can generate both a criminal record and thousands in fines.

The FR-19 and Clearing a Flagged Gap

Maryland does not use the SR-22 that some states require after serious violations. It uses the FR-19, formally the Certificate of Insurance. When the MVA flags an insurance gap on your account, you need your insurer to electronically submit an FR-19 confirming the coverage in question.¹²

The FR-19 is not your glove-box insurance card. The card proves coverage to a police officer during a stop; only the FR-19 satisfies the MVA’s verification system. Your insurer submits it electronically through the MVA’s agent portal, and the system updates in real time.¹³ If your insurer files a corrected FR-19 showing continuous coverage, the penalty may be reduced or removed entirely.¹²

The most common trigger is a short gap between one policy ending and the next starting. Even a single uninsured day generates the electronic notice. If you’re switching insurers, make the new policy start before the old one ends.

Rideshare and Delivery Drivers

Your personal auto policy won’t cover you while you’re logged into Uber, Lyft, or a similar app. Maryland’s Public Utilities Code requires higher liability limits during rideshare driving:

$50,000 for bodily injury or death to one person
$100,000 for bodily injury or death to two or more people
$25,000 for property damage

These apply while you’re actively transporting a passenger or en route to a pickup, and the law also requires uninsured motorist and PIP coverage during this window. Most transportation network companies provide it through their own commercial policies, and if the company’s coverage lapses, the company itself must cover claims from the first dollar.¹⁴ Ask your personal insurer whether the policy excludes rideshare use; some do, which can leave you uninsured while you’re logged on but haven’t yet accepted a ride.

If You Can’t Get Coverage

Drivers turned down by the regular market can apply to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, commonly called Maryland Auto or MAIF. To qualify, you must have been rejected by at least two private insurers, or had a policy canceled or non-renewed for a reason other than nonpayment.¹⁵ MAIF premiums generally run higher than standard coverage, but the cost is well below the fines, suspension, and criminal exposure that follow driving uninsured. You can apply through the fund’s website or through a licensed insurance agent.¹¹

Disputing a Penalty or Filing a Complaint

If the MVA assessed penalties in error, start with your insurance company and ask them to submit a corrected FR-19. If it shows continuous coverage, the MVA should reduce or remove the penalty.¹²

For disputes with the insurer itself, such as wrongful cancellation, claim denials, or failure to offer required coverages like EUIM, file a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Administration online, by email at pccomplaints.mia@maryland.gov, or by phone at 1-800-492-6116.¹⁶ The MIA advises allowing up to 90 days for a decision, though many complaints resolve sooner.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-103 – Required Security
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-504 – Minimum Liability Coverage Required
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage in General
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-510 – Waiver of Uninsured Motorist Coverage
5
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509.1 – Enhanced Underinsured Motorist Coverage
6
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-505 – Personal Injury Protection Coverage in General
7
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-506 – Personal Injury Protection Coverage Waiver
8
Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Negligence Systems – Contributory Negligence, Comparative Fault, and Joint and Several Liability
9
MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Auto Insurance Requirements in Maryland
10
Maryland Insurance Administration. Vehicle Registration FAQs
11
Maryland Auto Insurance. Resources for Uninsured Marylanders
12
MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Auto Insurance Violation Penalties and Payments
13
MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration. Information for Auto Insurers
14
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Public Utilities 10-405 – Insurance or Other Security Required
15
Maryland State Archives. Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund – Origin and Functions
16
Maryland Insurance Administration. File a Complaint