Rachel Bodine graduated from college with a BA in English. She has since worked as a Feature Writer in the insurance industry and gained a deep knowledge of state and countrywide insurance laws and rates. Her research and writing focus on helping readers understand their insurance coverage and how to find savings. Her expert advice on insurance has been featured on sites like PhotoEnforced, All...

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Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insurance...

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Reviewed by Leslie Kasperowicz
Former Farmers Insurance CSR

UPDATED: Nov 12, 2020

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Maryland state flagBefore taking the plunge and buying auto insurance in the state of Maryland, there are a few things you should know about the state and its insurance requirements.

Although one of the smallest states in the nation, Maryland trumps many others in population density. With nearly 6 million people and only about 12,000 square miles of land, the density of the state is around 500 people per square mile, which comes in as the 5th most densely populated state in the U.S.

You may think that the state could not get any more cramped, but you would be wrong… very wrong. A lot of the area in Maryland consists of roads and highways. Maryland has Interstate highways that stretch for well past 100 miles and spread across the state. Along with these interstate highways, it has auxiliary interstate highways and state highways. With so many drivers on the road and so much road space, auto insurance is very important for any Maryland driver to have.

Maryland Insurance Laws And Requirements

In Maryland, the state liability coverage minimums are:

  • Bodily Injury Coverage – $30,000 per person
  • Bodily Injury Coverage – $60,000 per accident
  • Property Damage Liability Coverage – $15,000 per accident

Take a look at how Maryland’s minimum rates compare with surrounding states.

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Uninsured Motorist coverage minimums:

  • Bodily Injury Coverage – $30,000 per person
  • Bodily Injury Coverage – $60,000 per accident
  • Property Damage Coverage – $15,000 per accident

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) minimums:

  • $2,500 coverage minimum per person

Optional coverage options in Maryland include:

  • Comprehensive Coverage
  • Collision Coverage
  • Rental Car Reimbursement Coverage
  • Towing and Labor (Roadside Assistance Coverage)

Along with its massive insurance rates, Maryland also has some of the highest coverage requirements. The state requires that you have a minimum of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in coverage for bodily injury. The helps to protect against any damages endured to you or anyone in your vehicle at the time of the accident. This is only the minimum, however, so you shouldn’t necessarily get only $30,000 worth of insurance per person. The amount you need truly depends on your personal situation and how many people you would typically be driving around so that there is enough money to cover all the people who would sustain injuries in case of an accident.

The state also requires all drivers with insurance to have a minimum of $15,000 in coverage for property damages. This would cover damages to your motor vehicle at the time of the accident. Of course, like with all other things, you should never get just the minimum amount of required coverage. For example, if you drive a sports car or one that is easily damaged, it’s wise that you invest more in coverage for property damage so that if an incident ever happens you’ll have enough coverage to repair all damages.

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Maryland Auto Insurance Rates

A dense population and large amount of roads may make things more efficient for drivers, but this also puts a different kind burden on the people of Maryland – a financial burden. Because of this efficiency, insurance rates in Maryland are some of the highest in the nation. In the state of Maryland, the average auto insurance premium is more than $1,900 a year, trumping the national average by almost $500.

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This rate is an average, however, and the price for auto insurance in major cities is even more. You will see average prices of about $2,500 in Baltimore and about $2,000 in Columbia.

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At such a high price, it’s very important that you know what you’re getting when you purchase auto insurance so that you can get the best bang for your buck.

There are a lot of factors that auto insurance companies take into consideration when determining your rates. Take a look at our overview here.

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While many of these factors are simply based on your own driving record, two things that affect even the safest of drivers are age and gender. As with most states, males typically pay significantly higher auto insurance rates than females.

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Maryland, like many other states, follows a “Tort” system when settling fault claims after accidents. This means that someone has to be found at fault for causing the accident and the insurance company responsible for that person must pay for the damages in accordance to the details agreed upon in the insurance policy.

Maryland Auto Insurance Rates by Company

With fairly average rates overall, it pays to show around. Let’s take a look at how rates vary between some of the largest companies in Maryland.

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But which companies are the largest, holding the most market share percentage in the region?

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Maryland Driving Statistics

It’s important to be properly covered when looking at the number of crashes at occur in Maryland every year. Since 2003, the number of accidents has been pretty constant, floating at around 100,000 per year. Fortunately, the number has decreased quite a bit, from 109,130 in 2003 to 100,943 in 2007. Still, this high accident rate is accompanied by many injuries and several fatalities. More than half of the people involved in a motor accident in Maryland suffer some kind of injury. Luckily, of these 51,729 people, only 615 fatal accidents occurred in 2007. Still, this is a very unfortunate number and the threat of injury, whether it’s fatal or not, is very high.

Insurance rates also increase if your vehicle is more likely to be stolen than others. In 2005, Maryland came in at 10th for number of stolen vehicles reports, so the threat of having your car stolen is very real. The county with the most reported thefts in Maryland is Prince George’s County, with 9,743 reports thefts in 2008. That same year, Baltimore had 2,940 reports thefts and Baltimore City had 5,518. In Baltimore, the most stolen vehicle is the Dodge Caravan, followed by the Honda Accord and Jeep Cherokee, so make sure you always check to see your car is locked before you leave it because the chances of it being stolen are quite high.

Since insurance in Maryland can be quite costly, you should do as much research as possible before purchasing any vehicle. 4AutoInsuranceQuote.com can help you find some of the best deals out on the market at the simple click of the button. If you’re interested in getting a quote for auto insurance, all you need to do is scroll back up to the top of the page, type in your zip code, and click “Get Quotes” to begin!

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Maryland Auto Insurance Agents Directory

Maryland Auto Insurance Agents

Additional Automobile Insurance Resources In The State Of Maryland