What car insurance costs in Maryland

Maryland's average premium in context

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reports the premiums insurers collect, state by state. In 2023, the latest year it has published, Maryland's average expenditure was $1,477 per insured car, 15% above the $1,281 of 2022. Expenditure includes liability-only policies; a car carrying liability, collision and comprehensive cost $1,602 on average.

Most of the difference sits in liability, which at $869 is about 18% above the U.S. figure. Collision is about 11% higher, while comprehensive is the one line below the national average, by about 8%. Because liability includes the coverage the law requires, a Maryland driver who carries only the minimum still feels most of that gap. The car you drive changes the collision side; see how make and model affect price.

Coverage every Maryland policy needs

The Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) lists the legal minimum as $30,000 of bodily injury liability per person and $60,000 per accident, plus $15,000 for property damage, written 30/60/15. Two more coverages come with it.

• Uninsured motorist coverage of at least $30,000/$60,000 for injuries and $15,000 for property damage. In Maryland it includes underinsured motorist protection, and insurers also offer an enhanced underinsured motorist option.
• Personal injury protection (PIP) of at least $2,500 must be offered. Some policyholders can waive it or buy Limited PIP that excludes listed drivers and household members over 16; it lowers the premium but drops benefits such as lost wages that health insurance usually doesn't pay.
• Collision and comprehensive are optional under state law, though a lender or lessor will usually require them.

The Insurance Research Council estimates that 16.9% of Maryland drivers were uninsured in 2023, above the 15.4% national rate. That is an argument for weighing higher uninsured motorist limits before trimming them; our page on limits and deductibles walks through the choice.

Maryland's rules on how insurers price

Maryland law requires insurers to file their rates and any rate increase requests with the MIA, which reviews them to make sure they are not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Within that system, several rules protect individual drivers:

• An insurer can't raise your rate over an accident or traffic violation more than three years old.
• A renewal premium increase must be mailed to you at least 45 days before the renewal takes effect. If the increase stems from a claim or ticket, you can file a complaint within 30 days of the notice; if the MIA finds it improper, the insurer must refund the overpayment.
• An insurer can't make you buy a homeowners policy to get car insurance.

Credit history may help set the price of a new policy only. Insurers must say at application that they consider it, can't add a credit surcharge above 40%, and can't count a missing credit history, the number of inquiries or anything more than five years old. They may not use credit to cancel, refuse to renew or raise a renewal premium, and you can ask for a recheck once per policy period: better credit can lower the renewal price, worse credit can't raise it. Our guide to credit-based insurance scores has more.

MAIF, Maryland's insurer of last resort

Maryland residents turned down by at least two private insurers can apply to the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), which does business as Maryland Auto Insurance (800-492-7120). It generally offers the state minimum 30/60/15 limits, and the MIA's comparison guide also prices 100/300/100. Other insurers are barred by law from refusing you because you were insured by MAIF, so you can move back once your record improves. Our guide to state low-cost and last-resort programs compares MAIF with other states' options.

How to pay less in Maryland

1. 1 Start with the MIA's rate comparison guide. The August 2026 edition shows sample annual premiums from the insurers writing the most Maryland policies, MAIF included, for 22 driver profiles by region and ZIP code, and marks which companies use credit.
2. 2 Ask for the good-driver discount. By law, an insurer must offer a discount if you have had no moving violation carrying more than one point and no at-fault accident in the past three years, with continuous coverage from that insurer.
3. 3 Decide how to pay. Paying the premium in full can cost less than monthly installments; see paying in full versus monthly.
4. 4 Complain if a rate looks wrong. The MIA's Property and Casualty complaint unit answers at 410-468-2340 or 800-492-6116, extension 2340; filing online is the preferred route.

Questions drivers ask