State of Maryland Law requires all drivers to own the right auto liability insurance policy and establishes it as mandatory; also it adds to the required coverage Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist as well as Personal Injury Protection (PIP). Comprehensive and Collision are all considered optional coverage.

The minimum coverage required to be owned is that of:

• $20,000 for one person bodily injury or death
• $40,000 per accident for bodily injury or death and,
• $15,000 per accident in the concept of property damage
• $25,000 for Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
• For Uninsured and underinsured motorist, the minimums required are the same as the amounts above established, although it may be considered as a duplication of coverage, Uninsured and underinsured motorist will pay for when the driver responsible for the accident has not enough liability coverage to pay for your damage and injuries or completely lacks of insurance. It will pay only for your bills.

Proof of insurance is required to be carried at all times when using the vehicle, if you are unable to demonstrate you own the correct auto liability insurance policy you can be fined, have your licensed or registration suspended or be unable to register any other vehicle in the future.

You may be required to proof ownership of insurance when cancelling previous policy. All insurance companies will report to the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) offices about policy cancellations. The MVA can request to see proof of your liability policy if your new insurer hasn’t provided with the new policy information.

When the MVA solicits you to show proof of liability insurance, the only accepted proof is the Maryland Insurance Certification (known as FR – 19). Your insurance ID card which your insurer provided you with will not be accepted for this request; this card will only be useful on the road.

Among the penalties for driving uninsured are:

• Uninsured Motorist penalty fees for each lapse of insurance, these fees start from $150 for the first 30 days and $7 per day after the 30 days have passed
• Losing of vehicle registration and license plates,
• Uninsured driver must pay restoration fee of as much as $25 for the vehicle’s registration
• Unavailability to renew any other vehicle’s registration until compliance with all penalties and insurance violations are considered cleared
• Unavailability to register any more vehicles until all penalties are fulfilled and insurance violations are cleared.
• Additionally, fines can be imposed by a court of law.

As previously mentioned, additional coverage can be added to your auto insurance policy, the most common coverage to add is Comprehensive and Collision, this is because all previously mentioned coverage types will pay for either other people’s damage and injuries or your personal injuries, but not for your property’s physical damage reparations.

Comprehensive coverage will help you pay restore your vehicle after it has been damaged by events other than collisions with other vehicles, such as severe weather (floods, tornados, fires, etc.), vandalism or partial auto theft.

Collision coverage, as its name explains it, will help fix your vehicle after it has been damaged by either an accident or if you simply bumped it into a pole, street light, wall or fence. Collision will only pay for physical reparations.