Maryland minimum car insurance by ZIP

Maryland Transportation Article § 17-103 states the form of security required under that subtitle and the amounts the security must provide. For bodily injury or death, the security must cover payment of claims of up to $30,000 for any one person and up to $60,000 for any two or more persons, in addition to interest and costs. For property of others damaged or destroyed in an accident, it must cover payment of claims of up to $15,000, in addition to interest and costs. Those amounts apply statewide. The ZIP where the car is garaged, the vehicle, and the drivers on the application still decide which quote comes back.

Maryland required security under § 17-103(b)

Section 17-103(b) says the security required under this subtitle shall provide for at least:

• The payment of claims for bodily injury or death arising from an accident of up to $30,000 for any one person and up to $60,000 for any two or more persons, in addition to interest and costs.
• The payment of claims for property of others damaged or destroyed in an accident of up to $15,000, in addition to interest and costs.
• Unless waived under § 19-506 of the Insurance Article or rejected under § 19-506.1 of the Insurance Article, the benefits described under § 19-505 of the Insurance Article as to basic required primary coverage.
• The benefits required under § 19-509 or § 19-509.1 of the Insurance Article as to required additional coverage.
• For vehicles subject to the provisions of § 25-111.1 of this article, the security requirements adopted under 49 C.F.R., Part 387.

Paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) name other sections for those benefits. Section 17-103 itself states the dollar figures in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2), and it states the $750 self-insurer assessment cap in subsection (a)(4). The waiver and rejection language in paragraph (b)(3) applies to the benefits described under Insurance Article § 19-505. The bodily injury and property amounts in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) are written separately from that waiver sentence.

Maryland Transportation Article § 17-103 is the statute quoted on this page.

ZIP territories across Maryland

Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis, Frederick, Hagerstown, and the Eastern Shore are different places to garage a car. Section 17-103 does not set a separate amount for any city or county. Enter the ZIP where the vehicle is parked overnight so each quote uses that same garaging location.

Compare those quotes from auto insurance quotes.

Maryland cities, rural routes, and the same statewide amounts

A Baltimore City ZIP and a rural Eastern Shore ZIP can be sent to carriers as different garaging locations even when both quotes use the amounts in § 17-103(b)(1) and (b)(2). The statute does not set a separate figure for Baltimore, Annapolis, Silver Spring, or the I-95 corridor.

List every regular operator in the household before you compare. The amounts in § 17-103 stay the same from one Maryland city to another.

The form of security § 17-103 accepts

Except as provided in § 17-103(a)(2) or (a)(3), the form of security required under this subtitle is a vehicle liability insurance policy written by an insurer authorized to write these policies in this State.

The Administration may accept another form of security in place of a vehicle liability insurance policy if it finds that the other form of security adequately provides the benefits required by subsection (b) of § 17-103.

Paragraph (a)(3) is a narrower case. The Administration may accept another form of security from a transportation network company, in place of an insurance policy required by § 10-405 of the Public Utilities Article, only when that other form adequately provides the benefits required by § 10-405 and the company is an affiliate of a company that provides taxicab services and has no fewer than 26 nor more than 300 transportation network operators.

Section 17-103(a)(4) says the Administration shall, by regulation, assess each self-insurer an annual sum which may not exceed $750, and which shall be used for actuarial studies and audits to determine financial solvency.

Carrying more than the § 17-103 amounts

A bodily injury claim can be larger than $30,000 for one person, or larger than $60,000 for two or more persons. Damage to property of others can be larger than $15,000. Section 17-103 states what the required security must provide for. Buying higher liability limits is a choice above those amounts.

A finance company or lessor can set its own requirement for comprehensive and collision on a financed or leased vehicle. That requirement sits outside § 17-103. Paragraph (b)(2) covers claims for property of others. It does not describe repair of the insured vehicle.

The difference between liability limits and a policy that also pays for the insured car is explained on liability and full coverage by ZIP.

What § 17-103 says the security pays

Paragraph (b)(1) is payment of claims for bodily injury or death arising from an accident, up to the amounts in that paragraph, in addition to interest and costs. Paragraph (b)(2) is payment of claims for property of others damaged or destroyed in an accident, up to $15,000, in addition to interest and costs.

Paragraph (b)(3) requires, unless waived under Insurance Article § 19-506 or rejected under § 19-506.1, the benefits described under § 19-505 as basic required primary coverage. Paragraph (b)(4) requires the benefits under § 19-509 or § 19-509.1 as required additional coverage. Section 17-103 leaves the dollar amounts for those benefits to the sections it names.

Paragraph (b)(5) applies to vehicles subject to § 25-111.1 and points them to the security requirements adopted under 49 C.F.R., Part 387.

Uninsured motorist limits by ZIP is the guide for comparing that additional coverage by the ZIP where the car is parked.

Practical ZIP shopping steps in Maryland

Set the garaging ZIP first. Then list every driver and every vehicle the way they should appear on the application. Line up quotes only when each one includes the security § 17-103(b) describes, and when any waiver or rejection of the § 19-505 benefits is the same on every quote.

A quote that has waived or rejected those § 19-505 benefits is a different contract from a quote that includes them. Keep that choice the same across the carriers you compare.

When a carrier can show a declarations preview before you pay, read the bodily injury and property amounts against § 17-103(b)(1) and (b)(2). If those amounts are missing from the preview, stop and compare another option.

Save each quote under the same effective date. After you bind coverage, read the declarations page for the ZIP and the limits you selected.

Other comparison guides on this site are listed on guides.

Frequently asked questions

What bodily injury amounts does § 17-103 state?

Up to $30,000 for any one person and up to $60,000 for any two or more persons, in addition to interest and costs, under § 17-103(b)(1).

What property amount does § 17-103 state?

Up to $15,000 for property of others damaged or destroyed in an accident, in addition to interest and costs, under § 17-103(b)(2).

Can security take a form other than an insurance policy?

Section 17-103(a)(1) says the form of security is a vehicle liability insurance policy, except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) or (a)(3). Paragraph (a)(2) allows the Administration to accept another form if it provides the benefits required by subsection (b). Paragraph (a)(3) covers a transportation network company that meets the conditions in that paragraph.

Why compare Maryland quotes by ZIP if § 17-103 is statewide?

The amounts in § 17-103 do not change by city. Carriers still use the ZIP where the car is garaged when they prepare a quote.