Every state in the United States has made auto insurance mandatory. It is of utmost importance to ensure you know all the rules and regulations written by a state before your drive in the state. Any violation can pout your and other families in danger. Auto insurance has been made mandatory for a simple reason. If a driver is on the road and causes an accident, he must be able to take responsibility for the accident and pay for all the damages he caused. Now the auto insurance company can pay for any damages he might cause. This is in accordance with the tort system of rules.
Every state fixes a minimum amount, known as the minimum liability that a person has to be insured for. The state of Maryland has also fixed a minimum amount. It is of the form 20/40/15. This stands for a minimum of twenty thousand dollars to pay for any bodily injuries a person might suffer due to the accident and a total of forty thousand dollars in total for bodily injuries covering two persons. It also includes a mandatory fifteen thousand dollars for property damage. This will cover damages caused to the victim’s car including any repair and replacements. It will also cover any damages caused to buildings fences and lamp posts.
However, apart from the minimum liability the state of Maryland has also made uninsured motorist’s coverage mandatory. Uninsured motorist’s coverage is used when a person is involved in an accident with a person who is not covered by insurance as per law. This ensures that you will be paid money even in case the other driver is not insured.
The minimum amount for uninsured motorist’s coverage is the same as minimum liability, twenty thousand dollars for bodily injury per person, forty thousand dollars for bodily injury in total and fifteen thousand dollars for property damage. The state of Maryland has also made PIP or Personal Injury Protection mandatory. Personal Injury protection is used to pay for any lost wages and other damages caused if you are injured in the accident that you have caused. Minimum liability will pay for the other person’s lost wages. PIP will ensure you will be paid too.
The state of Maryland has a lot more mandatory insurance coverage policies than other states. This is due to the fact that Maryland roads are some of the most congested in the nation. The roads run close to Baltimore and Washington making the amount of traffic high. This justifies the large amounts of mandatory insurance coverage policies.
Other insurance policies include underinsured motorist’s coverage. This is used when a person is involved in an accident with a person who is insured but not for the adequate amount. Medical costs coverage will cover all of your medical bills as bodily injury will only cover the victim’s bill. Property damage coverage includes comprehensive and collision damage. Comprehensive will pay for any damage caused to your car due to hail, rain and snow. It will also pay for damages due to theft and vandalism. Collision pays for damage caused to the car of the person responsible for the accident.
