How to Find the Most Affordable Car Insurance in Maryland

In Maryland, the average car insurance rate is $1,240 per year, which is lower than the national average by 13 percent. While it’s nice to beat the national average, it is even nicer to get additional discounts on your auto insurance premium. We have tips and strategies that will help you to do just that. And we will discuss them all a bit later but first let’s take a closer look at car insurance in Maryland.

Minimum Liability Requirements

If you ever cause a car accident, liability insurance pays for the other people’s injuries and property damage, up to your liability limit. Each state has their own minimum liability requirements for the drivers in their state.

In Maryland, the state minimum liability requirements are $30,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person, $60,000 bodily injury liability coverage per accident and $15,000 property damage liability coverage per accident.

In Maryland, the minimum liability coverage costs an average of $649 annually.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you from bodily injury and property damage caused by the operator of an uninsured vehicle. This includes a hit-and-run driver.

Maryland law requires uninsured motorist limits of $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 bodily injury per accident and $15,000 property damage per person for drivers in its state.

Personal Injury Protection

In Maryland, personal injury protection (PIP) covers medical expenses and lost income for you and your passengers in a covered accident up to $2,500 per person. PIP pays medical bills without regard to fault. In Maryland, PIP may be waived for a reduced auto premium but household relatives under the age of 16 and certain others are still covered.

A Comprehensive Policy Costs More

In Maryland, opting for an insurance policy with comprehensive auto insurance and collision auto insurance with deductibles of $1,000 would cost, on average, about $1,106.

Collision auto insurance is coverage that helps to repair or replace your vehicle if it is damaged in an at-fault accident with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or a fence. Comprehensive auto insurance covers events that are not covered by collision coverage. These events include theft, fire and vandalism and damages from weather such as a windstorm, a hailstorm, a tornado and a hurricane. If you have a loan on your vehicle, your lender may require you carry both collision coverage and comprehensive coverage. A deductible is the amount you need to pay before an auto insurance company begins to pay for damages to your car. Choosing a high deductible is one way to lower your insurance premium.

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Maryland Is an At-fault State

When it comes to auto insurance, Maryland is an at-fault state. This means Maryland drivers are responsible for any of the damage they cause to another vehicle. It is the job of the insurance adjuster to determine who is at fault in an accident.

How to Save Money on Car Insurance

 

There are all kinds of tips and strategies that you can use that will help to lower your auto insurance premium. Here is a list of many of them. Use as many as you can to save money on your auto insurance premium.

Be a married driver. If you’re married, you will pay less for car insurance. There is a correlation between being married and exhibiting safe driving habits. Because of this, married drivers pay less for auto insurance than single drivers. In Maryland, married drivers save $22 a year on car insurance.

Have a good credit score. Insurance companies have been using consumer credit data to assign risk pools and set insurance since the mid-1990s. Those with good and excellent credit pay much less for their auto insurances than drivers with no or poor credit. In Maryland, a driver with excellent credit saves around $1,082 per year on auto insurance compared with a driver with poor credit. If you have bad credit you can improve it by getting current on past due accounts and paying down debt. Those are two things that will help to lift your credit score.

Have a clean driving record. Obeying the rules of the road when you drive can save you money on car insurance. A Maryland driver without any recent tickets saves 11 percent on his or her insurance premium. But break a few rules of the road and you’ll pay for it. In Maryland, car insurance premiums increase by 30 percent after a DUI, 31 percent after an at-fault accident and 11 percent after a speeding ticket. Let’s look at that in dollars and cents. In Maryland, your first minor at-fault accident will cost you an additional $503 (or more) each year on your auto premiums. And a DUI will lift your annual car insurance costs in Maryland by an average of $490. So drive safely in Maryland and save money. If you’ve been a good driver let your car insurance company know. You’ve earned a good driver discount.

Bundle your auto policy. Bundle your auto policy with another insurance policy such as a homeowners policy and you will save money on your auto insurance.

Get a multi-car discount. Insure more than one car with the same insurance company and you will save money on your premiums.

Pay less often. Rather than paying monthly auto insurance bills, pay the entire annual amount or the six-month balance. Your premium is lower when you pay just once or twice a year.

Check safety and anti-theft features. Having certain safety and anti-theft features will lower your car insurance premium. So be sure to check with your auto insurance company about the safety and anti-theft features on your car. Are you due for a discount?

Check out memberships. Members of some professional groups and affiliates get discounts on their auto insurance. So check out the memberships in your wallet and reach out to your auto insurance company. Are you eligible for a discount?

Spend less on older cars. The maximum payout for comprehensive coverage and collision coverage is limited by the value of the car. So if your older vehicle has a low market value, it may not make financial sense to carry comprehensive and collision coverages any longer.

Old and young pay more. Drivers younger than 25 and older than 65 have more serious accidents and pay more for insurance. The drivers of all the ages in between pay less for car insurance.

Stick by your insurance coverage. You’ll pay higher insurance rates if you don’t maintain continuous coverage of your auto insurance. So stick with your auto insurance coverage and save money.

Pick a high deductible. Opting for a high deductible will save you money on your car insurance. Just be sure to place the dollar amount for the deductible in a small emergency fund. That way the money will be there should you need it to make an auto insurance claim.

Be a female driver. Women drivers make fewer accident claims than men and are rewarded with lower auto insurance rates. Men make more accident claims and pay more on their insurance.

Drive low miles. If you rack up the miles driving a heavy commute to and from work, you are going to pay more for your auto insurance. If you drive less miles you are going to save money on your car insurance. So drive less and pay less on your auto insurance premium.

Pick a safe neighborhood. If you live in a neighborhood with few accident claims and low crime, you are going to pay less for your car insurance. If you live in a neighborhood with high accident claims and auto theft, you are going to pay much more for your car insurance.

So choose a safe neighborhood and save money on your car insurance.

Buy a house. Statistics show that people who own homes drive more safely. So let your insurance company know that you own your own home and enjoy the savings on your auto insurance.

Shop around. The best way to save money on car insurance is to shop around. You will want to check out rates from several different companies. SmartFinancial makes this easy for you to do. Just input the type of insurance you are looking for and a zip code to get started. Next, answer a few, quick questions and you’ll be on your way to comparing auto insurance rates in Maryland.

SmartFinancial has access to more than 200 insurance companies so you’re bound to find the coverage and the insurance rate that you are looking for. So shop smart for insurance and drive safely on the roads of Maryland.