Maryland law contains sometimes confusing laws pertaining to auto-insurance and the ability to recover expenses after an accident. First, there is Personal Injury Protection coverage, also known as PIP or no-fault insurance. PIP can pay up to $2,500 or more for medical costs and other reasonable expenses related to a car accident. The amount available differs depending on whether you purchased full coverage or limited coverage. A PIP claim is filed with your own insurance company, without regard to who was at fault in causing the accident. PIP can also be accessed to help the victim of a bicycle or pedestrian accident—and will later help with an insurer’s right to subrogation from a personal injury settlement claim.

While PIP can help with some medical bills and other expenses, it often is not enough, especially in a serious accident. For more serious injuries, an accident victim can go after the at-fault driver for payment from that driver’s bodily injury liability policy. In the State of Maryland, every driver on the road is required to cover at least $30,000 in liability insurance coverage for the injured driver’s medical expenses and $15,000 in property damage, although if more than one person is injured, a minimal Maryland policy may cover only $60,000 of medical costs for all the injured people together.

Even though liability insurance is required by law, more than one in ten Maryland drivers skirt the law and drive without insurance. If you are hit by an uninsured driver, or if you are injured in a hit and run and cannot locate the negligent driver, you can apply for coverage from the Uninsured Motorist (UM) portion of your liability policy. If you have purchased UM coverage in amounts equal to the amount of liability you carry. You may also have Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage, which can be useful if the other driver only carried the minimum amount, and your damages are greater.