On the Maryland Property & Casualty exam, the Personal Automobile Policy appears both as a standard ISO-style contract and as a set of Maryland auto statutes you must apply. This standalone guide reviews the policy's coverage parts, then drills into the Maryland overlay: the commonly cited 30/60/15 financial-responsibility minimums, the fault (tort) system layered with required PIP, the strict contributory negligence rule, the mandatory uninsured/underinsured-motorist requirement, the Maryland Auto Insurance residual market, and cancellation/nonrenewal notice. The Maryland-specific material is where most state credit is earned.

Policy structure (the national base)

The Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is a packaged contract organized into lettered parts:

• Part A — Liability: pays bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally liable for; the insurer provides a defense, and defense costs are paid in addition to the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical/funeral costs for occupants regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists: pays the insured's injuries when the at-fault party is uninsured or underinsured.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, settled at Actual Cash Value (ACV) (or cost to repair, whichever is less).
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions.

Limits may be written as split limits (e.g., 30/60/15) or as a Combined Single Limit (CSL)—one total per accident for both BI and PD. Insureds include the named insured, resident spouse, resident relatives, and permissive users (the omnibus clause). Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos, pickups, and vans not used mainly for business. That framework is national; Maryland governs the limits, mandatory coverages, and the liability environment around it.

Maryland uses a tort (at-fault) system—with required PIP

Maryland is a tort / at-fault state: the driver who causes a crash is financially responsible, and the injured party collects from that driver's liability coverage or by filing suit. But Maryland is not a pure no-fault state, and it is also not purely tort, because it layers a first-party PIP requirement on top. Watch the wording: Maryland is best described as a fault state that also requires PIP be offered.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) pays the insured's and occupants' medical expenses and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault. In Maryland, PIP generally must be provided unless the insured waives it in writing. So PIP is required to be offered, and a knowing written waiver is the way an insured goes without it.

Contributory negligence: Maryland's harsh rule

This is the single most distinctive Maryland auto-law point. Maryland follows strict contributory negligence: a claimant who is found even 1% at fault is generally barred from recovering anything from the other driver—including property damage. Maryland is one of only a few jurisdictions still using this rule.

Contrast it sharply:

• Comparative negligence (most states) merely reduces a claimant's recovery by their percentage of fault.
• Maryland contributory negligence bars recovery entirely for any claimant who shares fault.

The practical takeaway: it is harder for a partially at-fault Maryland claimant to recover than in a comparative-negligence state. Expect at least one question contrasting the two systems.

Financial responsibility: commonly 30/60/15

Every Maryland driver must show financial responsibility, usually by carrying liability insurance at or above the minimum split limits, commonly cited as:

• $30,000 bodily injury per person
• $60,000 bodily injury per accident
• $15,000 property damage per accident

Shorthand: "30/60/15" (verify current limits). Proof of the required coverage must generally be shown to register a vehicle, and lapses can bring penalties. After certain violations, a driver may need to file a certificate of financial responsibility (an SR-22-type filing).

Uninsured and underinsured motorist rules

This is a heavily tested Maryland area:

• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is required on Maryland auto policies, protecting the insured against at-fault drivers who carry no insurance or not enough.
• Insurers must generally offer UM/UIM limits up to the policy's liability limits; an insured who wants lower limits typically must waive the higher offer in writing (verify current requirements).
• UIM pays the gap between the at-fault driver's lower BI limits and the insured's UIM limit.

Memorize the headline: in Maryland, UM/UIM is required, and the insurer must offer it up to the liability limits.

The Maryland Auto Insurance (MAIF) residual market

Drivers who cannot obtain coverage in the standard market may seek it through Maryland Auto Insurance, formerly the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF)—the state's residual market for auto insurance. This is the auto analog to a FAIR plan for property; know MAIF/Maryland Auto Insurance as the insurer of last resort for autos.

Optional and physical-damage coverages

• Medical Payments (Med Pay) can supplement PIP, paying medical/funeral costs regardless of fault.
• Collision and Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) are optional but typically required by a lender. Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision.
• A named driver exclusion can remove coverage while a specifically excluded person drives.

Cancellation and nonrenewal

Maryland regulates how an insurer may end a personal auto policy. The timelines are commonly cited as:

• Advance written notice is generally required for cancellation or nonrenewal, and many notices must state the actual reason.
• Once a policy is beyond its initial underwriting period, mid-term cancellation is limited to specific statutory reasons such as nonpayment, license suspension/revocation, or fraud/material misrepresentation.
• When the insurer cancels mid-term, unearned premium is generally refunded pro rata (short-rate typically applies when the insured cancels).

Key Maryland numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Calling Maryland "no-fault." It is tort/at-fault, though PIP is required.
• Applying comparative negligence. Maryland uses contributory negligence—even slight fault bars recovery, including property damage.
• Saying PIP cannot be waived. It can be waived in writing.
• 30/60/15—the $15k is property damage; don't slide it into a BI slot (verify current figures).
• Forgetting UM/UIM must be offered up to the liability limits.
• Mixing up MAIF with a property FAIR plan. MAIF/Maryland Auto Insurance is the auto residual market.
• Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision (national rule still applies).

Quick recap

• The PAP's Parts A–F structure is national; Maryland sets the limits, mandatory coverages, and legal framework.
• Maryland is a tort/at-fault state that requires PIP (waivable in writing), and it follows strict contributory negligence, so a claimant even slightly at fault recovers nothing.
• Minimum liability is commonly 30/60/15 (verify).
• UM/UIM is required and must be offered up to the liability limits.
• Maryland Auto Insurance (MAIF) is the residual market for drivers shut out of the standard market.
• Cancellation/nonrenewal generally requires advance written notice stating the reason, with insurer-initiated mid-term cancellations refunded pro rata.