For the Maryland Personal Lines exam, the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is tested two ways: the national policy structure and the Maryland auto laws layered on top of it. This standalone guide walks through the lettered parts every PAP uses, then focuses on the Maryland rules an agent must apply every day—financial-responsibility minimums, the fault-based legal system with strict contributory negligence, the required PIP offer, the mandatory uninsured/underinsured-motorist coverage, the Maryland Auto Insurance residual market, and how policies can be cancelled or nonrenewed. Spend your study time on the Maryland overlay; that is where the state questions live.

The national fundamentals (quick version)

The Personal Auto Policy insures individuals and families for the vehicles they own and drive. It is divided into clearly labeled parts:

• Part A — Liability Coverage: pays for bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally responsible for, and includes a duty to defend with defense costs paid on top of the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical and funeral expenses for the insured and passengers regardless of fault.
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM): pays your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, paid 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 set the rules.

An insured generally includes the named insured, the resident spouse, resident family members, and anyone using the covered auto with permission—the omnibus clause. Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos, pickups, and vans not used primarily for business. That skeleton is the same nationwide; Maryland changes the limits, mandatory coverages, and legal environment around it.

Maryland is an at-fault (tort) state with required PIP

Maryland follows a tort (at-fault) system rather than a no-fault system. Whoever causes the crash is financially responsible, and the injured person recovers from that driver's liability insurance—or sues. But Maryland is not a pure tort state either, because it requires that Personal Injury Protection (PIP) be made part of the policy unless waived. So describe Maryland as a fault state that also requires PIP.

PIP pays the insured's and occupants' medical expenses and a portion of lost income regardless of fault. In Maryland, PIP must generally be provided unless the insured waives it in writing—a knowing written waiver is the only way to go without it.

Strict contributory negligence

Here is the point Maryland agents must never get wrong. Maryland uses contributory negligence: an injured person who is even slightly at fault (as little as 1%) is generally barred from recovering anything from the other driver. Maryland is one of only a few jurisdictions that still applies this strict rule, and it bars recovery for property damage as well as bodily injury.

Picture the contrast: in a comparative-negligence state, a partly at-fault claimant still recovers something (reduced by their share of fault); in Maryland, that same claimant recovers nothing. So Maryland's doctrine makes it harder for a partially at-fault claimant to recover. The exam frequently tests this distinction.

Financial responsibility: the 30/60/15 minimums

Maryland drivers must demonstrate financial responsibility, almost always by buying liability insurance that meets the state's minimum split limits, commonly cited as 30/60/15:

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

Agents say this aloud as "30/60/15" (verify current limits). Proof of the required coverage must be shown to register a vehicle, and a driver required to prove future responsibility after certain violations may have to file a certificate (an SR-22-type filing). These are bare-minimum floors—most clients should buy more to protect their assets.

Mandatory uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

Maryland builds in protection against drivers who lack adequate insurance:

• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is required on Maryland auto policies.
• UM responds when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance (or flees the scene); UIM responds when that driver has some insurance but not enough to cover the loss.
• Insurers must generally offer UM/UIM up to the policy's liability limits, and an insured who wants lower limits typically must waive the higher offer in writing (verify current requirements).

The recurring theme: 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 buy coverage in the standard market may turn to Maryland Auto Insurance, formerly the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF)—the state's residual market for autos. It functions as the auto insurer of last resort, parallel to a FAIR plan on the property side.

PIP plus the optional coverages

• Beyond required PIP, Medical Payments (Med Pay) is an optional first-party coverage that pays medical/funeral costs regardless of fault.
• Collision and Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) are optional, though a lender usually requires them on a financed vehicle. Remember that damage from hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision.
• Rental reimbursement pays for a substitute car while the covered auto is repaired after a covered loss; a named driver exclusion removes coverage while a specifically excluded person drives.

Cancellation and nonrenewal notice

Maryland limits how and when an insurer can end a personal auto policy. The timelines are commonly cited as follows:

• Advance written notice is generally required for cancellation and nonrenewal, and many notices must state the actual reason.
• After a policy has been in force beyond the initial underwriting period, the insurer may cancel mid-term only for limited reasons—chiefly nonpayment, driver's-license suspension/revocation, or fraud/material misrepresentation.
• When the insurer cancels mid-term, the unearned premium is generally refunded pro rata.

Required vs. optional coverages in Maryland

Key Maryland numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Calling Maryland "no-fault." It is at-fault, though PIP is required to be offered.
• Applying comparative negligence. Maryland uses contributory negligence—even slight fault bars recovery, including property damage.
• Saying PIP is mandatory with no waiver. It can be waived in writing.
• 30/60/15—don't transpose the $15k property-damage figure into a bodily-injury 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.

Quick recap

• The PAP keeps its national Parts A–F structure; Maryland changes the limits, mandatory coverages, and legal context.
• Maryland is a tort/at-fault state that requires PIP (waivable in writing) and uses strict contributory negligence, where a claimant even slightly at fault recovers nothing.
• Financial-responsibility minimums are commonly 30/60/15 (verify).
• UM/UIM is required and must be offered up to the policy's 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.