For the Maine Personal Lines exam, the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is tested two ways: the national policy structure and the Maine auto rules layered on top of it. This standalone guide walks through the lettered parts every PAP uses, then focuses on the Maine rules an agent applies every day—the high financial-responsibility minimums, the at-fault legal system with modified comparative negligence, the mandatory uninsured/underinsured-motorist and medical-payments coverages, and how policies can be cancelled or nonrenewed. Spend your study time on the Maine 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, with a duty to defend and defense costs paid on top of the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays reasonable 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 (impact or upset) and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive) (theft, fire, hail, hitting an animal), each with a deductible, paid at Actual Cash Value (ACV).
• 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 policy also extends the named insured's liability coverage to a non-owned auto the insured borrows with permission. Eligible vehicles are private passenger autos owned by individuals and households, not commercial trucks or buses. That skeleton is the same nationwide; Maine changes the dollar limits and the legal environment around it.

Maine is an at-fault (tort) state

Maine 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. Because of this, liability coverage and proof of financial responsibility are the backbone of Maine auto regulation.

When both drivers share blame, Maine uses modified comparative negligence. A claimant's recovery is reduced by that claimant's own percentage of fault, but if the claimant's fault is equal to or greater than the other party's, the claimant generally recovers nothing (a 50% bar—verify the exact statutory language in 14 M.R.S. § 156). This differs from a pure comparative system (recovery reduced but never barred) and a contributory system (any fault at all bars recovery). Remember: Maine is modified comparative.

Financial responsibility minimums (50/100/25)

Maine requires drivers to maintain financial responsibility, normally through an auto liability policy meeting the state minimums—which Maine sets higher than many states:

• $50,000 for bodily injury to one person,
• $100,000 for bodily injury per accident, and
• $25,000 for property damage per accident.

This is shorthanded "50/100/25" (confirm current figures, as the legislature can change them). These are minimums only; agents routinely recommend higher limits, especially given Maine's high required floors signal strong consumer-protection intent. Drivers with serious violations may have to file an SR-22 certificate proving coverage is in force. Memorize the slot order—per-person BI, per-accident BI, then property damage—and don't swap the $25,000 into a bodily-injury position.

Mandatory UM/UIM and Med Pay

Maine goes further than "make available"—it requires several first-party coverages:

• Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage are mandatory, generally written at limits at least equal to the policy's liability limits (commonly 50/100, verify).
• Medical payments (Med Pay) coverage is also mandatory up to a minimum amount (commonly cited near $2,000—verify).
• UM pays when an at-fault driver carries no insurance and also responds to hit-and-run drivers; UIM fills the gap when the at-fault driver's limits are too low.
• The other motorist must be legally at fault before UM/UIM responds, and the insured's UM/UIM limit caps the recovery.

Physical-damage and optional coverages

• Collision covers impact with another car or object or the upset of your vehicle; Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) covers theft, fire, vandalism, glass breakage, hail, and animal strikes—a frequent rural-Maine loss. Both are optional but a lender will require them.
• A total loss is paid at actual cash value (ACV); the optional gap coverage—not the PAP—covers any shortfall against a larger loan balance.
• A newly acquired auto receives automatic coverage for a limited period if reported in time, and a named driver exclusion strips coverage while a specifically excluded person drives.
• Maine has no no-fault/PIP; first-party medical flows through the mandatory Med Pay and the insured's health plan.

Ending the policy: cancellation and nonrenewal

• An insurer's mid-term cancellation requires the advance written notice Maine law specifies, and allowable cancellation reasons are limited once the policy is past its initial period.
• Nonrenewal also requires advance written notice so the insured can shop for replacement coverage.
• Unearned premium is refunded, and an insurer-initiated cancellation is generally refunded pro rata without penalty.

Required vs. optional coverages

Key Maine numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Maine is at-fault, not no-fault—but Med Pay is mandatory even so.
• Modified comparative negligence with a 50% bar: a claimant equally at fault (or more) recovers nothing.
• UM, UIM, and Med Pay are required in Maine, not merely offered.
• 50/100/25—the $25k is property damage; keep it out of the BI slots.
• Animal strikes and theft are Comprehensive, not Collision.
• ACV pays a total loss; the optional gap coverage handles a larger loan balance.
• Defense costs are paid on top of the liability limit.

Quick recap

• The PAP uses the national Part A–F structure; Maine controls the limits and the legal system.
• Maine is tort/at-fault with modified comparative negligence—a 50% bar ends recovery for an equally-or-more-at-fault claimant.
• Minimums are set high at 50/100/25 (verify).
• UM/UIM and Med Pay are mandatory, distinguishing Maine from "offer only" states.
• There is no PIP/no-fault; physical damage is optional and total losses pay ACV.
• Cancellation and nonrenewal require the advance written notice Maine law mandates, with unearned premium refunded.