Important changes in Maryland auto insurance laws

A new law went into effect in Maryland on October 1, 2017. This law deals with car accident insurance coverage, specifically, “uninsured motorist” or “UM” insurance.

Our experienced personal injury attorney Robert Fiore explains the recent change.

Old Maryland auto insurance law

When you buy the state-required auto liability insurance on your vehicle, you must also purchase some form of UM coverage. This UM coverage comes into play if an at-fault driver hits you and either doesn’t have enough insurance of his own or doesn’t have any insurance.

However, the existing law provides that your UM coverage would only pay you for the difference between the at-fault driver’s liability coverage and your UM coverage. For instance, if the at-fault driver carried a $30,000 liability policy and you had purchased $100,000 of UM coverage, the most you could recover would be $30,000 from the at-fault driver’s policy and $70,000 from your own UM coverage, ($100,000 – $30,000 = $70,000).

This will change for the better.

New Maryland auto insurance law

Effective for policies purchased after 7/1/18, you will have the option of choosing an “Enhanced Under-insured Motorist” or “EUIM” coverage. This EUIM coverage election will allow you to “stack” the UM coverage you purchase on top of any liability coverage carried by the at-fault driver. In our example above, had you elected the EUIM coverage, the total you could recover could be $130,000, ($100,000 + $30,000 = $130,000).

The additional money that can be provided by EUIM coverage can prove to be essential if you or a loved one have the misfortune of being injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by a driver with a low liability insurance policy. Also, there could be other insurance policies that could come into play under certain circumstances, and these policies could provide even more insurance coverage for you and your loved ones.

Contact Albers & Associates for a free consultation

Mr. Fiore serves as counsel and litigator in connection with our firm’s Personal Injury caseload. He brings over 30 years of experience in negotiating settlements along with over 100 successful civil jury trials. Mr. Fiore regularly conducts continuing legal education programs and trial skills workshops for the Maryland State Bar Association and the National Business Institute.

Our attorneys are well-versed in property and casualty insurance law and can assist you in ensuring that you are able to recover every dollar that you are entitled to – from every policy that you are entitled to recover from. Remember, once you ‘settle up’ with an insurance company, you will be required to sign a “release of all claims”. Before doing that, contact us. We can investigate and discover additional sources of insurance coverage if they exist.