The Cheapest Car Insurance in Maryland

While the roads in the Old Line State lead to vastly different places and views, drivers often have one thing in common — wanting great auto insurance coverage with low premiums. Car insurance in Maryland isn’t the most expensive in the nation, but it’s not always cheap, with the average full coverage premium costing about $1,850 annually. 

So whether you’re a new Marylander, getting car insurance for the first time, or simply curious about what kinds of deals you may be missing out on, let’s investigate how you can get cheap auto insurance in Maryland.

Finding cheap auto insurance in Maryland can be challenging, especially if you don’t have any tricks up your sleeve. Lucky for you, we’re here to help you narrow your search, so you only look for exactly what you need. In Maryland, the average full coverage policy costs about $1,850 annually, about 10% higher than the national average full coverage policy, which costs about $1,670 annually. 

Generally, a cheap policy will be below the state average, and the cheapest policy will be below the state and national averages. Let’s find a few ways to get the cheapest Maryland auto insurance.

The first and easiest way to ensure you get the policy with the cheapest premiums is to carry only the minimum amount of legally required coverage. In Maryland, the legal minimum car insurance coverage is $30,000 of bodily injury liability per person per accident, $60,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per accident, and $15,000 of property damage liability per accident (30/60/15 liability coverage), 30/60/15 uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM), and $2,500 of personal injury protection, or PIP. If you lease or finance your vehicle, your lender will also require you to have collision coverage and comprehensive coverage on your policy.

Base rates will typically remain the same even if you have a minimum coverage policy, meaning they will likely be about 10% higher than the national average cost of a minimum policy. While base rates remain higher than the national average, reducing your policy to have only the minimum coverage you legally need will drastically reduce your premiums.

While a dramatic reduction in premium costs sounds promising, it’s important to remember what you’re sacrificing to get lower premiums. Here at Clovered, we feel it’s better to be safe than sorry, even if that means paying higher premiums.

You’re less protected on the roads when you reduce your coverage to lower your premiums. Suppose you cause an accident and only have the legal minimum amount of coverage. In that case, your insurance will kick in to pay what you owe the victim in the accident after you pay your deductible, but only up to that minimal coverage limit. After you meet your limit, any expenses you still owe will have to come out of your pocket. 

In many cases, the sum of the remaining owed costs is higher than what you save from opting for a lower coverage limit. In the long run, lower coverage limits may not be worth the short-term savings.

Another way to get cheap insurance in Maryland is to search for insurers that offer various discounts you can apply to your policy. Many insurers offer different discounts for policyholders; some may even let you stack your discounts to reduce your premiums further. 

Some discounts require the policyholder to enroll in a program. For example, many insurers now offer safe driving programs in which policyholders can register to get discounts on their premiums if they practice the safe driving habits outlined by their insurer.

Some safe driving programs may only require the policyholder to take a class. In contrast, others may require the policyholder to use a telematics device to collect data about their driving habits. Some insurers may also use telematics devices to give a discount to those driving infrequently, or less than 12,000 miles yearly.

While telematics programs often offer the most significant discounts, some insurers may use the data collected by your telematics device to raise your premiums rather than lower them if you make poor choices behind the wheel. Before enrolling in such a program, you must be brutally honest with yourself because it may hurt your wallet more than it might help.

While participatory programs may offer more significant discounts, many insurers offer discounts that don’t require participation and only require the policyholder to meet specific criteria. For example, many insurers offer discounts for those who bundle multiple insurance policies or have multiple cars on one policy.

Some other typical discounts are a good student discount for young drivers who earn good grades, a veteran discount, occupational discounts, and many others. Most of these discounts that only require the policyholder to meet a set of criteria offer anywhere from a 5% to 10% discount, but hey, a discount is a discount!

The average cost of auto insurance in Maryland costs about $1,850 for a full coverage policy annually or about $155 a month. Affordable car insurance in Maryland shouldn’t be too hard to find, considering the average full coverage policy is only about 10% more than the national average. Here at Clovered, we recommend all drivers have a full coverage policy to ensure their protection on Maryland’s roads.

A full coverage policy in Maryland will have more than 30/60/15 liability coverage, more than 30/60/15 UM/UIM coverage, more than $2,500 in PIP, and a few additional optional coverage types, like collision coverage or comprehensive coverage, Medical Payments coverage (MedPay), or GAP coverage.

Insurers use various factors about you to determine your premiums, such as your age, gender, ZIP code, the type of car you drive, and several others. Since insurers in Maryland are permitted to use ZIP codes when determining premiums, typically, those who live in densely populated cities like Baltimore will pay higher premiums than those in less populated cities. 

Our partner Travelers has the cheapest auto insurance in Maryland, with the average full coverage policy costing about $1,500 annually in premiums and plenty of opportunities for discounts. Travelers offers discounts for those who pay their premiums on time, those who have electric or hybrid cars, those who bundle multiple policies, and much more.

Some other top insurers in Maryland are USAA, Progressive, Geico, and Nationwide. Each of these insurers offers low base rates for full and minimum coverage policies and many opportunities for stackable discounts to lower your premiums even further.

While finding affordable car insurance in Maryland isn’t too difficult, it can take a bit of searching. With the average full coverage policy costing about $1,850 annually, Marylanders are only paying about $150 more than the average American, who spends about $1,670 annually for a full coverage policy. Nonetheless, there are a few ways to get a policy that charges lower-than-average premiums. 

The most surefire way to find cheap car insurance in Maryland is to get quotes from several insurers and agencies. Shopping online for quotes is a great way to see what rates are out there. Plus, it exposes you to insurers you may not be familiar with who may offer lower-than-average premiums and several discounts for which you’re eligible.

You’ve come to the right place if you want cheap Maryland car insurance quotes. Whether you’re getting a policy for the first time or just curious about how you might be able to lower your rates, we have a free quoting tool right here at Clovered that can help you find the best policy with the cheapest rates. We also have some very helpful agents ready to assist you if you’d rather speak to an agent directly. You can contact a Clovered agent today by calling 833-255-4117 or emailing [email protected].