Maryland's PIP Mandate and Rejection Option
This is not optional coverage you choose to add — carriers must include it automatically when you purchase a policy. The state treats PIP as a mandatory baseline for medical expense coverage after an accident, regardless of who caused the collision.
The structural quirk: Maryland allows you to reject PIP in writing after the carrier offers it. This creates a two-step reality where the coverage is required by default but can be waived through a formal rejection process. Most drivers keep the coverage because the rejection requires a signed waiver, and many carriers discourage rejection by explaining the gap it creates in medical expense protection. If you do not actively reject PIP, your policy includes it and you pay for it.
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Get Your Free QuoteMaryland Minimum PIP
This is the floor — you can purchase higher limits, but the carrier cannot sell you a policy with less unless you reject PIP entirely in writing.
Maryland Transportation Code §17-103
What PIP Covers and Why Maryland Requires It
Personal Injury Protection pays for your medical expenses, lost wages, and certain other costs after an accident, regardless of who was at fault. Maryland is an at-fault state for liability purposes, but PIP operates as no-fault coverage — it pays your own bills first, before any liability claim against the other driver proceeds. This speeds up payment for immediate medical care and wage replacement without waiting for fault determination or a liability settlement.
The minimum satisfies the legal requirement but rarely covers the full cost of a significant injury.
PIP also covers passengers in your vehicle and certain household members injured while riding in another vehicle or as pedestrians. The coverage follows the policy, not the car, so a household with multiple vehicles on one policy shares the PIP limit across all drivers and passengers. This makes PIP structurally different from liability coverage, which attaches to the specific vehicle involved in the accident.
Rejecting PIP leaves you with no first-party medical coverage — your health insurance becomes the only payer for accident-related injuries, and health plans often deny or delay claims tied to auto accidents.
How to Reject PIP in Maryland
The rejection process begins when you apply for a new policy or renew an existing one. The carrier presents PIP as part of the standard coverage package and provides a rejection form if you ask to remove it. You must sign the form acknowledging that you understand the coverage and are choosing to waive it. The carrier files the signed waiver with your policy documents, and PIP is removed from your coverage. If you later want to add PIP back, you can request it at renewal or mid-term, and the carrier will reinstate it.
Most carriers discourage rejection by explaining the financial risk. If you reject PIP and are injured in an accident, your health insurance becomes the primary payer for medical bills. Health plans often deny claims tied to auto accidents, arguing that auto insurance should cover the expense. This creates a gap where you may be personally responsible for bills that PIP would have paid. Additionally, if the other driver was at fault but uninsured or underinsured, you have no first-party coverage to fall back on while pursuing a liability claim.
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PIP and Multi-Vehicle Households
When you insure multiple vehicles on one Maryland policy, the PIP coverage applies per person, not per vehicle. If two household members are injured in separate accidents on the same day, each has access to the policy's PIP limit. However, if three people in one vehicle are injured in a single accident, they share the per-person limit — each person can claim up to the limit, but the total payout across all passengers is capped by the policy's aggregate limit if one exists.
The incremental cost is typically modest compared to the financial exposure of a serious injury that exhausts the minimum limit in the first week of treatment.
If you reject PIP on a multi-vehicle policy, the rejection applies to the entire policy — you cannot keep PIP on one vehicle and reject it on another. The waiver is policy-level, not vehicle-level. This means every driver and passenger covered by the policy loses first-party medical coverage if you reject PIP, even if only one household member wanted to waive it.
Maryland Liability Minimums
$30,000 / $60,000 / $15,000
Maryland requires $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 bodily injury per accident, and $15,000 property damage. These limits cover injuries and damage you cause to others — they do not pay your own medical bills. PIP fills that gap by covering your expenses regardless of fault.
Maryland Transportation Code §17-103
PIP and Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Maryland also requires Uninsured Motorist coverage, which pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient liability limits. UM and PIP serve different functions: PIP pays immediately after an accident regardless of fault, while UM pays only when another driver is at fault and lacks adequate coverage. In practice, PIP pays first, and UM coverage may supplement it if your injuries exceed the PIP limit and the other driver is uninsured.
Because Maryland mandates both PIP and UM, most drivers carry both coverages. If you reject PIP, you still have UM coverage, but UM only applies when another driver is at fault and uninsured. If you cause the accident or are injured in a single-vehicle collision, UM does not pay — you have no first-party medical coverage at all if you rejected PIP. This is the structural gap that makes PIP rejection risky for most households.
Compare Carriers and Structure Your Coverage
Maryland's PIP requirement applies uniformly across all carriers, but the cost of adding higher PIP limits varies significantly. Some carriers price higher PIP limits aggressively to attract multi-vehicle households; others charge steep increases for limits above the minimum.
If you are considering rejecting PIP to lower your premium, compare the savings against the financial risk. The rejection saves you the PIP premium — typically a modest portion of your total policy cost — but exposes you to potentially thousands of dollars in medical bills if your health insurance denies the claim or imposes high deductibles for accident-related care. For most households, keeping PIP at a higher limit is the more defensible decision.