The Cheapest Car Insurance in Maryland

Here are the lowest annual rates for car insurance in Maryland for a wide variety of drivers. You’ll notice that the cheapest car insurance company isn’t one-size-fits-all. Factors like your zip code, a speeding ticket in your driving history, and other considerations all impact your car insurance rates.

Age

• 16: Allstate, $975
• 17: Allstate, $975
• 18: Allstate, $975
• 19: Allstate, $975
• 20-29: Progressive, $1,385
• 30-39: GEICO, $1,211
• 40-49: GEICO, $1,211
• 50-59: GEICO, $1,211
• 60-69: Progressive, $1,216
• 70-79: Progressive, $1,216
• 80s and above: Progressive, $1,216
• Age and Gender
• Female teens: GEICO, $1,815
• Male teens: Kemper, $1,827

Coverage

• Full coverage car insurance: GEICO, $1,211
• Minimum coverage car insurance: Progressive, $669

Credit Score

• Bad credit: Progressive, $1,588

Driving Record Issues

• Ticket: Auto-Owners, $1,051
• At-fault accident: Hastings Mutual, $656
• DUI: Erie, $1,520

Check out the best car insurance companies in Maryland for great coverage options and affordable rates.

• Allstate
• GEICO
• Progressive
• USAA

Even if you select an insurance provider with cheap rates, you can still employ additional strategies to save even more. Keep reading for advice on how to maximize your car insurance savings.

• Drive safely and maintain a clean driving record: Since being involved in accidents raises the cost of auto insurance, staying accident-free is a major way to save on your car insurance.
• Take advantage of your insurance provider’s discounts: Pay attention to the auto insurance discounts your insurance provider offers. Many providers offer discounts for safe driving behavior, bundling multiple policies, insuring multiple vehicles, paying for your policy upfront, or enrolling in automatic billing. High schoolers and students at Maryland’s 55 colleges and universities should look for good student discounts, which offer savings based on grade point average.
• Increase your auto insurance deductible: Your deductible is the amount you will have to pay out of pocket before your insurance policy will pay out on a claim. Generally, insurers offer cheaper premiums to customers who take on higher deductibles, so if you’re looking to lower your monthly premiums, consider raising the deductible on your collision and comprehensive insurance.

Be careful not to increase it too much, though; you don’t want to be stuck with a bill that’s more than you can afford to pay after an accident.

• Consider getting rid of unnecessary coverage: If you’re in a pinch and need to cut costs on your auto insurance, consider reducing your level of insurance down to the minimum coverage Maryland requires legally.

Eliminating coverages will allow you to pay the lowest amount in terms of premiums, but it’s a risky bet. Minimum coverage won’t cover collisions you cause, for example, or damages from weather, vandalism, or theft. We recommend buying more coverages with higher limits to ensure that you’re always fully protected.

• Compare car insurance quotes and switch providers: Not sure if you’re getting the best possible deal from your current insurance provider? Request free quotes from competing insurance companies to see if you could get a better price.
• Try usage-based insurance: If you don’t drive a lot, you might benefit from switching to usage-based insurance, sometimes called pay-per-mile auto insurance. With a usage-based policy, the cost of your premium depends on the number of miles you drive as well as your safe driving behaviors. The less you drive and the safer you drive, the more you can save.
• Explore payment options: Check to see if your insurance provider offers installment plans that allow you to pay for your policy in smaller increments. Some companies allow you to pay monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly for a small fee and no interest.

Like 47 other states and Washington, D.C., Maryland requires its drivers to buy and maintain some minimum level of car insurance. To remain compliant with the law, Maryland residents must have the following coverage:

While the chart above shows the minimum coverage Marylanders need, we strongly recommend further types of auto insurance to protect yourself fully, including:

• Collision insurance: Note that the required liability coverage above only pays for damages to others, meaning it won’t pay for damages to your own vehicle. This is where collision insurance comes in. Collision insurance ensures that if you’re in an accident, you won’t have to pay the full cost to repair or replace your own damaged car out of pocket. Collision insurance covers collisions with other vehicles, as well as objects like trees, fences, sign poles, and potholes.
• Comprehensive coverage: Crashes aren’t the only events that can seriously damage or even total your vehicle. Comprehensive insurance covers damages from incidents aside from collisions, including many types of weather damage, theft, and vandalism.

Maryland Automobile Fund

The Maryland Automobile Insurance (MAI) is a state-owned car insurance fund that sells liability insurance to Maryland residents who are unable to obtain it from a private company. In practical terms, this applies to high-risk drivers, such as those with a history of accidents, poor credit, or other attributes that make them expensive to insure.

To be eligible for insurance from MAI, a driver must submit evidence that they have been rejected by at least two private insurers or that they’ve experienced a car insurance cancellation or nonrenewal for any reason other than nonpayment of their premiums. MAI also processes and pays out certain claims to state residents who are involved in accidents with uninsured motorists or in incidents where the responsible party can’t be found, such as a hit-and-run.⁴

To learn more about getting car insurance through MAI, call (800) 492-7120 or visit https://www.mymarylandauto.com.

Self-Insurance

Technically, Maryland offers an option for self-insurance, in which a driver can provide cash to the MVA as collateral instead of buying an insurance policy from a licensed insurance company, the route most drivers take. However, since Maryland only allows self-insurance for residents who own 26 or more vehicles, with a minimum required collateral of $105,000, very few drivers are actually eligible for this form of insurance.⁵

• Mailing address:
  • Office of the Director
    Motor Vehicle Administration
    6601 Ritchie Highway NE
    Glen Burnie, MD 21062
• Customer service call center:
  • (410) 768-7000
• Insurance compliance division:
  • (410) 768-7431
• Fax:
  • (410) 424-3050
• Online services, including scheduling an appointment: 
  • https://mymva.maryland.gov/TAP/IND/_/
• Find an MVA branch near you:
  • https://mva.maryland.gov/locations/Pages/mvabranchesandveiplocations.aspx

Maryland has one of the highest costs of living in the country, as well as a relatively high average cost of car insurance. If you’re looking to save money on auto insurance, start your search with the companies we’ve listed above as the cheapest auto insurance providers in Maryland.

For further savings, always drive safely and maintain a clean driving record. You can also take advantage of any discounts you can qualify for, increase your deductible, switch providers, and even get rid of unnecessary coverage as a last resort.