Auto Insurance for Maryland

Reader’s Question:

Here in Baltimore Maryland, what are the laws regarding household members that I should know when applying for auto insurance?

Tina

Baltimore, MD

Automotive insurance companies in Maryland require insurance applicants to disclose names and ages of all members of the household. You may also be required to identify which among the household members will be included in your auto insurance policy. Depending on your answer, the company may ask additional or follow up questions in order to determine the rate of your policy.

If there are household members who are 15 or 16 years of age and older (depending on the state where you’re in), you should include them as well in your policy. These residents may drive your vehicle or be passengers one way or another, so you need to cover them, too, with your policy. However, the decision to include them will always depend on you, and their inclusion in your auto insurance policy may affect the insurance company’s decision on granting your insurance or not.

If there are instances wherein you do not want any household member to be included in your policy, you would have to disclose your reason. Auto insurance companies’ qualifications for eligible insurance applicants may differ from another. And additionally, if the state requires certain qualifications to be met, then you would have to meet that requirement. Some state laws require personal liability insurance, and to get this policy, one has to disclose all the members of the household. Therefore, you need to be able to explain to the auto insurance carrier your reason for not disclosing or including a household member in order for them to gauge properly the risk they’re taking if they grant you the insurance.