With short distances dividing three separate jurisdictions it is inevitable that car and truck crash victims will sometimes have to grapple with the prospect of looking to an out of state policy in pursuing a personal injury claim. This is often of concern to our clients as some states have less stringent minimum insurance requirements than Maryland.
Fortunately, this phenomenon does not alter the basic dynamics of a claim. Most insurance policies provide that they automatically modify to comport with another state's minimum insurance requirements. Thus a driver from Alabama or Arkansas may have the minimum for the their state of $15,000 but their policy language bumps the coverage up to Maryland's minimum of $30,000 for accidents in Maryland.
A second protection is the fact that such a policy would also result in the triggering of Maryland's minimum uninsured/underinsured motorist limit of $30,000. For example if an Alabama driver with $15,000 in liability coverage caused a crash in Laurel, Maryland, the victim could seek recourse in their uninsured motorist coverage which at a minimum would be $30,000.
The bottom line seek out an attorney experienced in this area of the law in order to protect your interests.
