After a serious crash in Maryland, the first real money offer often comes quickly. The at-fault driver's insurance company calls or writes, says the policy is small, and offers the full limit in exchange for a signed release. When the bills are piling up and someone is out of work, signing feels like the obvious move.
In Maryland, signing too soon can be one of the most expensive mistakes an injured person makes. If your injuries are worth more than the other driver's policy, the rest of your recovery often has to come from your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. Maryland law protects that coverage only if you follow a specific procedure before you accept the at-fault driver's limits. Skip it, and your own insurer can refuse to pay.
Why your own policy matters so much
Maryland requires every driver to carry liability insurance of at least $30,000 for one person and $60,000 for everyone hurt in a crash (Md. Code, Transp. § 17-103). Many drivers carry exactly that. A traumatic brain injury, a spinal fracture, or a death in the family will exhaust a minimum policy almost immediately.
That is what UM/UIM coverage is for. Every Maryland auto policy must include it (Md. Code, Ins. § 19-509), and it covers you, and usually the members of your household, when the driver who caused the crash had no insurance or not enough. It also covers surviving family members in a wrongful death case. In a catastrophic case, your own UIM limit is often larger than everything else available put together.
The rule: send the offer to your own insurer first
Maryland's settlement statute, Md. Code, Ins. § 19-511, sets out the steps. (Section 19-511.1 applies the same steps to enhanced UIM coverage.) They apply when the at-fault driver's insurer makes a written offer that would use up its bodily injury limits.
| Step | Who acts | What the statute requires |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You | Send a copy of the liability insurer's written settlement offer to your UM/UIM insurer by certified mail. |
| 2 | Your insurer | Within 60 days of receiving it, send you either written consent to accept the offer and sign the releases, or a written refusal. |
| 3 | Your insurer, if it refuses | Within 30 days of refusing, pay you the amount of the offer itself. It then steps into your shoes to pursue the at-fault driver. |
| 4 | You | Accept the offer and sign the release without prejudice to your UM/UIM claim, once you have written consent or once your insurer misses either deadline. |
Consent to the settlement is not an admission by your insurer. It can still dispute fault and the value of your injuries when you pursue the UIM claim (§ 19-511(g)). But the procedure keeps that claim alive.
What happens if you skip it
Maryland's highest court addressed this in Woznicki v. GEICO General Insurance Co., 443 Md. 93 (2015), decided together with a second case against Erie. In both, the injured driver accepted the at-fault driver's policy limits and signed a release before getting the UIM insurer's written consent. In one, the lawyer relied on a phone call in which he believed someone at the insurer had agreed. In the other, the letter was not sent by certified mail and went to the wrong address, and the release was signed before the insurer had answered. Both insurers denied UIM coverage. Both injured drivers lost.
The court's holding is what makes this rule dangerous. The drivers argued that their insurers should have to show they were actually harmed by the misstep before denying coverage, as Maryland requires for some other policy violations. The court disagreed. An insurer denying coverage because the insured failed to get its consent before settling does not have to prove prejudice. A vague recollection of a phone call was also not enough to show the insurer had given up its right to written notice.
One judge dissented on that point, arguing that insurers should have to prove harm. But the majority's rule is the law in Maryland, and it means that a single procedural misstep, made in the first weeks after a crash, can cost an injured family the largest insurance policy in the case.
How enhanced UIM changes the stakes
Since July 1, 2024, new Maryland auto policies include enhanced UIM coverage unless the policyholder waives it in writing (Md. Code, Ins. § 19-509.1). Under traditional UIM, your coverage is reduced by whatever the at-fault driver's insurer pays. Under enhanced UIM, it is not: your full limit sits on top of the other driver's payment. We explain the difference in our post on Maryland's enhanced UIM coverage and the offset trap.
Enhanced UIM makes your own policy worth more in a serious case, which makes protecting it even more important. The same consent procedure applies.
Other ways UIM claims go wrong
- Not every offer is final. The procedure is triggered by an offer that would exhaust the liability limits. If more than one person was hurt, or more than one driver was at fault, figuring out when the limits are exhausted can be complicated.
- Releases are broad. The at-fault insurer's standard release is written to end everything. Writing a reservation of rights on it did not save the injured driver in the Erie case.
- Family exclusions. Maryland allows some exclusions, including for crashes involving a household member's own vehicle. See our post on Maryland's household exclusion.
- The clock on the UIM claim. A claim against your own UIM insurer is a contract claim. In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Shilling, 468 Md. 239 (2020), the court held that the three-year limitations period for that claim starts when the insurer denies your demand for benefits. Do not assume that rule settles your case's deadlines, though. The claim against the driver has its own clock, and policies have their own notice requirements.
Our guide to your own insurance after a crash covers PIP, MedPay, and UM/UIM in more detail.
What this means if you or a family member was seriously hurt
- Do not sign a release from the at-fault driver's insurer until your own UIM insurer has consented in writing, or until its deadlines have passed.
- Get every offer in writing. The statute runs from a written offer, and phone conversations will not protect you.
- Use certified mail to the right address. Keep the receipt and the green card.
- Find every policy. Your own, those of household members you live with, the vehicle you were riding in, and any employer or commercial policy may each provide UIM coverage.
These steps matter most in the cases where the stakes are highest: brain and spinal injuries, amputations, and deaths, where a minimum policy covers only a small part of the loss and your own coverage decides what your family actually recovers.
If you or someone in your family was seriously hurt in a Maryland crash, call Posey Lebowitz at (202) 524-0123 or contact us online for a free consultation. We handle serious crash and wrongful death cases throughout Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
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