The myth of full coverage. You just got into a car accident. You’re shaken up, maybe hurt, and in the middle of all this chaos, someone—maybe a friend, a family member, or even an insurance agent says something like, “Don’t worry, you have full coverage.” And you exhale; you think, “Okay, I’m covered, everything is going to be fine.” But here’s what nobody is telling you: full coverage is not a legal term and it is not a guarantee.
These days, full coverage is some version of a tagline in an auto insurance company commercial, and in Maryland, it might leave you with tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses, even when the accident was completely someone else’s fault. I’m Adam Smallow, and I’m a personal injury attorney right here in Maryland. For over a decade, I’ve helped hundreds of accident victims who thought they were protected, only to discover that the coverage they were counting on fell far short of what they deserved. In this video, I’m going to tell you exactly what full coverage really means, where the dangerous gaps are, and what you can do right now before you ever get into an accident to actually protect yourself.
Let’s start with the basics. When most people say full coverage, they’re referring to a combination of different areas of your car insurance coverage. Liability coverage: this is the coverage that pays the other person when you were at fault. In Maryland, every driver is required to carry by law a minimum of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in liability coverage. But think about that for a second. $30,000 may cover an emergency room visit and some other conservative medical care, but what about surgery, then physical therapy afterwards? How does it look then? And throughout this entire stretch of time, an injured victim is actively losing money and lost wages.
All of a sudden, that $30,000 is looking scarily small, and if you seriously injure someone and you only have minimum coverage, you can be personally sued for the difference. Medical payment coverage: this is referred to as personal injury protection, or PIP. In Maryland, there is also medical payment coverage, or MedPay, in Maryland, but it is rare to see as opposed to PIP. Either of these are no-fault coverage provided to you by your own insurance carrier and intended to assist you with the payment of medical bills if you are injured and in need of medical care.
Collision coverage: this pays to repair or replace your vehicle after an accident, whether it was your fault or someone else’s. But collision coverage only covers your car; it does nothing for your medical bills, your lost income, or your pain and suffering. And there’s always a deductible, typically $250 to $1,000, that comes right out of your pocket first.
Comprehensive coverage: this only covers non-collision damage, things like theft, vandalism, falling trees, or flood damage. Important? Yes. But again, it has nothing to do with your injuries after a car or truck accident, and comprehensive coverage is not as comprehensive as we would like to think. So when you put those all together—liability, PIP or medical payments, collision, and comprehensive—that’s what the industry calls full coverage. But look closer. Do you see what’s missing from that list? There’s nothing there that specifically protects you from being seriously injured by someone who is uninsured or underinsured, and that is where I see people get absolutely blindsided.
Gap one: Uninsured motorist coverage, or UM. Here’s a sobering statistic: according to the Insurance Research Council, roughly one in seven drivers on American roads right now have no car insurance at all. In Maryland, we have a mandatory insurance law, but people still drive without coverage every single day. Some policies lapse, some people just roll the dice, but that doesn’t make it any less scary for you. Imagine this: you’re driving on Pulaski Highway in Harford County and somebody runs a red light and t-bones your vehicle.
You have a broken collarbone, maybe a concussion, and you’re going to miss six weeks of work. And as you stumble out of your car, the other driver says the sentence no one ever wants to hear: “I don’t have insurance.” Without adequate uninsured motorist coverage, or UM coverage, you could be left paying every single one of those bills yourself. Uninsured motorist, or UM coverage, is first-party coverage, or coverage on your own policy, that can protect you in case you are injured in an accident that is not your fault and the negligent driver does not have valid insurance, hits you and takes off, or has no permission to drive the vehicle at all. And this is an area of insurance coverage that the State Farms, GEICOs, Progressives, and all the others do not want you to know about.
Maryland does require insurers to offer UM coverage, and this typically mirrors your liability limits, which means it will be identical to the coverage you purchased in case you cause an accident. But far too many people either don’t know they have it, don’t know how much they have, or simply don’t know what it is because no one on the insurance side has explained this critical aspect of coverage to them.
Gap two: Underinsured motorist coverage, or UIM. This one is even more common because it involves drivers who do have insurance to cover a claim after a car or truck accident, just not enough of it. Let’s say someone rear-ends you on Route 40 and you suffer a herniated disc that requires surgery. Your medical bills alone are $50,000, which is an even factor in the pain, your recovery, and all the ways the crash and injury has impacted your life, all compensable under Maryland law, by the way.
The at-fault driver has the Maryland minimum $30,000 in liability, so the most you can recover from their insurance company is $30,000, leaving you injured and panicking, trying to figure out where the rest of the financial recovery is going to come from. I hate being the bearer of bad news, but the worst part is this: according to the same statistics cited previously, one in three drivers are either uninsured or underinsured.
Think about how many speeding cars you see on your daily commute that are uninsured or driving around with just minimum Maryland limits of $30,000. This is where underinsured motorist coverage, or UIM, becomes critical. Your own UIM policy can step in to cover the gap between what the at-fault driver’s insurance paid and what your injury claim is actually worth.
Again, this is first-party coverage or coverage on your own policy, and like uninsured motorist coverage, it’s part of your auto policy that the auto insurance companies do not want you to know about or understand. And even if you have UIM coverage, you probably don’t have enough, and it actually has to be high enough to matter.
So here’s the tough part that you will never hear from your auto insurer: you need to have more UIM coverage than the liability policy limits of the other driver who caused the crash in Maryland. Yes, if you both carry the same amount of coverage, same minimum limits of $30,000, or you both have $50,000 or even $100,000, you can’t pursue any UIM coverage because it essentially cancels out. In most of the rest of the country, you can stack both third-party (the other driver’s policy) and your policy, and you add them up, and that is your total policy coverage if you needed to cover your injury claim. In Maryland, you can only access the difference between the person who caused the crash and your UIM, which has to be higher than theirs.
I want to give you a real-world example of how our UIM policies work and how it’s so different from the rest of the country where you can stack the policies on top of each other the other policy and your policy. Several years ago, we had a client who fractured her kneecap when she hit the column under the steering wheel in a car accident after she was rear-ended, and she hit it so hard it fractured one of her kneecaps. It needed surgery, and it was a very painful recovery. The person who hit her had a $100,000 policy; her UIM—her UM and UIM policy was $100,000.
In that situation, it canceled out, and yes, we recovered the $100,000 in the total policy limits that we could under Maryland law. But in almost any other state, she could take that $100,000 from the other party and the $100,000 UIM, stack them together for double the amount of compensation. Very tough, rigid UIM laws in Maryland. There is one exception, and it’s not even a decade old. In 2018, Enhanced UIM, or EUIM, was activated in Maryland. You can now stack both policies after a car accident in Maryland.
This policy enhancement costs very little to add to your policy, but again, the insurance companies hope you will be in the dark on this. Why? Because if you are educated on how to protect yourself and your family with your auto insurance policy, they will have to pay out maximum compensation if you are well represented by a lawyer after a car or truck crash.
Gap three: PIP and MedPay coverage. Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, is no-fault medical benefits coverage that will pay your medical bills up to a certain limit if you receive medical care after a car crash. Unlike most states, it is waivable, and unlike most states, it is low. Most states have PIP automatically included in every auto insurance policy that is written, no exceptions.
State legislatures in most states realize that people need medical treatment if they are injured after a crash. It is a sudden and unexpected event, nothing you can plan or save for, and these victims will need some immediate help to cover their bills if they don’t have health insurance, because after that ER visit and a month of physical therapy, for example, those bills will start coming in. This is what we refer to as effective public policy, and this is not an approach that Maryland legislators decided to follow. Not only can you waive your PIP benefits in Maryland, but most of these brutal auto insurance companies the “save money by signing up in 15 minutes or less” ones proactively trick you into waiving PIP, signing you up quickly, and getting you to waive your PIP rights without even realizing it.
If you do purchase PIP, which is very, very inexpensive by the way, you will usually have $2,500 in coverage to pay your medical bills or lost wages. The next rung up, still inexpensive to purchase, is $5,000. There are select few carriers, Erie for example, where you can purchase up to $10,000 in PIP coverage, but $2,500 is pretty much the standard amount here in Maryland. By comparison, most states around the country mandate at least $10,000 in PIP or more for their motorists.
MedPay is very similar to PIP in Maryland, and in my opinion, it’s one of the most underutilized coverages available to you. MedPay pays for medical bills that you incur for injury care after a car or truck accident, again, regardless of who was at fault in the accident. No deductibles, no waiting to prove fault, and no fighting with the other driver’s insurance company. Most insurance companies offer varying amounts of MedPay from $1,000 to, believe it or not, up to $100,000, that is with USAA. And like PIP, it is inexpensive to purchase, but you won’t hear that from the insurance companies.
When you’re injured and need to see a doctor right away, PIP and MedPay can be the bridge that gets you the care you need while the liability questions are sorted out. And it’s usually very affordable to add; we’re talking about a few dollars more a month on your premium. Yet, time and time again, I talked to accident victims who have never even heard of these coverages. Auto insurance companies in Maryland do not want you to be informed about this and UIM, because they may actually have to properly compensate you for your injuries after an accident, instead of hoarding their billions of dollars and gaining interest in their bank accounts at your expense.
Gap four: Collision coverage. The last major gap that the auto insurers don’t want you to be aware of has absolutely nothing to do with a personal injury claim, and this is purchasing collision coverage on your policy for a few extra dollars. Yes, it is that inexpensive, and it will prevent major headaches and financial stress after a car or truck crash, regardless of who is at fault. The auto insurers will do their best to keep you from purchasing collision coverage because, again, it will prevent them from hoarding your premiums and keeping all those top executives fat and happy. Collision coverage allows you to get your damaged vehicle repaired and fixed after an accident.
Yes, you will have to choose a deductible on the policy, generally anywhere from $250 to $1,000, but that is far less than what it would cost you out of pocket to pay for a damaged vehicle that could potentially be thousands of dollars. How does this practical and inexpensive part of an insurance policy get waived? Here’s how: GEICO, Allstate, Progressive, or “Choose Your Insurance Company” will show you how much you save by waiving it. You can save a whole $53 a year by waiving your collision coverage. But guess what they don’t tell you: if your vehicle is damaged after an accident, you may be on the hook for $5,300.
What we often see with respect to collision coverage as a car and truck accident law firm is frustrated and anxious clients after they find out that they waived collision coverage after an accident that wasn’t their fault. And here’s why: it is very common for the at-fault driver’s insurance company to take a few days or even a few weeks to investigate coverage and liability on an accident, even though it is as clear as day as to who’s at fault.
Sometimes there are legitimate reasons and the insurance company wants to see a police report, for example, before they accept responsibility to cover the accident. And sometimes it takes that same period to legitimately contact the driver of that vehicle, speak with them, and determine valid coverage. And of course, all these greedy insurance companies are up to their usual delay tactics every day as a matter of course. So in these situations, when our client finds out that he or she waived their collision, they’re at the mercy of the other insurance company as it waits for them to accept responsibility for the crash, and it impacts their lives tremendously.
They don’t have a vehicle to go to work or drop off and pick up their children from school, go to the supermarket, or go anywhere that they’re used to driving as part of their daily lives, and this can last days or even weeks. If those clients were informed about the ruse of what “full coverage” really means, they may have spent a little extra to purchase collision coverage, and after an accident, they can go through their insurance company to get their car repaired, then get their deductible back months later once the claim is confirmed and up and running—no out-of-pocket costs for our clients in these situations.
Their car is repaired immediately and their deductibles returned in full once the dust settles after an investigation of coverage and liability. And hopefully, you’re starting to see how disingenuous the auto insurers are when they act like they are looking out for your bottom line in all these funny, light-hearted commercials you see on TV every other minute.
How insurance companies use full coverage against you. I want to be clear with you about something because I think it’s important: insurance companies are a for-profit business; their goal is to collect premiums and pay out as little as possible in claims. That’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s just how the business works. And one of the ways they accomplish that goal is by letting you believe that full coverage means you’re protected from every possible scenario.
You’re not. Here’s what I see happen in real cases: you get into an accident, you’re injured, you call your own insurance company to report the claim, and almost immediately, the other driver’s insurance calls you. Sometimes within hours, and offers you a settlement.
They sound helpful, they’re sympathetic, they want to help you, right? They might offer you $2,500 or $5,000 right on the spot. They tell you it will cover your medical bills and get this resolved quickly, and you can move on with your life. What they’re not telling you is that they know the value of your case is likely much higher. They’re also not telling you that the moment you sign that settlement release, you give up all future rights to any compensation, even if the injuries turn out to be much more serious than you realized at first. You can kiss the $20,000, or $50,000, or even $100,000 in settlement compensation you didn’t know you needed, goodbye. This is one of the most dangerous moments in any car accident case.
The crash itself causes physical damage, but our body has the natural capability to heal; debt doesn’t. In fact, debt has the intentional capability to spiral and compound until you have to hang up on the phone with your auto accident attorney to call a bankruptcy attorney. And the people who are most vulnerable are the ones who trust that their full coverage protects them without understanding what they’re signing away. I want to paint a picture for you because I see cases like this far too often. Let’s call this client Sarah; she had what her agent called full coverage.
The other driver’s insurance called within 24 hours and offered her $3,000. She thought that was fair, her car was fixed, and she felt okay; she signed. Three weeks later, her neck pain became debilitating. An MRI revealed two herniated discs. The eventual cost of her treatment was over $40,000. Because she signed that release without understanding what it means and without talking to an attorney first, she received nothing further, not $1. Don’t let that be your story.
What you should do right now. Okay, so what can you actually do about all this? Let me give you some concrete, actionable steps whether you’ve already been in an accident or you’re watching this to prepare. If you haven’t been in a car or truck accident yet, pull out your auto insurance policy right now and look for these specific coverages we talked about: uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist (UIM), personal injury protection (PIP), medical payments (MedPay), and collision. Check the dollar amounts. If you don’t see them, call your agent today, or better yet, call me and I’ll take the time to walk you through the proper coverage to have on your auto policy.
Consider increasing your UM/UIM limits, which typically match your liability limits; many attorneys, myself included, recommend at least $100,000 per person if you can afford it—the premium increase is usually modest. Ask for PIP coverage if you don’t have it; even $2,500 to $5,000 in PIP coverage can make a real difference in getting immediate medical care after an accident. Again, the difference in your premium is small.
If you’ve already been in an accident, do not sign anything from an insurance company, not without speaking with an attorney first. This is critical. Once you sign a release, it is almost impossible to undo. It’s called a release for a reason: you’re releasing the insurance company from being obligated to help you any further, and I don’t think in the history of mankind insurance companies have ever acted charitably with their insured’s best interest in mind.
Seek medical attention immediately, even if you feel okay. Many serious injuries, including whiplash, concussions, and soft tissue damage, doesn’t show full symptoms for days or even weeks, especially when your body is pumping you full of adrenaline immediately after that accident. A delay in treatment can hurt both your health and your personal injury claim. Document everything: photos of the scene, photos of your vehicle, photos of your injuries. Write down what happened while it’s still fresh. Keep every medical bill, prescription, receipt, and any documentation of missed work. Call an attorney before you talk to the other driver’s insurance company.
A personal injury attorney can help you understand what your case may actually be worth and make sure you don’t say something that hurts your claim.A Maryland-specific warning: I just want to take 30 seconds to mention something specific to Maryland that makes this even more critical, and it’s something most people have never heard of. Maryland is one of only four states that still uses a legal doctrine called contributory negligence.
What that means is that if you were found even 1% at fault for your own accident, you could be completely barred from recovering anything—not a reduced compensation, not a partial recovery, nothing. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys know this, and they will look for any argument, no matter how minor, to place even a sliver of fault on you. It’s one of the reasons having an experienced Maryland car accident attorney in your corner from the beginning is so important.
I made this video because I’ve seen too many honest, hardworking people in Maryland get short-changed by a system they didn’t fully understand. It’s no different than being in a casino and playing against a dealer with a stacked deck; neither insurance company, whether it’s yours or the other driver’s, wants you to win. Nobody sits down and reads their insurance policy, nobody, and insurance companies know that.
My job and the job of everyone at Adam Smallow Injury Lawyers is to level the playing field, to take the stacked deck out of their hands and hand them a freshly sealed one. We represent people injured in car and truck accidents, no one else. If you’ve been in a car accident in Maryland and you want to understand your rights, we offer a completely free, no-obligation case evaluation. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And if you found this video helpful, please share it with someone you care about; the information in this video could save them from making a very costly mistake. I’m Adam Smallow, from hurt to health, that’s our promise. Thank you for watching.
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