Maryland Auto projects lower 2025 assessment as policy count shifts; insured division posting multi-year losses

The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (Maryland Auto) told the Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee that its calendar 2025 budget will rise to $40.3 million and that the fund expects an assessment on the industry to shore up reserves, though staff said the likely assessment for 2025 may be lower than earlier estimates.

Scott Benson, the legislative analyst, summarized DLS findings. Benson said the calendar 2025 budget increases by $2.7 million (7.3%) to $40.3 million, driven largely by personnel costs across the insured and uninsured divisions. He described recent insured-division net losses and said a prior-year assessment expected to bring roughly $22 million will affect the ending surplus.

Al Redmer, director of Maryland Auto (joining by livestream), said market dynamics since the pandemic — including other carriers tightening underwriting and later raising premiums — reshaped the Fund’s policy counts. "We cannot go out and generate additional policies; we only get what comes to us, that is not wanted by the standard market," Redmer said, describing how…