Maryland’s FineFix Program Ends With Nearly 20,000 Uninsured Motorists Paying Up

FineFix, Maryland’s uninsured motorist fine forgiveness program, officially ended on July 31, 2021.

The FineFix program was a partnership between the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto Insurance and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA), and was executed in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Central Collections Unit (CCU).

The program launched in September 2019, and gave eligible Marylanders the opportunity to pay 20% of their outstanding uninsured motorist fines and have the remaining 80% forgiven. This eliminated a significant hurdle to registering and insuring their vehicles, and ultimately reduced the number of uninsured vehicles on Maryland roads.

Over the course of two years, nearly 20,000 program participants have paid in full and completed the FineFix program. This has resulted in over $30 million dollars in fines being forgiven across the state of Maryland. As fines were cleared and drivers regained the ability to register their vehicles, more than 1,200 drivers obtained auto insurance policies through Maryland Auto and other carriers.

“This program was created to aid Maryland residents in removing financial barriers from registering and insuring vehicles. Additionally, FineFix was intended to facilitate economic growth for the state of Maryland and allow participants to take advantage of all available employment opportunities and fully engage in our economy, says Maryland Auto’s Executive Director, Al Redmer, Jr. “One recent FineFix participant let us know that her fines were so overwhelming she never thought she’d be able to pay them off or drive again. Last month, through tears of joy, she made her final FineFix payment, completing the program. She has already bought a car and registered and insured it.”

The program was initially intended to end in mid-2020. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Maryland’s state of emergency, the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto Insurance paused the program in April 2020, in order to provide additional financial relief to enrolled participants. In April of 2021, the FineFix program resumed and set an end date of July 31, 2021.

About the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto Insurance
Maryland’s Uninsured Division is managed on behalf of the state by Maryland Auto Insurance, an independent state agency. The state legislature created the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto Insurance to protect innocent Maryland residents who were injured due to an automobile accident and who do not have collectible insurance. In addition, the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto is tasked with educating Maryland residents of the state’s insurance requirements in an effort to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on Maryland roads.