HARRY HUGHES, Governor

3443

(1979 Replacement Volume and 1981 Supplement)

SECTION 1, BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That section(s) of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(as enacted by Chapter 510 of the Acts of the General
Assembly of 1981) read(s) as follows:

Article 48A - Insurance Code

541.

(c) (1) In this subsection "uninsured motor vehicle"
means a motor vehicle whose ownership, maintenance, or use
has resulted in the bodily injury or death of an insured,
and for which the sum of the limits of liability under all
valid and collectible liability insurance policies, bonds,
and securities applicable to the bodily injury or death is
less than the amount of coverage provided to the insured
under this subsection.

(2) In addition to any other coverage required
by this subtitle, every policy of motor vehicle liability
insurance issued, sold, or delivered in this State after
July 1, 1975 shall contain coverage, in at least the amounts
required under Title 17 of the Transportation Article, for
damages which the insured is entitled to recover from the
owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because of
bodily injuries sustained in an accident arising out of the
ownership, maintenance, or use of such uninsured motor
vehicle. There shall be available to the insured the
opportunity to contract for higher amounts than those
provided under Title 17 of the Transportation Article if
these amounts do not exceed the amounts of the motor vehicle
liability coverage provided by the policy. The coverage
required under this subsection (c) shall be in such form and
subject to such conditions as may be approved by the
Commissioner of Insurance. Any provision in any policy of
motor vehicle liability insurance issued after July 1, 1975,
with respect to the coverage provided for damages sustained
by the insured as a result of the operation of an uninsured
motor vehicle, which commands or requires the submission of
any dispute between the insured and the insurer to binding
arbitration, is prohibited and shall be of no legal force or
effect. In no case shall the uninsured motorist coverage be
less than the coverage afforded a qualified person under
Article 48A §§ 243H and 243-I. HOWEVER, THE INSURER MAY
EXCLUDE FROM COVERAGE BENEFITS FOR THE NAMED INSURED OR
MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY RESIDING IN THE HOUSEHOLD WHEN
OCCUPYING, OR STRUCK AS A PEDESTRIAN BY, AN UNINSURED MOTOR
VEHICLE THAT IS OWNED BY THE NAMED INSURED OR A MEMBER OF
HIS IMMEDIATE FAMILY RESIDING IN HIS HOUSEHOLD. The coverage
required under this subsection shall be primary to any right
to recover from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund
pursuant to § 243H of this article.