State’s Fine Forgiveness Program for Auto Insurance Set to End on July 31
FineFix, the state’s fine forgiveness program for auto insurance, will end on July 31, state officials announced this week. All remaining account balances must be paid by then.
FineFix is a partnership between the Uninsured Division of Maryland Auto Insurance, a quasi-governmental agency that sells auto insurance for those who do not qualify for private insurance, and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. This program gives eligible Marylanders the opportunity to pay 20% of their outstanding uninsured auto fines and have the remaining 80% forgiven.
Enrollment for FineFix ended on Dec. 31, 2019, but over 23,000 Maryland drivers enrolled in the program and have had their uninsured auto fines reduced by 80%, representing over $37 million in forgiven uninsured auto debts.
In March 2020, in an effort to provide additional financial relief to eligible program participants during the coronavirus pandemic, FineFix allowed active participants to pause their payment plans. During this pause, participants were not placed in a default status due to missed payments. But Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has now lifted the moratorium, allowing the FineFix program to resume.
FineFix participants who do not complete their payment plan by July 31 will default on the program and the 80% of uninsured auto fines that were forgiven at enrollment will be reinstated. Any related vehicle registration flags with MDOT MVA, which were removed as part of the program, will also be reinstated. In addition, future Maryland tax refunds may be intercepted by Maryland’s Central Collections Unit to resolve a motorist’s debt.
FineFix participants can visit FineFix.Maryland.gov for account information and to process payment by credit or debit card. Participants may also contact the FineFix office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 800-492-7120.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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