Arizona Car Insurance Requirements

What are Arizona's car insurance requirements?

Arizona requires every driver to carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per crash, and $15,000 property damage — the "25/50/15" minimums set by A.R.S. § 28-4009. These limits were raised in July 2020 from the old 15/30/10 minimums, which had stood for decades.

Liability coverage pays the people you injure and the property you damage — it never pays you. Everything that protects you and your own car is optional in Arizona, which is where most drivers' coverage gaps live.

What does 25/50/15 actually mean?

The three numbers are per-person, per-crash, and property-damage limits. $25,000 is the most the policy pays any one person you injure. $50,000 is the most it pays for all injuries in a single crash, no matter how many people are hurt. $15,000 is the ceiling for vehicle and property damage. When the harm exceeds a limit, the policy stops paying — the injured person's remaining recovery has to come from somewhere else: the at-fault driver personally, or the victim's own underinsured motorist coverage.

Which coverages are required and which are optional?

Coverage	Required in Arizona?	What it does
Bodily injury liability (25/50)	Yes — minimum required	Pays people you injure, up to the limits
Property damage liability ($15,000)	Yes — minimum required	Pays for vehicles and property you damage
Uninsured motorist (UM)	No — but insurers must offer it	Pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance, including hit-and-runs
Underinsured motorist (UIM)	No — but insurers must offer it	Pays you when the at-fault driver's limits run out before your damages do
Medical payments (medpay)	No	Pays your early medical bills regardless of fault
Collision	No	Fixes your own car regardless of fault
Comprehensive	No	Covers theft, hail, fire, glass — non-crash damage
Rental reimbursement	No	Pays for a rental while your car is in the shop

The UM/UIM offer is not a courtesy — A.R.S. § 20-259.01 requires insurers to offer both coverages in writing. Declining them is legal and common, and it is the single decision Arizona crash victims most often regret.

Why are the minimum limits dangerously low?

Because Arizona is an at-fault state — the at-fault driver's liability policy is the primary source of an injured person's recovery, and 25/50/15 runs out fast against real injuries. An emergency transport, imaging, and a short hospital stay can consume much of a $25,000 per-person limit before treatment even finishes, and a totaled newer vehicle alone can blow past the $15,000 property limit. (How fault-based recovery works is covered in is Arizona a no-fault state?)

Minimum coverage satisfies the law; it does not satisfy a serious claim. If you are the injured party, the other driver's minimum policy caps what their insurer pays you — regardless of what your case is actually worth. You can gauge that gap yourself with the personal injury calculator.

What happens if you drive uninsured in Arizona?

Driving without the required insurance is a civil violation with escalating consequences: fines, suspension of your license, registration, and plates, and a requirement to prove future financial responsibility to get them back — with the penalties stacking on repeat offenses. The state cross-checks registrations against insurer records, so lapses get noticed without a traffic stop.

The financial exposure is worse than the administrative one. An uninsured at-fault driver is personally liable for every dollar of harm they cause, and a judgment for someone's surgery and lost wages does not go away because there was no policy behind it.

What if the at-fault driver has only minimum coverage — or none?

This is the situation Arizona's optional coverages exist for, and it is common on Valley roads. When the driver who hit you carries 25/50/15 or nothing at all, the claim shifts to your own policy:

1. Pull your declarations page. It lists whether you carry UM and UIM and at what limits. Many drivers have coverage they forgot buying.
2. UM steps in when there is no insurance — including hit-and-run drivers who are never found. Your UM coverage pays what the at-fault driver's policy should have.
3. UIM steps in when the limits run out. If your damages are $80,000 and the at-fault policy pays its $25,000 limit, your UIM coverage can pay the difference up to your own limits.
4. Household policies may stack. Whether multiple policies or vehicles can combine is a policy-language question worth having a lawyer read — it can multiply the available coverage.
5. Get advice before accepting a limits offer. A quick policy-limits tender can be the insurer protecting its driver, not you. A free consultation costs nothing and is the fastest way to know whether more coverage exists.

UM and UIM claims are still adversarial — you are negotiating with your own insurer, and it evaluates the claim the way any insurer does. Serious-injury UM/UIM fights are everyday work for our bicycle accident and car accident practice across the Valley, from Phoenix to Chandler.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum car insurance required in Arizona?

Liability coverage of 25/50/15: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per crash, and $15,000 property damage, required by A.R.S. § 28-4009. These minimums took effect in July 2020, raised from the previous 15/30/10. Nothing beyond liability coverage is mandatory in Arizona.

Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Arizona?

No, but insurers are required by A.R.S. § 20-259.01 to offer both uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage in writing. You may decline them. Most injury lawyers consider UM/UIM the most important optional coverage on an Arizona policy, because it is what pays you when the at-fault driver cannot.

Does Arizona require PIP or no-fault coverage?

No. Arizona is an at-fault state, not a no-fault state, so personal injury protection (PIP) is neither required nor sold as a mandate. The closest optional equivalent is medical payments coverage (medpay), which pays your medical bills after a crash regardless of who was at fault, up to its limit.

Is minimum coverage enough in Arizona?

It is enough to drive legally, and rarely enough for a real crash. A single serious injury can exceed the $25,000 per-person limit quickly, and $15,000 often will not replace a totaled newer vehicle. Higher liability limits plus UM/UIM at matching limits is the configuration that actually protects an Arizona household.

What happens if the at-fault driver's insurance is not enough to cover my damages?

Their insurer pays up to the policy limits, and the rest comes from your underinsured motorist coverage if you carry it, or from the driver personally — who often has little to collect. This is why documenting the full value of your damages before settling matters: accepting a limits check can close the door on the rest of the claim.

How do I prove I have insurance in Arizona?

Carry proof of coverage in the vehicle — a card or the insurer's app both work — and show it at traffic stops or after a crash. Insurers report coverage electronically to the state, which matches it against vehicle registrations, so keeping the policy active matters more than the paper itself.