Arizona Auto Insurance Minimum Limits in 2026: Why They Are Often Not Enough

Arizona’s minimum car insurance requirements were last meaningfully updated when medical costs looked very different than they do today. A single emergency room visit, a surgery, and a few weeks of physical therapy can easily exceed what the state requires drivers to carry. If you were seriously hurt by a driver who carried only the legal minimum, you may be looking at a coverage gap that requires a different legal strategy to close.

What Arizona Requires Drivers to Carry

Under A.R.S. § 28-4009, Arizona requires every registered vehicle to carry liability insurance at the following minimums:

• $25,000 per person for bodily injury
• $50,000 per accident for bodily injury (when more than one person is hurt)
• $15,000 per accident for property damage

This is commonly written as a 25/50/15 policy. Proof of financial responsibility is required by law (A.R.S. § 28-4135), and failure to carry it can result in license suspension.

These limits are among the lowest mandatory minimums in the country. The $25,000 per-person cap was set at a time when healthcare costs were far lower, and it has not kept pace with the actual cost of treating serious injuries.

What Happens When the At-Fault Driver Only Has Minimum Coverage

The at-fault driver’s liability policy pays first, up to its limits. When those limits run out, they run out, regardless of how large your actual losses are. The at-fault driver is still personally liable for the remainder, but collecting from an individual who carries minimum-limit insurance is often impractical, because people who carry minimum coverage typically do not have significant assets to pursue.

Consider a concrete scenario: a driver rear-ends you at highway speed. You suffer a fractured vertebra, undergo surgery, spend three days in the hospital, and require months of physical therapy. Your medical bills alone could reach $80,000 to $150,000 or more. The at-fault driver carries the state minimum of $25,000. After that policy pays out, a gap of $55,000 to $125,000 or more remains uncovered by that driver’s insurance.

Where that gap gets filled, or whether it gets filled at all, depends substantially on your own coverage and how your attorney structures the claim.

How Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Fills the Gap

Arizona law requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage equal to your liability limits, unless you reject that coverage in writing (A.R.S. § 20-259.01). If you did not sign a written rejection, your policy should include UM/UIM at your liability limits.

UIM coverage kicks in when the at-fault driver’s insurance is insufficient to cover your losses. It pays the difference between what the at-fault driver’s policy covers and what your own UIM policy limits allow, subject to those limits and any offset provisions in your policy language.

UM coverage addresses the situation where the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. A meaningful percentage of Arizona drivers operate without any insurance despite the legal requirement, and when one of them causes an accident, UM coverage is typically the only insurance source available to an injured victim.

MedPay (medical payments coverage) is a separate, optional coverage available in Arizona that pays your medical bills regardless of fault, up to its limits, and without requiring a liability determination first. It is not a substitute for UIM, but it can provide immediate cash flow for medical treatment while a liability claim is being resolved.

What Coverage You Should Actually Carry in Arizona

The state minimum is not a recommendation; it is a floor. The practical guidance for Arizona drivers who want to protect themselves is straightforward:

• Carry higher liability limits. 100/300/100 or higher protects you if you cause an accident and the other driver is seriously hurt.
• Do not reject UM/UIM in writing. If you have not already, confirm that your policy includes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Given the volume of under-insured drivers on Arizona roads, this is the single most important protection you can buy.
• Understand stacking. Arizona may allow stacking of UM/UIM coverage across multiple vehicles on the same policy, which can increase the total coverage available to you [VERIFY whether Arizona enforces or permits anti-stacking clauses in current policies]. Ask your insurer directly.
• Consider MedPay. Even a modest MedPay limit, such as $5,000 or $10,000, can help cover initial medical bills while the fault determination process plays out.