Car Insurance in Arizona

What do you need to know about car insurance in Arizona?

Arizona is a fault state. The driver who causes a crash pays for the harm, and the law requires every driver to carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 for one injured person, $50,000 for everyone hurt in one crash and $15,000 for other people’s property. Insurers write that as 25/50/15. This coverage pays the people you hurt. It does not pay for your injuries or your car.

Three things set Arizona apart from the usual state guide. The state ties your registration to your insurer’s reports. Uninsured-driver coverage is something you have to ask for. And the penalty for getting caught uninsured is civil, which gives a judge room to be lenient.

How does Arizona check that you have insurance?

Your insurer reports your policy to the state electronically, and the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) treats that report as the proof. After you register a car, you have 30 days to submit proof of Arizona coverage. Until your insurer tells the state the policy is active, the registration is not valid.

That matters in two ways. A switch between insurers can look like a lapse if the new company is slow to report. And a cancelled policy can reach the state before you notice. If the MVD thinks your policy ended, it mails a notice, and you can check your status in your AZ MVD Now account. Ask your insurer to confirm it reported the policy.

You also need proof in the car whenever you drive. A phone screen counts, and showing it does not give an officer the right to look through the rest of your phone.

Parking a car for months, for instance while you spend the summer elsewhere? You can “de-insure” it in your AZ MVD Now account. Reinstate the policy before you drive again, or the registration stays invalid.

What happens if you drive without insurance in Arizona?

Driving uninsured is a civil traffic violation, not a crime. The penalties still add up, and they grow with repeats inside 36 months.

• First time: at least $500, plus a three-month suspension of your license. A restricted license may be possible once you are insured.
• Second time: at least $750, and six months without your license, registration and plates.
• Third time or more: at least $1,000, one year of suspension, and you must file an SR-22 to get everything back. An SR-22 is a certificate your insurer sends the state to prove coverage.

Two rules help. If you can show the court that you were insured when the ticket was written, the ticket is dismissed. If you were not, the judge may reduce or waive the penalty when you have no uninsured violation in the past two years (or just one in three years) and you buy a six-month policy that meets the minimum.

Say your policy lapsed last month and you get stopped. The day you buy a six-month policy, keep the paperwork. Bring it to court, and the penalty may shrink well below $500. Those outcomes are up to the judge, so do not count on a waiver.

Does Arizona require uninsured motorist coverage?

No. Insurers must offer uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage in writing, but you can refuse it. UM pays your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance. UIM pays when their limits are too low. If you do buy either, the lowest limits are 25/50.

One industry estimate puts about 10.6% of Arizona drivers as uninsured in 2023, below the 15.4% national figure. That is still about one driver in nine. And a driver who has insurance may carry only the minimum, which a serious injury can use up quickly.

Look at your declarations page, the summary sheet of your policy. If UM and UIM are missing, you may have declined them at signup. Arizona has no personal injury protection either, so medical payments coverage and your health insurance are the other ways your own injuries get paid. Our uninsured motorist guide explains the choice.

Is 25/50/15 enough in Arizona?

For most drivers, no. The $15,000 property limit is the weak spot. A newer car, a truck or a fence can cost more than that to fix, and you owe the rest. For injuries, a single hospital stay can pass $25,000.

Arizona’s fault rules raise the stakes. A hurt person has two years to sue, and a jury can reduce what they collect by their own share of the blame. If the other driver was 20% at fault, their award drops by 20%. That works in your favor when you are partly to blame, and against you when you are the injured one.

A few other points:

• Household exclusion: Arizona lets a policy cut injury cover for your own family and household members down to the 25/50/15 minimum, even if you bought higher limits. Ask your agent if yours does.
• Excluded drivers: you can sign a written agreement to leave a named person off your policy. It carries over at every renewal until the insurer agrees in writing to add them.
• Mexico: your Arizona policy does not meet Mexican law. Buy separate Mexican liability coverage before you cross.

Our full coverage versus liability-only guide walks through the choice, and the state minimum lookup compares Arizona with other states.

How much does car insurance cost in Arizona?

Costs depend on your age, record, car, address and insurer, and the published figures vary a lot because each one measures something different.

The NAIC number is a state average and lags today’s prices. It grew from about $1,043 in 2020 to $1,471 in 2024, up about 41%. NerdWallet’s figure is for one driver profile and limits it does not fully state. Treat the gap as a reminder that coverage level and driver profile move the price more than the state does.

For a closer look, read our guide on how much car insurance costs. We have not published city-level prices for Arizona.

Credit history can affect eligibility and price in Arizona. An insurer may not raise your premium over an accident you did not cause or significantly contribute to.

Which Arizona city guides do we have?

We have local pages for Phoenix, Mesa and Tucson. Other Arizona cities fall under the state rules on this page. Pages for minimums, SR-22, uninsured driving and other Arizona topics are not published yet, so use the guides for those: SR-22 insurance explained and how to lower your car insurance.

What if an insurer cancels or will not cover you?

After 60 days, an Arizona insurer can cancel only for reasons the state lists. They include unpaid premium, fraud, a suspended or revoked license, and a conviction for DUI, reckless driving or leaving a crash scene. Not renewing is allowed for most reasons other than where you live, your age, race, religion, sex or national origin.

If you are turned down everywhere, the Arizona Automobile Insurance Plan is the last-resort market. Any licensed property and casualty agent can submit an application. A driver who needs an SR-22 but owns no car can ask about a non-owner policy, which the MVD accepts. You may need to keep an SR-22 for three years, though the MVD decides case by case, and a lapse brings a new suspension.

Cancellation notices come with a short deadline. You have ten days from the notice to write to the Director of Insurance, so act quickly.

What to do next

1. Check your policy for limits. If it says 25/50/15, price quotes with higher limits, especially for property damage.
2. Find the UM/UIM line on your declarations page. Decide on purpose whether you want it.
3. Confirm with your insurer that it reported your policy to the MVD, and look at your AZ MVD Now status.
4. Keep an electronic or paper insurance card in the car.
5. Ask your agent whether the household exclusion applies to your policy.
6. Compare at least three quotes using the same limits and deductibles. Our city pages can help you start.
7. If you got an uninsured ticket, buy a policy right away and bring proof to court by the date on the ticket.

Common mistakes

• Letting a policy lapse for a week between insurers. The gap shows up in state records.
• Choosing minimum limits to save a few dollars, then finding out a moderate crash is more than $15,000.
• Assuming “full coverage” includes uninsured-driver cover. It is a separate choice on your policy.
• Leaving a car registered while stored, instead of de-insuring it.

Where can you get help?

The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) takes consumer complaints at (602) 364-3100 and publishes a plain-language auto guide. The Motor Vehicle Division handles registration, suspensions and SR-22 filings. If an accident happens and the other driver cannot show insurance, you can ask the MVD for insurance information on record with a police report and a $3 fee.

Bottom line

If you drive in Arizona, 25/50/15 is the legal floor, not a safe choice. Make sure your policy is active and reported to the MVD, keep proof in the car, and decide deliberately about uninsured-driver cover. If you have already been cited, buy a policy now: a six-month policy and a clean record can turn a $500 penalty into a smaller one. This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm details with DIFI or the MVD.