Insurance Systems & Requirements

Arizona operates under an at-fault insurance system, meaning the driver responsible for a crash is financially liable for resulting damages. Injured parties pursue compensation from the at-fault driver's insurer, file a lawsuit directly against the at-fault driver, or both.

Minimum required coverages

All drivers operating a vehicle in Arizona must carry the following minimum liability coverage under A.R.S. § 28-4009:

• Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident
• Property Damage Liability: $15,000 per accident

These minimums, commonly expressed as 25/50/15, are unchanged for 2026. At these levels, coverage can be exhausted quickly in serious crashes. Arizona's $15,000 property damage minimum is particularly limited given that the average new vehicle price in the state exceeds $47,000, meaning minimum coverage may cover less than a third of a totaled vehicle's value. Higher voluntary limits are advisable for most Arizona drivers.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM)

Arizona does not require UM/UIM coverage, but insurers must offer it. Arizona has a significant uninsured driver population, making this optional coverage worth carrying. UM coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance. UIM coverage applies when the at-fault driver's liability limits are insufficient to cover your full losses.

Medical Payments (MedPay)

Arizona does not require Personal Injury Protection since it is an at-fault state. MedPay is available as an optional add-on covering medical expenses for you and your passengers regardless of fault, up to the policy limit. It pays without waiting for a fault determination and can cover deductibles and co-pays that health insurance does not address.

Rideshare coverage requirements

For drivers working for Uber, Lyft, or similar platforms, A.R.S. § 28-4038 establishes coverage requirements based on driver status at the time of a crash:

• App on, no ride accepted: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury; $15,000 for property damage
• Ride accepted or passenger onboard: $1,000,000 per incident in primary commercial liability coverage

Coverage may be provided through the driver's personal policy if it explicitly covers app-based activity, through a policy maintained by the Transportation Network Company, or through a commercial motor vehicle liability policy.

Penalties for non-compliance

Driving without required insurance in Arizona carries escalating consequences under A.R.S. § 28-4135:

• First offense: Minimum fine of $500; three-month suspension of driver's license, vehicle registration, and license plates
• Second offense within 36 months: Minimum fine of $750; six-month suspension
• Third offense within 36 months: Minimum fine of $1,000; one-year suspension

Reinstatement requires payment of applicable fees and filing of an SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility, which must be maintained for three years and typically results in higher insurance premiums.

Fault & Negligence Laws

Pure comparative fault

Arizona follows a pure comparative fault, or negligence, rule under A.R.S. § 12-2505. An injured party can recover damages regardless of their percentage or degree of fault, with their recovery reduced proportionally by their share of responsibility. A plaintiff found 30 percent at fault and awarded $100,000 in damages, would recover $70,000. A plaintiff found 80 percent at fault recovers 20 percent of their total damages. There is no threshold above which recovery is barred entirely.

This makes Arizona's fault standard more plaintiff-accessible than the modified comparative fault systems used in most neighboring states. New Mexico also uses pure comparative negligence, but Texas applies a 51 percent bar, and Utah applies a 50 percent bar. For a broader explanation of how these fault systems differ across states, see our article on comparative and contributory negligence.

Negligence per se and traffic violations

When a driver violates a traffic statute, Arizona courts may apply the doctrine of negligence per se, which allows the violation itself to establish the breach of the defendant's duty of care without requiring separate proof of unreasonable conduct. The statute must be one designed to protect against the type of harm that occurred, and the plaintiff must be within the class of persons the statute was meant to protect.

A red light violation under A.R.S. § 28-645 is a direct application of this doctrine. When a driver runs a red light and causes a crash, the traffic violation establishes fault without the injured party needing to separately prove the driver was acting unreasonably. The same principle applies to other statutory violations, including failure to yield, improper lane changes, and excessive speed. This matters practically because a police report documenting a traffic citation at the scene creates a strong evidentiary foundation for the civil claim from the outset, independent of any criminal proceedings that may or may not follow.

Multi-vehicle collisions

When more than two parties share responsibility for a crash, Arizona's pure comparative fault framework allocates fault among all involved based on each party's contribution. Fault percentages must total 100 percent across all responsible parties. Each defendant is generally liable for their proportionate share of damages, and an injured party's recovery is reduced only by their own share. In complex multi-vehicle crashes, physical evidence, traffic signal data, dashcam footage, and accident reconstruction analysis are typically required to establish how responsibility should be allocated across all parties.

Passenger rights

Passengers are generally not considered at fault for a crash and can pursue claims against any at-fault driver involved, including the driver of the vehicle they were traveling in. A passenger's recovery may be reduced proportionally under Arizona's pure comparative fault standard only if their own conduct contributed to the crash. Passengers may also draw on their own UM/UIM coverage if the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured.

Arizona's Constitutional Protection Against Damages Caps

Most states that allow personal injury lawsuits also allow their legislatures to limit how much an injured person can recover. Arizona does not. The Arizona Constitution contains one of the strongest anti-cap provisions of any state constitution in the country, and it has been repeatedly enforced by Arizona courts against legislative attempts to limit recovery.

The constitutional basis

Article 18, Section 31 of the Arizona Constitution states that the right to recover damages for injuries shall not be limited by law. This provision was included in Arizona's original constitution when the state was admitted to the Union in 1912, reflecting a deliberate choice by Arizona's framers to place the right to full recovery beyond the reach of future legislatures. Unlike states where damages caps are created and modified by statute, Arizona's prohibition is structural; it would require a constitutional amendment to change.

Article 18, Section 6 of the same constitution provides an additional layer of protection through the anti-abrogation clause, which prohibits the legislature from abolishing or limiting causes of action that existed at the time of statehood. Together, these two provisions create a constitutional framework that has blocked every significant attempt to cap personal injury and wrongful death damages in Arizona courts.

What this means for crash victims

In practical terms, Arizona's constitutional protection means that a jury's compensatory damages award for personal injury or wrongful death cannot be reduced by a statutory cap after the fact. Economic damages, including medical expenses, lost income, and future care costs, are fully recoverable without any ceiling. Non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium, are likewise uncapped. Wrongful death damages under A.R.S. § 12-611 through § 12-613, including loss of companionship, grief, and financial support, are not subject to any statutory limitation.

This distinguishes Arizona meaningfully from states like Alaska, where non-economic damages are capped at $400,000 or a life expectancy formula, Florida, where a modified comparative fault bar was enacted in 2023, and Texas, where exemplary damages are capped by statute. For Arizona crash victims, the size of a recovery is determined by the evidence of harm, not by a legislative ceiling.

The 2025 reaffirmation

In September 2025, the Arizona Supreme Court decided Roebuck v. Mayo Clinic, striking down A.R.S. § 12-516(A) as unconstitutional under Article 18, Section 6. The court held that a statute requiring clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence during public health emergencies effectively abrogated the ordinary negligence standard and violated the constitutional anti-abrogation clause. While the Roebuck decision arose in a medical malpractice context, it reaffirmed the constitutional framework that applies equally to personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from vehicle accidents. The decision reinforces Arizona's position as one of the few states where constitutional protections against damages limitation remain fully enforceable.

The punitive damages distinction

Arizona has no state statutory cap on punitive damages. However, federal constitutional proportionality principles established by the U.S. Supreme Court apply nationwide. These principles generally suggest that punitive damages substantially exceeding nine times compensatory damages may raise due process concerns, though no fixed ratio is mandated. In Arizona car accident cases, punitive damages are available when the defendant's conduct involved intentional harm or conscious disregard for the rights of others. One important exception applies to government defendants: under A.R.S. § 12-820.04, public entities and their employees acting within the scope of their duties are immune from punitive damages claims entirely.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit after a motor vehicle accident. Missing the applicable deadline almost always bars the claim permanently.

Standard filing deadlines in Arizona

• Personal injury: 2 years from the date of the accident under A.R.S. § 12-542
• Property damage: 2 years from the date of the accident under A.R.S. § 12-542
• Wrongful death: 2 years from the date of the victim's death under A.R.S. § 12-542

Arizona applies the same two-year period to personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death claims. The wrongful death period runs from the date of death, which may differ from the date of the accident if the injured person survived before dying from their injuries.

Claims against government entities

When a crash involves a government-owned vehicle, a government employee acting in their official capacity, or a road defect on government-maintained property, Arizona imposes a separate and shorter timeline that operates independently of the standard two-year period.

Under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, you must file a formal notice of claim with the relevant government entity within 180 days of the incident. The notice must include the facts giving rise to the claim and the specific dollar amount needed to resolve it. Filing a notice of claim that omits the dollar amount or contains insufficient factual detail can be treated as a failure to file, which bars the claim entirely.

Under A.R.S. § 12-821, the lawsuit itself must be filed within one year of the date the claim accrued. This one-year period is separate from and shorter than the standard two-year SOL. A claimant who files their notice of claim within 180 days but waits beyond one year to file the lawsuit loses the claim regardless.

The combination of the 180-day notice requirement and the one-year SOL makes government entity claims among the most time-sensitive in Arizona civil litigation, and consulting a car accident attorney early is particularly important given the strict notice requirements. See our article on sovereign immunity and suing the government for the full procedural framework.

Tolling and exceptions

• Minors: The statute of limitations is tolled during minority under A.R.S. § 12-502. A minor generally has two years from their 18th birthday to file a personal injury claim. Note that the 180-day government entity notice requirement is generally not tolled for minors, making prompt action critical when a government entity is involved
• Discovery rule: Where injuries were not immediately apparent, the limitations period may begin from the date the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered
• Incapacity: The clock may be tolled if the injured person was legally incapacitated at the time the claim accrued under A.R.S. § 12-502
• Defendant's absence from Arizona: If the at-fault driver leaves Arizona after the crash, the period of their absence may not count toward the limitations period under A.R.S. § 12-501

MVA Procedures & Police Involvement

When you are required to report an accident

Arizona law requires drivers to report a crash when it resulted in injury or death to any person, or when it caused apparent total property damage of $2,000 or more to any vehicle or property. Crashes in which a law enforcement officer issues a traffic citation at the scene also require formal documentation. If the crash involves severe physical injuries or fatalities, immediate notification to law enforcement is required.

When the local police respond to the scene, the attending officer completes an Arizona Crash Report within 24 hours of concluding the investigation. That report becomes the primary document for insurance claims and legal proceedings.

Self-reporting for minor crashes

When a crash does not meet the threshold for emergency response, and no officer was present, the Arizona Department of Public Safety provides a Citizen's Report of a Collision tool for online self-reporting. This option is available only when all of the following conditions are met:

• The collision occurred on a state highway within DPS jurisdiction
• No injuries were sustained
• Total property damage is less than $2,000
• No more than two vehicles were involved

The online report generates a police report number that insurers typically require to process an accident claim. Because no further investigation follows a self-report, the report must include complete and accurate information about all parties, vehicles, and the circumstances of the crash.

For crashes not meeting the self-report criteria, drivers can request on-scene assistance from an Arizona State Trooper by calling the DPS non-emergency line.

How to access your crash report

Arizona DPS maintains crash reports only for incidents investigated by state troopers. For crashes handled by county sheriffs, city police, or town marshals, contact the relevant agency directly.

For DPS-investigated crashes, reports can be obtained through:

• Online: Through the DPS Public Services Portal — the only online payment option
• In person: Arizona Department of Public Safety, 2222 West Encanto Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85009
• By mail: Public Records Unit, Arizona DPS, PO Box 6638, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638
• By fax: (602) 223-2945

Crash reports are primary reference documents for insurers and attorneys in claims and litigation. Errors are worth addressing promptly. See our article on what to do if your auto accident police report is inaccurate for the steps involved.

Compensation: Types & Limits

Arizona does not cap compensatory damages in personal injury or wrongful death cases, as discussed in the dedicated section above. Injury victims can pursue the full value of their documented losses, and the size of any recovery is determined by the evidence of harm rather than a statutory limit.

Economic damages

Economic damages cover measurable financial losses and are uncapped in Arizona vehicle accident cases. They include:

• Medical bills, past and future
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity
• Property damage and vehicle repair or replacement costs
• Out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the crash and recovery
• Future care costs where injuries require ongoing treatment

Non-economic damages

Non-economic damages address losses that cannot be reduced to a bill or receipt, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. Arizona imposes no cap on non-economic damages in personal injury cases arising from vehicle accidents. This is the direct consequence of the constitutional prohibition discussed above and distinguishes Arizona from states like Alaska, where non-economic damages are capped regardless of injury severity.

A spouse or domestic partner of a seriously injured person may bring a separate loss of consortium claim for the loss of companionship and support. Loss of consortium damages are non-economic in nature and equally uncapped.

Wrongful death damages

When a crash results in death, surviving family members or the estate may pursue a wrongful death claim under A.R.S. § 12-611 through § 12-613. Recoverable damages include the financial support the deceased would have provided, funeral and medical expenses, loss of companionship, grief, and loss of parental guidance. No statutory cap applies to wrongful death damages under Arizona's constitutional framework.

Under A.R.S. § 12-612, the right to bring a wrongful death claim belongs first to the surviving spouse or children, then to parents or the estate. Damages recovered are not subject to the debts or liabilities of the deceased.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages are available in Arizona in cases involving intentional harm or conscious disregard for the rights of others. Arizona has no statutory cap on punitive damages, though federal constitutional proportionality principles apply. Courts examine the ratio between punitive and compensatory damages to ensure the award does not violate due process, with ratios substantially exceeding nine times compensatory damages generally drawing heightened constitutional scrutiny.

One important exception: under A.R.S. § 12-820.04, public entities and employees acting within the scope of their official duties are immune from punitive damages entirely. A claim against a government defendant in Arizona is therefore limited to compensatory recovery regardless of how egregious the conduct was.

Claims against government entities

Arizona allows certain negligence claims against state agencies and municipalities under A.R.S. § 12-820 et seq., but immunity provisions limit recovery in specific circumstances. The discretionary-function doctrine protects government decisions involving planning, policy, or judgment. Road design choices, traffic signal timing decisions, and maintenance prioritization may fall within this protected category.

Medical Payments & Health Coverage

Arizona's at-fault system means there is no automatic first-party coverage for medical attention after a crash. Costs are addressed through the at-fault driver's liability insurance, your own optional coverages, and health insurance, with sequencing depending on which coverages you carry.

The at-fault driver's liability insurance

The at-fault driver's bodily injury liability policy is the primary source of coverage for your medical expenses. At Arizona's minimum of $25,000 per person, that coverage can be exhausted quickly in crashes involving serious injuries, hospitalization, or long-term care. When it is, your own coverages become the next resource.

Medical Payments (MedPay)

MedPay is an optional first-party coverage that pays for medical expenses for you and your passengers regardless of fault, up to the policy limit. It pays without waiting for a fault determination, making it a practical resource for covering immediate costs while a liability claim is pending. MedPay can also cover deductibles and co-pays that health insurance does not address.

Health insurance

Once MedPay limits are exhausted or if you do not carry MedPay, your health insurance covers ongoing accident-related treatment. Most health insurers will cover accident-related care, but may assert a subrogation lien on any settlement or judgment you receive from the at-fault driver. Self-funded employer plans governed by ERISA can assert subrogation rights that Arizona state rules cannot limit. Understanding your plan's subrogation terms before settling is important.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

When the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient coverage, UM/UIM becomes the primary recovery source beyond a personal lawsuit. Given Arizona's uninsured driver population, this coverage addresses a common scenario rather than a theoretical one.

AHCCCS and public health coverage

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is Arizona's Medicaid program, providing publicly funded health coverage for eligible low-income residents. If AHCCCS covered your medical treatment after a crash, it will place a lien on your personal injury claim and seek reimbursement from any settlement or judgment you receive. This is a mandatory process under Arizona law and applies regardless of whether the claimant was aware of it at the time of treatment.

The AHCCCS lien must be accounted for before any settlement is finalized. Failing to satisfy an AHCCCS lien after receiving settlement proceeds can result in personal liability to the program. Arizona personal injury attorneys routinely negotiate AHCCCS lien reductions as part of the settlement process, and understanding the lien's existence and approximate value before accepting any offer is important.

Medical liens

Healthcare providers who treat accident victims may place a medical lien on any resulting settlement, requiring reimbursement directly from the recovery before the remaining balance reaches the claimant. Arizona's medical lien law under A.R.S. § 33-931 governs the priority and enforceability of these liens. Accounting for all outstanding liens, including AHCCCS, private health insurer subrogation claims, and healthcare provider liens, before settling ensures no unexpected obligations arise after funds are disbursed.

Unique Local Considerations

Dust storms and haboobs

Arizona's desert climate produces sudden and severe dust storms known as haboobs, particularly in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas during summer months. A haboob can reduce highway visibility to near zero within seconds, turning a clear freeway into a multi-vehicle hazard with no warning. The I-10 corridor between Phoenix and Tucson is among the most documented locations for dust storm-related crashes in the country.

Arizona law enforcement and the Arizona Department of Transportation advise drivers caught in a dust storm to pull completely off the roadway, turn off all lights, including hazard lights, and keep their feet off the brake pedal. The concern with leaving lights on is that other drivers may follow taillights into a stopped vehicle. Under Arizona's pure comparative fault framework, a driver who pulls to the road's edge rather than fully off the road, or who stops in a travel lane, may bear a share of fault for any resulting crash. Courts examine whether each driver exercised reasonable care in response to the visible onset of a dust storm.

Flash floods and monsoon season

Arizona's monsoon season runs from mid-June through late September, during which intense afternoon and evening thunderstorms can produce flash flooding with little warning. Low-water crossings, washes, and underpasses can fill rapidly with fast-moving water that appears shallow but is deep enough to displace and carry vehicles. Arizona has among the highest rates of flood-related vehicle fatalities in the country, driven by drivers who underestimate flood depth.

Arizona's Stupid Motorist Law under A.R.S. § 28-910 provides that a driver who drives around or through a barrier or warning sign at a flooded roadway can be charged the cost of their rescue. More relevant to the civil claim, a driver who proceeds into a visibly flooded road or past warning signage may be found to bear a share of fault under Arizona's pure comparative negligence system, reducing or in extreme cases substantially diminishing their recovery even if another driver also contributed to the crash.

Extreme heat and vehicle hazards

Sustained temperatures exceeding 110°F across the Phoenix basin and southern Arizona create vehicle hazards that do not exist in most other states. Tire blowouts from heat-accelerated degradation are a consistent summer hazard on Arizona freeways. Engine overheating can cause sudden stops on high-speed roads. A driver whose tire fails due to deferred maintenance in conditions where heat degradation is foreseeable may still bear comparative fault for a resulting crash, since the condition was predictable and addressable before the trip began.

Northern Arizona winter conditions

While Arizona's desert regions dominate the state's image, the northern plateau around Flagstaff and the White Mountains receives significant snow and ice, and Interstate 40 and Interstate 17 are regularly subject to winter closures and chain requirements. A driver traveling from the Phoenix area to northern Arizona without preparing for winter conditions, or who ignores chain requirement advisories, carries their share of fault for any weather-related crash under Arizona's comparative fault standard.

Urban intersection and pedestrian risk

Phoenix consistently ranks among the most dangerous large cities in the United States for pedestrians, driven by wide arterial roads designed for vehicle throughput, limited pedestrian infrastructure, and high traffic volumes at major intersections. The Valley's urban grid produces a high concentration of intersection crashes involving red light violations, failure to yield, and multi-vehicle collisions.

Arizona's negligence per se doctrine applies directly to intersection crashes involving traffic signal violations. A driver found to have run a red light under A.R.S. § 28-645 has already established the breach of duty element of their negligence, leaving only causation and damages to be proved in the civil claim. For multi-vehicle intersection crashes, Arizona's pure comparative fault framework allocates responsibility among all parties based on their individual contribution, with each injured person's recovery reduced only by their own share of fault.

Local Resources & Contacts

Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) / Motor Vehicle Division (MVD)
Handles driver licensing, vehicle registration, financial responsibility verification, and motor vehicle records.

• Website: azdot.gov/mvd
• Phone: (602) 255-0072
• Road conditions: az511.gov

Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Responds to accidents on state highways, handles crash investigations for incidents within DPS jurisdiction, and maintains crash report records for state trooper-investigated crashes.

• Website: azdps.gov
• Non-emergency: (602) 223-2000; for emergencies dial 911
• Crash report requests: psp.azdps.gov
• Citizen crash self-report: azdps.gov/form/citizen-s-report-of-a-colission

Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI)
For insurance complaints, coverage disputes, insurer licensing verification, and questions about minimum coverage requirements and SR-22 obligations.

• Website: difi.az.gov
• Phone: (602) 364-3100; Spanish: (602) 364-2977

Arizona Attorney General's Office — Consumer Protection
For complaints involving deceptive insurance practices or bad faith claims handling by an insurer.

• Website: azag.gov
• Phone: (602) 542-5763; other contact info here

For accident laws in other states, visit our state-specific legal information page.