Arizona law requires every driver to carry minimum liability auto insurance of 25/50/15. That is $25,000 in bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 in property damage. Most drivers know they need it. Almost no one knows what those numbers actually mean when something goes wrong. Here is the plain-English version.

What the 25/50/15 numbers actually mean

If you cause an accident in Arizona, your liability insurance pays the other party for injuries and damage you caused. With state minimum coverage:

  • Up to $25,000 to any one person injured
  • Up to $50,000 total across all injured people in the accident
  • Up to $15,000 in property damage (the other car, fences, mailboxes)

If the bill exceeds those limits, you personally owe the rest. The other driver’s insurance company will sue you, and they will win.

A real-world example

You rear-end a 2024 Lexus on the 101 at low speed. The car needs $18,000 in repairs. Within your $15,000 property damage limit, you cover the $3,000 gap. The driver has minor whiplash and racks up $32,000 in medical bills. Within your $25,000 limit, you cover the $7,000 gap. Total out of pocket: $10,000. That is a low-end accident.

A high-end accident, an injury that requires surgery and rehab, can easily run $100,000 to $250,000. Your $25,000 limit covers a fraction of that. The rest comes from your savings, your home equity, and your future wages.

Uninsured motorist coverage: the part Arizona drivers really need

Arizona has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. Roughly 12 percent of drivers on the road have no insurance at all. If one of them hits you, your minimum policy does nothing. You can sue them, but you cannot get blood from a stone.

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage protects you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or cannot pay. It is inexpensive, usually $50 to $150 a year for solid coverage, and it is the single most important add-on for any Arizona driver.

What we recommend for most Arizona drivers

  • Bodily injury liability: 100/300 (instead of 25/50)
  • Property damage liability: $100,000 (instead of $15,000)
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist: matching limits to your liability
  • Medical payments coverage: $5,000 to $10,000
  • Comprehensive and collision: with deductibles you can afford

The cost difference between state minimum and the recommended auto coverage above is usually $200 to $400 per year. The protection difference is potentially millions of dollars.

How to check your current policy in 5 minutes

Pull out your declarations page (the first page of your policy). Look for the liability limits line. It will read something like “25/50/15” or “100/300/100.” If you see numbers smaller than 100/300/100, call us for a free policy review. We will tell you exactly what you are covered for and what you are not.

Get a real coverage review

Call (480) 922-8820 or request a free policy review online. We will walk through your current policy line by line and show you specifically where the gaps are.

Damien Barr is an Allstate-licensed Arizona insurance agent serving Scottsdale, Phoenix, and statewide AZ with 23+ years of experience.