In most states, auto insurance is required by law, and for good reason. It's expensive to repair or replace someone else's property, or to pay for someone else's injuries in an at-fault accident. Each state's department of insurance determines the minimum required levels of coverage (more on this later).
Arizona Financial Responsibility Law
Like 38 other at-fault states, Arizona holds the driver who caused the accident, (referred to as at-fault), financially responsible for any property damage, bodily injury/medical bills, lost wages, and possibly additional associated costs suffered by the not-at-fault person(s).
Arizona Minimum Limits of Liability
In the state of Arizona the minimum amount of acceptable liability coverage is - up to $25,000 for bodily injury to any one person, and up to $50,000 for injuries to two or more persons per incident, and up to $15,000 per incident for property damage liability.
At Oakley Insurance Group, we do NOT write policies for, or recommend the minimum limits of liability because they simply are not enough should a claim occur.
Our experienced professional agents at Oakley Insurance Group will work with you to make sure your vehicle and your family get the coverage you need.
Policy Limits
Split Limits and Combined Limits
Split Limits are the most popular and are displayed as Per-person Limit/Per-Accident Limit such as $250,000/$500,000 which means up to$250,000 per person, up to a total payout allowed of $500,000 for the accident/incident. Property damage liability is often added at the end of these numbers to make it easy to see all three limits at once such as $250,000/$500,000/$100,000 - this means that in addition to the bodily injury liability the $100,000 indicates that your policy has a limit of up to $100,000 for damage to someone else's property.
Combined Limits aren't as common but are still widely used and is displayed as one number such as $500,000 CSL (combined single limit). This means that both bodily injury and property damage liability payments are distributed out of one bucket of $500,000.
Personal Auto Insurance
Coverage A - Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability
(Required by Arizona Law)
​Bodily Injury Liability: This coverage pays the affected party for costs related to the treatment of bodily injury up to the amount you've chosen in your policy limits.
Property Damage Liability: If you are found at-fault and legally responsible for damage to someone else's property, this coverage pays the affected party for costs related to the repair or replacement of property.
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Coverage B - Medical Payments
(elective coverage)​
Medical payments is for reasonable expenses for medical and funeral services incurred within three years of the date of injury. This payment is for you and anyone that was in your vehicle at the time of an accident or injury; payout under Medical Payments coverage does not require you to be legally responsible for the accident or injury.
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Coverage C - Uninsured Motorist Coverage and Underinsured (UM/UIM)
​(elective coverage)
Uninsured Motorist pays for your bodily injury when someone else is legally at-fault but does not carry liability insurance. This coverage applies to you and anyone in your covered vehicle at the time of the accident, or when you and your family occupy another vehicle, including a rideshare like Uber, Lyft, or taxi. Coverage also applies in a hit-and-run situation when the responsible person cannot be located, and if you are involved in a hit and run as a pedestrian.
Underinsured Motorist is similar to the uninsured coverage but serves to fill a gap if the at-fault person doesn't have enough coverage for expenses they were legally responsible for.
As of May 29th, 2025 the Arizona Supreme Court of Arizona ruled that Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist coverage only applies to vehicles that meet the definition of a motor vehicle. See your blog post HERE for more information.
Coverage D - Collision, and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive)
​(elective coverage) (required by lien holder or lessor)
People often refer to having comprehensive and collision coverage as "full coverage" which is an incorrect statement, no such coverage exists, but the term has been around for decades.
Collision covers damage to your vehicle when it collided with an object, or for vehicle upset/turnover. Damage from hitting an animal is considered a comprehensive coverage (see below). Collision coverage is subject to a deductible chosen when buying a policy.
​Comprehensive covers damage caused by 'other than collision'. Examples include: falling objects, fire/explosion, theft, hail, water/flood, wind, safety glass damage, and damage cased by hitting an animal. Comprehensive coverage is subject to a deductible chosen when buying a policy.
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At this time our agency does NOT recommend filling a glass claim, but rather getting cash prices from a local (non-corporate) glass shop and paying out of pocket. Small claims like these will add up and cause rate increases, and make it extremely difficult to shop for better rates.
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Loss of Use/Rental Reimbursement
(elective coverage)
Loss of Use, also called Rental Reimbursement is coverage you can use if you are without a vehicle due to an accident. This coverage is on a daily payout basis, and a total payout basis. You'll normally see something like $50/day for up to 30 days, $1,500/accident. This means that insurance will pay up to $50 per day for costs you incurred for transportation like uber, taxi, bus tickets, etc... or most popular is up to $50 per day for a rental vehicle after an accident - the daily amount you chose when buying a policy.
Roadside Assistance
This coverage offers you assistance with certain break-down and lockout events. This coverage is usually provided on a per-occurrence basis of like $75/occurrence which means if you need a tow, or someone to help change your tire, the most insurance will pay for each occurrence is $75.
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At this time, our agency does NOT recommend using insurance for roadside assistance claims, because like glass coverage these small claims do add up and will cause rate increases, and extreme difficulty when trying to shop for lower rates. We recommend enrolling in a roadside service like AAA (triple A), or Good Sam.