Important Arizona Car Insurance Information

Protecting your rights and easing your stress after a car accident does not have to be difficult. Whether you call an elite personal injury firm, like Gage Mathers, or want to handle things by yourself, there are a few important things you should know.

Are you sufficiently insured for a car accident?

Everyone who owns a car needs car insurance that will cover them for property damage, medical bills, and potential liability. Car insurance is required by state law.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners provides its recommendations for buying automobile insurance. One key component of purchasing Arizona car insurance is understanding the different types of insurance coverage.

Types of Car Insurance in Arizona

In Arizona, insurance options include:

• Liability Coverage, which pays for bodily injury you cause. However, it does not apply to your injuries.
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage, which pays for your bodily injuries if the person who caused the crash does not have insurance. In fact, there are a lot of people driving without insurance.
• Under-insured Motorist Coverage, which pays for your bodily injuries if the person who caused the crash does not have sufficient insurance coverage to adequately compensate you. There are a lot of people driving with the bare minimum insurance, which is woefully insufficient in moderate to severe crashes.
• Property Damage Coverage  for damage you cause to other people’s property.
• Collision Coverage, which pays for damage to your vehicle from a crash (e.g., car crash, hitting a highway barrier, or utility pole).
• Comprehensive Coverage covers the damage to your vehicle from other non-crash causes (e.g., theft, fire, vandalism).
• Medical Payment Coverage, which pays for medical expenses for anyone injured in a crash, including pedestrians. It will also pay for funeral expenses.
• Rental Reimbursement Coverage, which pays for a rental car while the vehicle is being repaired from a crash.

Insurance Recommendations

Based on the sad stories we’ve seen over the years, our car accident lawyers highly recommend people purchase all eight types of coverage. This is the only way to ensure you have good protection if you are in a crash. If you can afford it, buy insurance with high limits. This is especially true with uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which protects you when the at-fault driver is underinsured.

If cost is an issue, you can lower your insurance premium with a higher deductible. The deductible is the amount you agree to pay out-of-pocket before your insurance company pays anything.

Buy gap coverage!

Did you take out a loan to buy your car? Due to inflation and increasing interest rates, you could end up making car payments on a totaled car! Gap coverage will protect you from owing money after a crash with an underinsured driver.

Arizona Auto Insurance Laws

Arizona law requires drivers to have automobile insurance. The minimum requirements are:

• $25,000 for one person sustaining bodily injury or death in an accident,
• $50,000 for two or more persons sustaining bodily injury or death in an accident, and
• $15,000 for damage to others’ property.

Arizona does not mandate uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, but it is highly recommended. Uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage pay your medical bills and compensates you for your personal injuries if you are involved in a crash with a motorist who does not carry any automobile liability insurance (uninsured), or has insufficient coverage to fully compensate you (underinsured).

Most people are insured by State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, Geico, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers. However, some drivers are uninsured or are insured by small, non-traditional companies that provide minimal coverage. This is one reason we recommend ensuring “full coverage” includes protections for when the other driver is uninsured or underinsured.

What does my insurance have to do with this; I didn’t cause the crash?

Your insurance coverage is a legally binding contract with your insurance company. This contract includes a “cooperation clause” that requires you to notify your insurance company of a car accident and cooperate with their investigation. Failure to timely notify your insurance company may allow the insurance company to deny coverage.

This is especially important when someone else causes the crash. If you have an insurance policy that covers damage to your vehicle, your insurance company is legally bound to help you get your car fixed. If your insurance company covers the repair costs, minus your deductible, then it will go after the other driver’s insurance company to reimburse it for the repairs. This includes paying back your deductible!

Car Crash Investigation

Notifying your insurance company of the crash is also important if there is any question about who caused the crash or how your injuries resulted from the crash. Your insurance company needs an opportunity to investigate the crash, including analyzing your vehicle and obtaining any available electronic data, before it can pursue the other driver’s insurer or provide you benefits. When someone else causes the crash, the insurance company’s investigation can be the difference between you being fairly compensated for your injuries and you getting nothing.

Document All Personal Injury and Auto Accident Damages

Documenting the crash soon after is helpful to ensure your memory is fresh and your recollections are accurate. There are free apps available for iPhone and Android devices that can simplify the insurance reporting process. These apps guide you through the process of gathering information and starting a claim. Alternatively, an elite personal injury firm like Gage Mathers can assist you in gathering information, opening a claim with all relevant insurance companies, and controlling what is provided to the insurance companies.

Do I still have to notify my insurance company if there is no visible damage, or no one is injured? YES.

Your insurance policy requires you to report any accident. No matter how big or small. No matter who is at fault. No matter if anyone was injured at the time of the crash.

Immediately after a crash, most people’s heart races, their mind races, and they cannot focus. Maybe they are worried about other people involved in the crash or notifying someone that they will be late. They may not feel pain while at the crash site. They might not notice damage to their vehicle, especially underneath. Reporting the claim to your insurer protects you later if you end up having an injury or your car develops problems. Worse, you cannot control whether the other driver or any passengers later claim they were injured, which they can do up to 2 years after the crash. If your insurance company first hears about the crash in a lawsuit filed two years later, then it may decline to defend you, decline to provide coverage, decline to renew your policy, or even cancel your policy. Thus, it is in your best interest to be the first one to notify your insurance company.

About the Author

Joseph D'Aguanno

Guided by the belief that being a highly skilled specialist in a narrow field is better than being ordinary in everything, Joseph “JD” D’Aguanno leads Arizona’s best personal injury law firm in Phoenix, AZ. Having extensive cross-training in pre-litigation negotiations and trial lawyer skills, with decades of experience, JD strives to provide clients with the most valuable legal services a personal injury lawyer can provide. Under his direction, Gage Mathers Law Group is an award-winning personal injury law firm providing aggressive representation to victims of a car accident, medical malpractice, dog bite, motorcycle accident, and other injurious events. Gage Mathers is trusted by thousands of lawyers and clients throughout the country because of their reputation for getting clients the maximum compensation they deserve.

Years of experience: Over 23 years
Bar number: 020421
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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