The Best Car Insurance In Arizona

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From the majesty of the Grand Canyon to the rocky spires of Sedona, there’s a lot to see in Arizona. As a driver in the state, you want to know that you have the best Arizona car insurance possible. It should provide the coverage you need at an affordable price – but do you know where to find a policy like that? 

Insurance requirements in Arizona are changing in the summer of 2020, and many people will probably decide to shop around at that time. Who knows – it could be a great time to snag some discounts from insurance providers. 

Speaking of discounts, we’ve ranked a number of the top insurance providers on things like discounts, customer service, availability, and financial strength. In our ranking of the best auto insurance companies, USAA and Geico took the top two spots. They also happen to be our two main recommendations for Arizona car insurance – both offer good prices and coverage options for Arizonans. 

In this article:

What Are Financial Responsibility Laws?

Every state has financial responsibility laws. Literally, these laws dictate how people can prove financial responsibility in the case of an accident. While it’s not very fun to think about, accidents do happen, and compensating the victims can be expensive. If there were no financial responsibility laws, many drivers would be financially ruined after causing an accident. 

The easiest way to prove financial responsibility is to get car insurance. Depending on the state, drivers might be able to purchase a surety bond or deposit a cash reserve with the state instead. States most often require liability insurance to compensate other drivers in accidents you cause. It comes in three limits: 

• Bodily injury per person
• Bodily injury per accident
• Property damage per accident 

As an example, the coverage limits of 100/300/100 provide $100,000 bodily injury per person, $300,000 bodily injury per accident, and $100,000 property damage per accident. That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually a good coverage level to have. Smaller amounts of coverage bring the risk of lawsuits if the limits are exhausted. 

Arizona Car Insurance Minimums

Before you register a vehicle, you’re required to carry certain coverages to satisfy Arizona auto insurance minimums. You can also obtain proof of financial responsibility through a bond or cash deposit of $40,000 with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD). However, if you use that account to pay for an accident, you will have to pay back your bond issuer or replenish the cash deposit yourself. An insurance company, on the other hand, will pay for damages up to the limits you choose. 

At the time of this writing, liability coverage with the limits of 15/25/10 is the minimum auto insurance required in Arizona. However, on June 7, 2019, Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1087 into law. That bill increases the minimum required coverages for Arizona car insurance to 25/50/15, and it comes into effect on June 1, 2020. If you purchase a policy after that time, you will only be able to select the new state minimum or above. Also, if you renew a policy, your coverage will automatically increase after that date. That means your premium will increase as well. 

That might seem like a big increase, but supporters of the bill say it will help auto insurance catch up with modern repair costs. The current limits were set back in 1972 when new cars were much cheaper. Today, the average price of a new car is above $34,000. If another driver with minimum liability coverage in Arizona totaled your car, their property damage coverage of $10,000 might not cover its replacement. 

Furthermore, Arizona’s new limits will match limits that 25 other states already have – its current limits are low compared to other states. Looking at bodily injury coverage, $15,000 per person isn’t very much at all. The coverage pays for medical bills and lost wages – if you cause a serious accident, you could be sued for remaining bills that your policy won’t cover. 

Best Arizona Car Insurance Companies: USAA And Geico 

If you're ready to get an Arizona car insurance quote, we recommend weighing the options available to you. Use this form to see the best rates available in your area:

Try USAA For The Cheapest Car Insurance In Arizona

No matter how you look at it, USAA tends to be the cheapest car insurance around. If you can qualify for USAA, you could end up paying well below the state average. Of course, every driver’s situation is unique. Prices are tied to your zip code, the type of car you drive, your driving records, and more. The only way to know exactly what you’ll pay is to get a quote.  

There is one downside to USAA – its membership is selective. You can qualify for USAA if you meet any of the following conditions: 

• You are an active member of the military – Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard
• You are a former member of the military and retired or were honorably discharged
• You are part of a commissioning program like the Naval Academy or ROTC
• You are a child or spouse of a current or former USAA member 

That last qualification allows a family to pass on USAA eligibility to generation after generation. 

You might think that cheap car insurance quotes come with poor customer service, but that’s not the case here. USAA consistently scores high on customer satisfaction studies and surveys from around the industry. For example, it has a Consumer Reports reader score of 92, which is the highest of any auto insurance company. 

USAA scored highly on two of J.D. Powers’ studies, as well. It received a score of 900/1000 on the 2019 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, which was the highest score of any company in the study. It also got a score of 896/1000 on the 2019 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, which was second only to Erie Insurance. 

What that means is that USAA does a great job of responding to claims, communicating with customers throughout the process, and returning customers’ cars quickly. We think a strong claims process is the most important thing to find in an auto insurance company – that’s what you’re really paying them to do, after all. 

USAA is currently not rated on the Better Business Bureau, and has a mix of reviews. Here’s an example.  

“I am amazed by the level of service I have received on my recent insurance claim. The process was so easy and quick. The adjuster came to my home to inspect the damage and the money was in my account less than 24 hours later. The settlement was fair. I can't believe how painless the process was. This is a premium product with premium service. I will be with USAA for life.”

-Brittany H. via BBB

We also like that USAA has a few extra coverage options like roadside assistance and Gap insurance – which not all providers have. Plus, USAA members in Arizona can try out the company’s usage-based option called SafePilot. 

SafePilot is an app that tracks things like hard braking, sharp corners, and phone usage while driving. You can get a five-percent discount for signing up and then up to twenty-percent off depending on your driving skills. The app is only available for drivers in Arizona, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. 

Try Geico For Added New Car Protection

Geico is our runner-up recommendation for Arizona auto insurance. The company is the second-largest insurance provider in the U.S. and it wrote over $33 billion in insurance premiums in 2018. Across different pricing situations, Geico tends to be one of the more affordable options. It’s also a great choice for people who have an accident on their record. 

Beyond standard insurance coverages, Geico policyholders can get roadside assistance and rental car reimbursement. If you just purchased a new car, you can also take advantage of an extra coverage option from Geico that not many other Arizona car insurance companies offer. It’s called Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI), and it’s similar to an extended warranty. 

MBI is available to you if your car has fewer than 15,000 miles or is less than 15 months old. It covers repairs to mechanical parts after a $250 deductible, and you can renew the policy for up to seven years or 100,000 miles. The policy doesn’t cover routine maintenance, tune-ups, or wear items like tires and brakes. 

Geico’s customer service reputation is good, but not as good as USAA’s. For example, Geico was ranked in fourth place on J.D. Power’s Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, which is admirable.  However, its score on the Insurance Shopping Study was just below the industry average, and its Consumer Reports reader score of 78 is also about average. Geico has an A+ rating on the BBB. 

“I’ve been a customer of Geico for close to 20 years. My kids have had a few accidents and they have been extremely professional and I have zero complaints about the claims they handled. Their service has been outstanding.”

-Kenneth A. via BBB

Lastly, Geico does have a usage-based discount option through an app, but it’s not available for drivers in Arizona. That could be a letdown for drivers looking for usage-based discounts.

Arizona Auto Insurance Trivia

In 2015, when the data was last published, about 12 percent of Arizonan drivers were uninsured. That’s one percent less than the national average, but it still means there’s a lot of uninsured drivers on the roads. Arizona car insurance requirements don’t include uninsured or underinsured coverage, but it’s a good idea to have that coverage anyway. You have a 1-in-10 chance of encountering an uninsured driver on the road if you get into an accident, and you don’t want to be unprepared for that situation.  

According to 2018 data from the Federal Highway Administration, Arizonans match the national average for vehicle miles per year. Nationally, drivers put 14,425 miles on their cars per year, while Arizonans drive 14,493 miles on average. Average driver mileage and uninsured rates help auto insurance in Arizona to be affordable compared with other states. 

In 2018, 53,376 people sustained injuries from car accidents, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s annual crash report. Since there were about 5.3 million drivers, there was a one-percent chance of a driver being in an accident and injured. However, there were about twice as many accidents total, and accidents without injuries can raise auto insurance rates significantly. Also, if you want to skip out from work early on Friday, be careful. The hour from three to four on Fridays had the highest accident rate out of the week. 

Average Cost Of Car Insurance In Arizona

Drivers in the Grand Canyon State have lucked out – Arizona has cheap car insurance rates. According to The Zebra’s State of Insurance report, the national average for a full coverage policy in 2019 was $1,470, but Arizonans paid $1,295 – about 12 percent less.

Data from the Insurance Information Institute also backs this up. The institute found that people paid $935.80 on average nationwide in 2016. The same year, an Arizona car insurance policy cost $771.55 for the average driver, which was about 18 percent less. (These prices include minimum coverage policies, which is why they are less than The Zebra’s average.) 

The next time you feel like Arizona car insurance is expensive, just be glad you don’t live in Michigan. Drivers in Michigan have to pay about twice the national average, and their rates can skyrocket after an accident. 

Use the form below to get matched with the best Arizona car insurance rates:

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What Are Average Car Insurance Rates in 2020?

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