Arizona Car Insurance Rates and How They Are Set

Arizona car insurance rates are set by each insurance company, and Arizona law lets a company start using a new rate before it files it. Under Arizona Revised Statutes section 20-385, every authorized insurer must file its rates and changes to them with the Director of the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) within 30 days after they become effective ¹. That system is usually called use and file, and it is one reason Arizona prices can move quickly in either direction.

Arizona's auto insurance market has also grown more expensive to run. DIFI's 2023/2024 annual report shows private passenger auto liability premiums written in Arizona of about $4.42 billion in 2023, up from about $3.55 billion in 2022, with a liability loss ratio of 75.3% in 2023 against 61.8% in 2022 ⁶. Those are market totals, not a measure of any one driver's bill. Our guide to why car insurance goes up covers the personal reasons a renewal can change.

Section 20-385 requires insurers, and any rate service organization filing for them, to file all rates, supplementary rate information and changes with the Director within 30 days after the rates take effect ¹. The Director may require supporting data, such as the experience and judgment of the filer, its interpretation of statistical data, and a description of the methods used to make the rates ¹.

The law also sets the standard a rate has to meet. Under section 20-383, an insurer may not charge rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory ². Rates are presumed not to be excessive when a reasonable degree of price competition exists for that class of business, and a competitive market is presumed unless the Director finds otherwise after a hearing ². If the Director finds after a hearing that a particular market is noncompetitive, section 20-385 lets the Director order that rates in that market be filed at least 30 days before they take effect ¹.

Section 20-384 tells insurers to give due consideration to past and expected losses and expenses, catastrophe hazards, a reasonable margin for profit, investment income and trends inside and outside the state ³. Risks may be classified "in any reasonable way," but the statute says classifications shall not be based on race, color, creed or national origin ³. Within those limits, each company builds its own rating plan, which is why quotes for the same driver can differ widely between insurers. Our explainer on what a rate filing is covers what the filed documents usually show.

Arizona law requires every motor vehicle operated on a highway in the state to be covered by a liability policy with at least the limits in section 28-4009, or by one of the alternatives the law allows ⁵. For policies issued or renewed beginning July 1, 2020, section 28-4009 sets those minimums at $25,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or more people, and $15,000 for damage to the property of others, in any one accident ⁴.

Section 28-4135 also requires drivers to carry evidence of current financial responsibility in the vehicle, and says it may be shown on a phone or other wireless device ⁵. For a first violation, the statute sets a minimum civil penalty of $500 and a three-month suspension or restriction of driving privileges ⁵. The minimums pay for damage you cause to others, not for repairs to your own car; our comparison of minimum and full coverage prices explains the difference.

DIFI's annual report lists the largest writers of private passenger auto liability insurance in Arizona by legal company. In 2023, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company held a 14.8% share of those premiums and Progressive Advanced Insurance Company held 11.3% ⁶. The 25 largest companies together wrote 80.0% of private passenger auto liability premiums that year ⁶. For physical damage coverage, which pays for damage to the insured car, Arizona premiums written rose to about $3.22 billion in 2023 from about $2.69 billion in 2022 ⁶. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

A loss ratio compares the claims insurers incur with the premium they earn. Arizona's private passenger auto liability loss ratio rose from 61.8% in 2022 to 75.3% in 2023, while the physical damage ratio fell from 80.2% to 69.6% ⁶. Rising claim costs on one coverage and falling costs on another can pull a single renewal in different directions. Our page on whether car insurance rates are going down explains why market averages and individual bills often differ.

Because each insurer files its own rates, a company's rate change is an average across its existing policyholders, and some drivers see more and some less. A renewal can also change because a driver was added, a ticket or at-fault accident was recorded, a discount ended, the vehicle changed or coverage changed. Our guide to reading a renewal notice shows where those reasons usually appear. Asking the insurer or agent which factors changed is a reasonable first step, and you can compare quotes from several insurers to see whether a price is in line with others.

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DIFI's Market Regulation and Consumer Services division handles insurance questions and complaints. Its 2023/2024 annual report lists the Insurance Consumer Services lines as (602) 364-2499 and (800) 325-2548, with complaints filed online through the department's website ⁶. Insurance Journal reported that in fiscal year 2025 about 60% of DIFI's consumer complaint cases related to personal lines coverage such as auto and homeowners insurance, and that claim handling was the most common reason consumers filed ⁷.

For a question about a specific claim, start with your insurer and then DIFI; we do not give claims advice. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service, not an insurance company, agent or broker.

• ¹ Official record: Arizona Revised Statutes section 20-385, filing rates within 30 days after they take effect, supporting data, and the 30-day prior filing order for a noncompetitive market, checked October 13, 2026.
• ² Official record: Arizona Revised Statutes section 20-383, the excessive, inadequate and unfairly discriminatory standard and the presumption of a competitive market, checked October 13, 2026.
• ³ Official record: Arizona Revised Statutes section 20-384, rating criteria and prohibited classifications, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: Arizona Revised Statutes section 28-4009, the $25,000, $50,000 and $15,000 minimum limits for policies issued or renewed beginning July 1, 2020, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: Arizona Revised Statutes section 28-4135, the coverage requirement, evidence in the vehicle, and the $500 first-violation penalty and three-month suspension, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: DIFI's 2023/2024 annual report, private passenger auto liability premiums written of $4,421,726 thousand in 2023 and $3,554,356 thousand in 2022, loss ratios of 75.3% and 61.8%, physical damage premiums of $3,215,008 thousand and $2,685,778 thousand with loss ratios of 69.6% and 80.2%, the 14.8%, 11.3% and 80.0% market shares, and the consumer services phone numbers, checked October 13, 2026. Dollar figures are rounded to the nearest $10 million in the text.
• ⁷ Reported: Insurance Journal's October 22, 2025 report on DIFI's fiscal year 2025 complaint data, the 60% personal lines share and claim handling as the top reason, checked October 13, 2026.