How to Read an Auto Insurance Declarations Page in Arizona

Most people find out what their auto policy actually covers on the worst day of their year. Pull out your declarations page now instead. This guide walks through how to read an auto insurance declarations page in Arizona line by line, so you know what limits you carry, what your deductibles are, and where the dec page stops telling the whole story.

Open your policy documents and follow along. Your insurer mails the dec page at every renewal, and most companies post a PDF in your online account.

What a declarations page is and why it matters after a crash

The declarations page (people call it the “dec page”) is the one-to-three page summary at the front of your auto policy. It names who is covered, what vehicles are covered, what coverages you bought, how much each one pays, and what you owe out of pocket before the insurer pays.

After a Phoenix crash, that summary drives almost every practical question you’ll face in the first week. Who pays to fix the car. Whether your medical bills get covered before health insurance kicks in. Whether anything is available if the at-fault driver carries bare minimum limits or no insurance at all.

The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions publishes consumer information on auto insurance, including claims handling, borrowed vehicles, rentals, and total-loss questions (DIFI, Automobile Insurance). Check the live page for current guidance, then read it next to your own dec page. The two together tell you what you bought and how claims on it generally work.

One caution up front. The dec page is a summary. For most coverage questions, the full policy form and any endorsements attached to it control. There is an important Arizona exception for UM and UIM elections, and we get to that below.

Named insured, listed vehicles, and drivers

Start at the top block. You should see:

• Named insured. The person or people the policy belongs to. Coverage flows from this name, not from whoever happens to be driving.
• Household residents and listed drivers. Many policies extend coverage to resident relatives and exclude specific people by name.
• Listed vehicles. Each covered car appears with year, make, model, and VIN. If you bought a car three months ago and never called your agent, look closely. Newly acquired vehicles often get automatic coverage only for a limited window under the policy terms.
• Garaging address. Where the vehicle is kept. This affects rating and, occasionally, coverage arguments.

Why this matters: coverage generally applies to the people and vehicles the policy identifies, plus whatever additional insureds the policy language brings in. If your nephew borrowed the car, whether he was a permissive user turns on policy language, not on the dec page alone. We cover the claim side in our page on borrowed cars and permissive drivers in Arizona.

Reading the policy period

Look for a line labeled “policy period” or “effective dates.” It gives a start date, an end date, and usually a time (often 12:01 a.m.).

Coverage applies to losses that occur inside those dates. A crash on the morning a policy lapses can fall outside coverage. A crash two days after a reinstatement usually falls inside. If the dates on your dec page don’t match what you thought you had, call your agent before you need the policy, not after.

Save every dec page you receive. Limits change at renewal, sometimes because you asked and sometimes because you accepted a quote change without reading it. The dec page in effect on the date of the crash is the one that governs.

Liability limits: bodily injury and property damage

Liability coverage pays other people when you’re at fault. It does not pay you.

Your dec page shows it in one of two formats:

• Split limits: something like 25/50/15. That means $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident for all injured people combined, and $15,000 for property damage.
• Combined single limit: one number covering bodily injury and property damage together.

For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, Arizona’s minimum liability limits are 25/50/15 under A.R.S. § 28-4009, as summarized in ADOT’s mandatory insurance materials. That’s the floor, not a recommendation. An ambulance ride, an ER visit, and an MRI can clear $25,000 before anyone discusses lost wages.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: if the at-fault driver carries the state minimum and the injuries are serious, that driver’s policy can be exhausted long before the bills are. Their limits become the practical ceiling on that portion of a recovery unless another source exists.

Fault also affects what gets paid. Arizona’s comparative fault statute, A.R.S. § 12-2505, generally reduces a claimant’s recovery in proportion to their own share of fault rather than barring it, subject to the statute’s exception for a claimant who intentionally, willfully, or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury. We break down that math in comparative negligence in Arizona. Whether a particular fault allocation applies to your facts takes an actual review of the evidence.

UM/UIM and MedPay on the dec page

Scroll to the section labeled “uninsured motorists” and “underinsured motorists,” usually shown as UM and UIM.

Uninsured motorist (UM) applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance, and in certain hit-and-run situations. Underinsured motorist (UIM) applies when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover the damages.

A.R.S. § 20-259.01 governs how Arizona insurers make available and offer UM and UIM coverage and how an insured selects or rejects it, subject to the statute’s own exceptions and renewal provisions. Read subsection (A) carefully, because it is commonly described wrong. It requires the insurer to make available and offer UM coverage in limits not less than the liability limits for bodily injury or death contained in the policy. In other words, the offer is pegged to the bodily injury limits you already carry, which may be far above the state minimum. The § 28-4009 minimum functions as the floor on the amount an insured may elect to purchase, not as a cap on what must be offered.

UIM under subsection (B) works differently. It may be purchased in any amount authorized by the insured, up to the policy’s liability limits, and subsection (B) contains no comparable minimum floor.

Hit-and-run deserves its own note. Where the accident involved an unidentified motor vehicle and there was no physical contact, subsection (M) requires corroboration that the unidentified vehicle caused the accident. That is a statutory condition, not just a policy term, and it is why an independent witness or camera footage can decide a phantom-vehicle claim.

On stacking: subsection (H) permits insurers, subject to stated statutory conditions, to limit certain claims involving multiple policies or multiple coverages. Whether limits combine across two vehicles or two policies depends on both the statute and the exact language your insurer used. Don’t assume you can stack. Don’t assume you can’t. Read the endorsement.

If your dec page shows “UM rejected” or a $0 limit, that’s a conversation worth having at your next renewal. For the deeper walkthrough, see Arizona uninsured motorist coverage and our page on underinsured motorist claims in Phoenix.

Medical payments coverage (MedPay) is a separate line item, often in smaller amounts like $1,000 to $10,000. It pays medical bills regardless of who caused the crash, which makes it useful for co-pays and early treatment. A.R.S. § 20-259.01 also addresses subrogation and MedPay lien issues, so what an insurer can later recover out of a settlement depends on the statute and your policy terms.

Collision, comprehensive, and deductibles

These two coverages pay for your vehicle.

• Collision covers damage from hitting another vehicle or object.
• Comprehensive covers most non-collision damage: theft, hail, fire, a rock through the windshield, an animal strike.

Each appears as its own line, per vehicle, with its own deductible. A common layout shows collision with a $500 deductible and comprehensive with a $250 deductible on the same car. The deductible is what comes out of your pocket before the insurer pays anything on that claim.

Two practical points. First, deductibles are stated per vehicle, so the truck and the sedan on one policy can carry different numbers. Second, if the other driver is clearly at fault, you may have a choice between your own collision coverage (faster, but you front the deductible) or the other driver’s property damage liability (no deductible, but slower and dependent on their carrier accepting fault). DIFI’s consumer materials address rental and total-loss questions if the car isn’t drivable.

Endorsements and exclusions: the dec page isn’t the whole policy

This is the part that trips people up.

The dec page is a snapshot of limits. The coverage itself lives in the policy form, and endorsements attached to the policy modify that form. An endorsement can add coverage (rental reimbursement, OEM parts, expanded permissive use) or remove it (a named driver exclusion, a business-use exclusion, a delivery or rideshare exclusion).

For most coverage questions, the policy form and its exclusions control over whatever you assumed from the summary. So if you use your personal vehicle for food delivery and your policy carries a livery exclusion, the $100,000 limit printed on the dec page may not respond to that loss at all.

The significant Arizona carve-out is UM/UIM election. Under A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A) and (B), the declarations page sent to the named insured constitutes the final expression of the named insured’s decision to purchase or reject UM and UIM coverage, and it is valid for and extends to all persons insured under the policy. So on that one question, the dec page carries statutory weight the rest of the document does not.

What to do about it: ask your insurer for the complete policy packet, not just the dec page. That means the policy form, every endorsement listed by form number, and any selection or rejection forms you signed for UM/UIM. Those endorsement form numbers are usually printed in a block near the bottom of the dec page.

What to do if your coverage looks insufficient

If you’ve read your dec page and the numbers feel thin, here’s the short list:

1. Raise liability limits. Moving above 25/50/15 is usually one of the cheaper upgrades on a policy.
2. Add or increase UM/UIM. This is the coverage that protects you from other people’s decisions.
3. Add MedPay. Small limits, immediate usefulness.
4. Reconsider your deductibles. A low premium isn’t a bargain if you can’t produce $1,000 the week your car is in the shop.
5. Confirm every vehicle and driver is listed. New car, new teen driver, new address. All of it matters.

After a crash, you generally are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Your obligations to your own insurer are different and depend on the cooperation terms in your policy, so read those terms or get guidance before you refuse anything. Our page on talking to insurance after a Phoenix crash walks through how those calls tend to go, and insurance adjuster tactics in Arizona covers what to watch for.

Insurers owe obligations in how they handle claims. Arizona recognizes a first-party bad faith claim against an insurer, and the recognized formulation generally requires more than a mistake: an unreasonable denial or delay, combined with the insurer knowing it lacked a reasonable basis or acting in reckless disregard of that. The precise standard and the controlling authority should be confirmed with counsel against the claim file, because whether a particular delay crosses the line is fact-specific.

Deadlines matter too, and there is more than one clock.

• Most personal injury claims. A.R.S. § 12-542 requires the action to be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues. Accrual is not always the crash date. Section 12-542(2) makes a wrongful-death claim accrue at death, and Arizona’s discovery rule and tolling doctrines can move the date in other situations.
• UM and UIM claims. A.R.S. § 12-555 sets separate notice and suit deadlines for uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, including a written notice of intent requirement and a subsequent window to demand arbitration or file suit. Do not assume the two-year tort clock is the only one that applies.
• Claims against a public entity or employee. A notice of claim must be filed within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, and suit must be filed within one year after the cause of action accrues under A.R.S. § 12-821, subject to the accrual and exception provisions in those statutes. Our page on the Arizona notice of claim process covers the mechanics.

Missing any of these can end a claim that would otherwise be viable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I get a copy of my declarations page?

Your insurer sends one at issuance and at every renewal. Most companies also keep a PDF in your online account or app. You can request a copy from your agent or the service line at any time. Ask for the full policy packet with all endorsements in the same request.

What do the numbers 25/50/15 mean on my dec page?

Those are liability limits: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and $15,000 property damage. For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, those are Arizona’s minimum liability limits under A.R.S. § 28-4009.

How much UM coverage does my insurer have to offer me?

Under A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A), the insurer must make available and offer UM coverage in limits not less than the bodily injury liability limits in your policy. The amount you may elect to purchase cannot go below the limits prescribed in § 28-4009. UIM under subsection (B) may be purchased in any amount you authorize, up to the policy’s liability limits.

Can I stack UM coverage across two vehicles on the same policy?

It depends on the policy language and the statute. A.R.S. § 20-259.01(H) permits insurers, under stated conditions, to limit certain multiple-policy or multiple-coverage claims. The answer turns on the specific endorsement language, so it needs to be read rather than assumed.

If the other driver was at fault, do I still pay my collision deductible?

If you go through your own collision coverage, yes, you pay the deductible up front. Your insurer may pursue reimbursement from the at-fault carrier through subrogation, and the deductible may come back to you if that recovery succeeds. Going directly through the at-fault driver’s property damage coverage avoids the deductible but depends on their carrier accepting liability.

Does the declarations page override the policy?

Usually not. For most coverage questions the dec page summarizes limits while the policy form and endorsements define what is covered and excluded. UM and UIM elections are the notable exception: under A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A) and (B), the dec page sent to the named insured is the final expression of the decision to purchase or reject that coverage and extends to all persons insured under the policy.

What if I was hit by a car that drove off and never touched me?

A.R.S. § 20-259.01(M) requires corroboration that the unidentified vehicle caused the accident where there was no physical contact. A witness, dashcam footage, or nearby surveillance video can be the difference between a paid claim and a denied one, which is why those need to be tracked down quickly.

Get a Clear Read on Your Coverage

If you’ve been in a crash and you’re not sure what your policy or the other driver’s policy actually covers, we’ll look at it with you. Bring the dec page, the police report number, and anything the adjuster has already sent.

Talk to us before talking to insurance: (602) 345-1818. Free case review with Jared J. Pehrson, who practices in Arizona personal injury law and handles car accident matters personally. Fee and cost terms depend on a written agreement, and we walk through those before anything gets signed.

You can also browse our Phoenix personal injury resources or read more about Jared J. Pehrson.

By Jared J. Pehrson | Impact Legal Car Accident Attorneys