Bill would raise minimum insurance requirements for Arizona drivers
Jan 17, 2018, 3:25 PM | Updated: 7:52 pm
(Public Domain Photo)
(Public Domain Photo)
PHOENIX — A bill moving its way through the Arizona Senate would raise the minimum insurance requirements for the state’s drivers.
Senate Bill 1075 would require all drivers carry at least $25,000 to pay for injuries to one person, $50,000 for injuries to everyone involved and $25,000 to cover any property damage.
If signed into law, the change would not go into effect until June 1, 2019. Before then, drivers could renew their policies with the old minimums of $15,000 for bodily harm, $30,000 for injuries to everyone and $10,000 for property damage.
State Sen. Katy Brophy McGee, a Republican from Phoenix who introduced the bill, said she wanted to raise the state minimums because the old ones were set in 1972. She said those figures failed to keep up with the modern day cost of accidents.
Brophy McGee told the Arizona Daily Sun that fatal accidents in Arizona typically result in costs of more than $1.5 million, while medical bills in nonfatal crashes are about $93,000 and about $11,500 in property damage is done.
She told the paper she was citing statistics from the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The bill would likely raise rates for some of Arizona’s 5 million drivers. Attorney Geoff Trachtenberg told lawmakers said drivers who buy the minimum insurance will see their rates go up about $91 per year.
State Sen. David Farnsworth (R-Mesa) said that could pose a problem for some people.
“There are people out there right now that are faced with either a permanent or probably a temporary situation where they have to choose between paying the electric bill or paying their mandatory insurance,” he told the Sun.
The bill was passed 6-1 by the state Senate Committee on Transportation and Technology. It will now go before a full Senate vote.
