Policy Limits & Policy-Limit Demands in Arizona
Insurance policies have limits — a maximum the insurer will pay. When your injuries are worth more than the at-fault driver's coverage, the question becomes how to reach the available limits and whether any other source can help.
What policy limits mean for you
Every driver's liability coverage caps what their insurer will pay, and some carry only the minimum required. When your losses exceed that cap, the coverage alone may not make you whole, which makes finding every available source of recovery important.
The policy-limit demand
In a serious case, a well-supported demand for the full policy limits, made properly and with a deadline, can pressure an insurer to pay everything available rather than risk more. Handled correctly, it protects your interests and can matter later if the insurer refuses unreasonably.
Other sources when limits are not enough
When the at-fault coverage falls short, your own underinsured motorist coverage may help, and there may be additional responsible parties or policies — an employer, another driver, or an umbrella policy. Identifying these can meaningfully increase what is available.
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Frequently asked questions
What if my injuries are worth more than the driver's insurance?
You may still have options. Your own underinsured motorist coverage can help, and there may be additional parties or policies — an employer, another driver, or an umbrella policy — worth pursuing.
What is a policy-limit demand?
It is a properly supported demand for the full available limits, made with a deadline, that can pressure an insurer to pay everything available. Handled correctly, it also matters if the insurer unreasonably refuses.
The at-fault driver only had minimum coverage. Now what?
Look to your own underinsured motorist coverage and any other responsible parties or policies. Finding every available source is often the difference in these cases.
Arizona law — what people ask
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Arizona?
Generally two years. But if a public entity is involved you must serve a formal notice of claim within 180 days and file suit within one year — and Arizona runs a much shorter one-year clock on dog-bite strict-liability claims specifically.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault in Arizona?
Yes. Arizona applies pure comparative negligence, so fault reduces your recovery rather than ending the claim, and there is no percentage at which it cuts off. Arizona also treats fault questions as belonging to the jury rather than being resolved beforehand.
Does Arizona cap what I can recover?
No — and this sets Arizona apart from most states. Its constitution prohibits laws limiting damages for injury or death, and that applies to medical-malpractice claims too, where most states impose a cap. If you have read that pain and suffering is capped, that is not Arizona law.
What if more than one party was responsible?
Arizona generally applies several liability, so each responsible party answers for its own share rather than the whole judgment. That makes identifying every responsible party early a practical question about what is actually collectible.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. What now?
Your own uninsured or underinsured coverage is the usual route. Arizona also requires insurers to offer that coverage in writing — so if you were told your policy carries none, the underwriting file is worth checking before that answer is accepted.
Will the jury hear that my health insurance paid my bills?
Usually not — Arizona generally follows the collateral source rule. Medical-negligence cases are the statutory exception, where that evidence has been made admissible, which changes how medical damages are presented in those claims specifically.
Injury law in Arizona
Arizona injury law has some features that set it apart from its neighbors.
- Filing deadline: Arizona generally gives you two years from the injury to file, but only 180 days to serve a notice of claim on a public entity.
- Fault: Arizona follows pure comparative negligence — being partly, or even mostly, at fault reduces your recovery but does not bar it.
- Damage caps: Arizona is unusual: its constitution prohibits caps on injury or death damages, so a statutory cap does not limit what you can recover.
- Multiple defendants: Arizona generally applies several (not joint) liability, so each responsible party is accountable for its own share.
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California injury law
This is general information about Arizona injury law, not legal advice. Every case is different.
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