Arizona Casualty Study Guide

Two systems carry the Arizona-specific weight on the casualty exam: auto liability and workers’ compensation. Auto is where Arizona is permissive — optional UM, pure comparative fault — and comp is where Arizona is absolute — one employee, no exceptions. Hold that contrast and the details organize themselves.

Auto — a tort state with optional everything

Arizona is a fault-based (tort) state. There is no PIP statute — Arizona is not no-fault — and medical payments coverage is optional. Minimum liability limits are 25/50/15 ($25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per occurrence, $15,000 property damage) for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2020.

Now the rule that breaks the national pattern: uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are both optional. The insurer must offer them — UM’s purchase floor matches the statutory minimums — but the insured may simply decline. The statute’s own heading reads “uninsured optional; underinsured optional.”

Fault — the most forgiving rule in the book

Arizona applies pure comparative fault: a claimant’s recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, with no bar at any percentage — 99% at fault still recovers 1%. The only true bar is for a claimant who acted intentionally. For drivers the market won’t take, Arizona maintains an assigned-risk plan in which every authorized auto liability insurer must participate.

Workers’ compensation — one employee, monthly math

Arizona workers’ comp is mandatory for every employer with even one regularly employed worker — there is no numeric small-employer exemption at all. The system is administered by the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), and employers comply by insuring with a licensed carrier or qualifying as self-insurers.

The benefit formula is the exam’s favorite Arizona nuance: wage replacement is 66⅔% of the average monthly wage — Arizona computes monthly where most states compute weekly — plus a $100 per month dependent allowance. Claims must be filed with the ICA within one year of the injury or of when the right accrued (a discovery rule softens the edge for latent injuries).