Auto Insurance With Points After a Hit and Run in Arizona

Arizona assigns 6 points to your license for a hit and run conviction under ARS 28-661 through 28-663, whether you left the scene of a property-damage accident or an injury accident. Those 6 points stay on your MVR for 36 months from the conviction date. The suspension threshold in Arizona is 8 points in 12 months, so a hit and run alone does not trigger automatic suspension unless you already have 2 or more points from prior violations. The insurance consequence is steeper than the DMV consequence. Carriers classify hit and run as a serious violation, not a standard moving violation, because leaving the scene suggests a pattern of risk avoidance that correlates with future claims. Most preferred carriers will non-renew or decline to quote a driver with a hit and run conviction on record. You will be moved to a standard or non-standard tier, where rates are 40-60% higher than your prior premium. Arizona does not require SR-22 filing for a hit and run conviction alone. SR-22 is triggered by license suspension, DUI, or driving without insurance under current state rules. If the hit and run occurred while your coverage had lapsed, you may face both a filing requirement and a points violation, but the hit and run itself does not mandate SR-22.

A hit and run conviction increases your premium by 40-60% on average in Arizona, and that surcharge lasts 3-5 years depending on the carrier. The surcharge period is longer than the 36-month DMV point window because carriers evaluate violations based on their own risk models, not the state's point schedule. State Farm and Allstate typically apply a 5-year lookback; Progressive and GEICO use a 3-year window for most violations but may extend it to 5 years for serious violations like hit and run. The rate increase comes in two parts. The first is the points surcharge, which treats the 6-point violation as a predictive signal for future at-fault claims. The second is the character-of-risk reclassification, which moves you from a preferred tier to a standard or non-standard tier. The tier change alone can add 20-30% to your base rate before the violation surcharge is applied. If you were paying $110/mo before the hit and run, expect your renewal quote to be $165-$220/mo. Drivers in Phoenix and Tucson see higher increases because base rates are already elevated due to high traffic density and uninsured motorist rates in Maricopa and Pima counties.

Most preferred carriers decline to renew drivers with a hit and run conviction on their record. State Farm, Farmers, and Allstate typically non-renew at the next renewal period following the conviction. GEICO and Progressive may offer a renewal quote but will move you to a higher-risk tier with a substantial surcharge. Your realistic options are standard carriers like Kemper, National General, and Bristol West, or non-standard carriers like The General, Safe Auto, and Acceptance Insurance. These carriers specialize in non-standard risk and expect to insure drivers with violations, accidents, or filing requirements. Rates are higher than preferred-tier carriers, but they are the only carriers who will quote competitively after a serious violation. Brokers who work with multiple non-standard carriers can shop your risk across 5-10 carriers in one submission, which saves time and surfaces the lowest available rate. Independent agents in Arizona often have access to regional carriers like Bristol West and Kemper that do not sell direct to consumers. Shopping with a broker is the highest-leverage action available to a driver with a hit and run conviction.

The 6 points from a hit and run conviction stay on your Arizona MVR for 36 months from the conviction date. After 36 months, the points drop off automatically and no longer count toward the 8-point suspension threshold. You do not need to request removal or complete a defensive driving course to clear the points, but completing Traffic Survival School may prevent future suspensions if you accumulate additional points before the 36-month window closes. The insurance surcharge lasts longer than the DMV point window. Most Arizona carriers apply a 3-5 year lookback for serious violations, meaning the hit and run will appear on carrier underwriting reports and affect your rate for up to 5 years from the conviction date. The surcharge percentage decreases over time on some carriers' schedules, but the violation remains a rating factor until it ages out completely. You will not return to preferred-tier eligibility until the violation is fully off your record and you have maintained continuous coverage without additional violations for at least 12 months. Drivers who shop aggressively at the 3-year mark often find lower rates than drivers who remain with the same non-standard carrier for the full 5-year period.

Arizona does not require SR-22 filing for a hit and run conviction alone. SR-22 is triggered by license suspension, DUI, driving without insurance, or excessive points that lead to suspension. A hit and run adds 6 points to your license but does not automatically trigger suspension unless you already have 2 or more points from prior violations within the same 12-month window. If the hit and run occurred while your insurance had lapsed, Arizona may require proof of financial responsibility in the form of SR-22 for 3 years. If the hit and run caused injury or property damage exceeding $1,000 and you did not have insurance at the time, you will face both a points violation and a filing requirement. If you are required to file SR-22, the filing fee is typically $25-$50 per year and is paid to your carrier, not the state. The SR-22 filing itself does not increase your rate, but the underlying violation and the lapse in coverage both trigger surcharges that compound the total cost. Drivers who maintain SR-22 compliance without lapses for the full 3-year period do not face additional penalties when the filing is released.

Shop your rate with at least 3 non-standard carriers or a broker who accesses multiple non-standard markets. Rate variation for drivers with serious violations is wider than for clean-record drivers, and the carrier who quoted you the lowest rate before the hit and run is unlikely to be the lowest-cost option now. Independent agents in Arizona often have access to carriers like Bristol West, Kemper, and National General that do not advertise direct to consumers. Raise your deductibles to $1,000 or $2,500 if you can afford the out-of-pocket cost in a future claim. Higher deductibles reduce your premium by 15-25% and signal to the carrier that you have financial stability. Collision and comprehensive coverage are optional in Arizona if your vehicle is paid off, but dropping them entirely increases your exposure to total-loss risk and may trigger a lapse in continuous coverage that extends the surcharge period. Complete Arizona Traffic Survival School if you are close to the 8-point suspension threshold. TSS does not remove points already on your record, but it can prevent a future suspension if you accumulate additional points before the 36-month window closes. Some carriers offer a small discount for TSS completion, but the primary value is avoiding a suspension that would trigger SR-22 and extend the surcharge period by another 3 years.