A northern Utah lawmaker is proposing changes in Utah's car insurance requirements to force high-risk drivers to increase coverage, a move that could result in higher premiums for everybody.
Rep. Grant Protzman, D-North Ogden, said minimum coverage often doesn't fully cover medical expenses for victims of accidents caused by high-risk motorists.However, insurance officials say increasing the minimums liabilities could mean overall premiums might jump 25 percent.
High-risk drivers, such as people with a drunken driving conviction, are not required to carry more than $20,000 coverage for personal injury. The minimum for property damage is $10,000.
Protzman said these figures don't meet rising medical costs. He has drafted a bill that would increase minimum personal injury coverage to $30,000 and property damage insurance to $15,000.
"I'm suggesting we raise liability limits so that the level of coverage has some relevance to the world as it is in 1991, not the way it was 10 years ago," Protzman said.
Some insurance agencies, however, argue that raising the insurance limits would do more harm than good.
Several agents told the Legislature's Business and Labor Interim Committee recently that raising the limits would boost premiums by as much as 25 percent.
The higher insurance costs could force more motorists to drive without any coverage.
Utah's average annual premium of $455 ranks 41st nationally. New Jersey has the highest rate, about $1,000 annually for each driver, while Nebraska is lowest at $352.
Brian Allred, a Utah legislative research analyst, said increasing the minimums as Protzman suggests would raise premiums about $10 a year for drivers with good records.
The state Department of Insurance does not oppose Protzman's proposal, said spokesman Jilene Whitby. But officials see the same problems as the insurance agents.
"We think that one of the reasons drivers don't buy insurance is because it is expensive, but we really do need the increase," she said.
Protzman said slight premium increases would be worth every penny. He said an estimated 30 to 40 percent of Utah motorists are underinsured.
"Many times they believe they're protected, but the level of (minimum) insurance is grossly inadequate," he said.
He cited an example.
One involved former Pleasant View police officer Kent Kiernan, whose patrol cruiser was struck by a drunken driver last December. Kiernansuffered broken ribs, a concussion and memory loss. His doctor bills totaled more than $25,000.
The man who hit him had a prior DUI arrest and had minimum coverage, which didn't cover Kiernan's expenses.