An insurance association whose members cover more than a third of the nation's homes and drivers wants Gov. Gary Herbert to veto a bill that would force quicker payments to customers hit by uninsured or underinsured motorists.

SB62, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, and passed by the Utah Legislature, would require insurers to act faster when they receive notice that an uninsured or underinsured motorist has caused damage or injury to a customer and can't pay.

Within 60 days of that notice -- sometimes coming months after the accident when efforts at restitution from the other driver fail -- the insurer must respond in writing and pay whatever portion of the claim it agrees it owes. Any further amount that the insurer disputes could go to arbitration or trial.

As it is, Urquhart said, most insurers refuse to pay even the amount they acknowledge if a client keeps pressing for more.

"This only affects [insurers] who are low-balling their clients," Urquhart said Wednesday. "If they're not, then it won't change a dang thing for them."

That's not how PCI -- the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America -- sees it.

Mandating a 60-day deadline would make it tough for insurers to fully investigate claims, said Kenton Brine, Northwest regional assistant vice president for PCI. If that results in higher payouts, even on fraudulent claims, customers will have to pay higher premiums to make up for it, he said.

"This bill is aimed at insurers in a way that suggests, 'We don't want you to do so much claims investigation,' " Brine said.

The bill would also authorize "bad-faith" lawsuits against insurers who won't cover expenses that a customer believes are covered. Bad-faith claims have previously been allowed against another person's insurance company, but not against one's own -- a fact Urquhart said leaves clients open to abuse.

The bad-faith provision would make the bill a "gateway" to litigation and an attempt to get insurers to pay out more to avoid the courtroom, Brine said.

Washington state experienced 800 more notices of intent to sue the year after that state passed a similar bill, he said.

Allstate agent Steven Gray of Riverton said most of his clients who call in claims say their top priority is to keep premiums low. Higher payouts mean higher premiums, he said. Most Utah insurers have faced necessary rate hikes even without this bill.

"The lawyers and the government are going to get their pockets lined," Gray said.

Urquhart rejects the idea his bill would increase either premiums or lawsuits. It should actually decrease litigation, he said, because another provision of it would award a plaintiff court costs only if their proposed settlement is closer than the insurer's offer to the figure that a mediator picks. That would force both sides to make reasonable demands, he said, making out-of-court settlement more likely.

The senator called his bill a compromise and said many insurers supported the final version. He expects the governor to sign it because it's a common-sense bill that passed 25-1 in the Senate and 65-9 in the House.

PCI is "doing our best to get some folks in front of [Herbert]," Brine said.

A spokeswoman for the governor said he would thoroughly analyze the bill before his action is required March 31.