A pair of bills that advanced in a Senate committee Tuesday would largely eliminate a parent's or adult's liability for loaning a car to a minor who crashes into someone else and would limit the amount of time insurers could drag out investigations before paying customers who are injured by uninsured drivers.

SB70 and SB62, both sponsored by Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, had personal-injury attorneys and insurance company representatives lining up to testify on opposite sides. The attorneys liked the bill forcing insurers to pay up within 30 days after concluding actions against the uninsured driver -- sometimes months or years after the accident -- but opposed the bill protecting parents from liability. Insurers took the opposite side on each bill.

"This is essentially a stimulus package for plaintiffs' attorneys," said Al Gray, representing Bear River Insurance, in opposition to the damage recovery bill.

Several personal-injury attorneys, though, said victims who pay for coverage in case they're hit by uninsured or underinsured drivers accumulate hospital bills and lost wages, and they need cases to move more quickly.

Urquhart noted that his bill protecting adults from liability for loaning a car doesn't let them off the hook if they do so negligently. Utah tort law allows damages from a parent or other adult if they loan a car to a person known to be impaired or otherwise especially risky on the roads, he said.

Both bills passed the Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee and now go to the full Senate.