The Utah Legislature should be concerned for the same reason: Fewer people buying insurance means more uninsured motorists on our highways.

The bill would require minimum coverage limits for liability insurance to go up a total of $20,000 over the current mandatory minimums for injury and property damage coverage. Uninsured- and underinsured-driver coverage would also go up, unless a driver opted out of that coverage altogether.

The change would boost rates 4 to 10 percent per year - $72 annually for the average policy - an increase that could prompt some low-income motorists who carry the minimum, including the newly married, college students and people on fixed incomes, to drop their insurance.

That would not only hurt insurance companies but would impact insured drivers who are involved in accidents with the uninsured. Utah law has aimed to keep all drivers insured, but this change would work to the contrary.

Proponents of SB149 say the minimum coverage should be increased because it hasn't been changed in 15 years, while medical care and repair costs have gone up substantially.

But change for the sake of change is a poor way to make public policy. Research shows that 91 percent of all Utah auto insurance claims are settled well below current coverage limits. Other states' mandatory minimum coverage is comparable to or below Utah's. Only four states have minimum coverage limits higher than Utah's current limits, and the majority are very near the Utah requirement.

If SB149 were to pass, Utah's limit would be the nation's third-highest, according to insurance representatives.

We're certain that legislators have heard stories about people with minimum coverage who have been involved in serious accidents and whose medical costs and repairs were not wholly covered.

But Utah law should not impose requirements to compensate victims of catastrophic accidents. Instead, the law should protect the vast majority, and as it is currently written, it does just that. No change is needed.