UTAH COMMITTEE CONSIDERS UNINSURED DRIVERS PROBLEM:

A committee of insurance representatives and state lawmakers met recently and came up with a possible solution to the state’s uninsured driver problem that is similar to the way that financial institutions deal with uninsured vehicles: have the state insure Utah’s 120,000 uninsured drivers. The suggestion was voiced by state Sens. Dan Eastman (R-Bountiful) and Bill Hickman (R-St. George). The committee discussed ways for the state to recoup the money it would pay out for the uninsured cars. One method would be to collect an extra fee on vehicle registrations that would fund the uninsured. Ideally, any money that the state paid out would be repaid when the uninsured registered the vehicle. Insurance representatives did not want the state to pay, saying that motorists should insure themselves against uninsured drivers. Eastman said that the real goal is to get everyone insured. It is estimated that about six percent of Utah’s two million registered cars are uninsured. The committee will meet again in June.