BATON ROUGE - Citing fears that it could lead to more uninsured drivers, Gov. Kathleen Blanco vetoed legislation increasing the minimum coverage required for driving vehicles in Louisiana.

In a veto message signed before she left for an economic development trip to England, Blanco said that since the legislation did not allow for phasing-in an expected 20 percent increase in cost for the 1.5 million drivers who carry the minimum coverage, "all of these owners would be expected to experience a dramatic increase in their premiums."

The bill "does nothing positive to address the chronic problem of the very large number of owners who do not consistently carry even the minimum liability coverage already required by law," she said. "On the contrary, the effect of Senate Bill 223 would be to raise the cost of insurance and thus it is more likely to make this problem worse."

Michot's bill sought to raise the minimum $10,000 for bodily injury liability of one person, $20,000 for bodily injury liability for two or more persons injured in any one accident, and $10,000 for property damage liability to new limits of $25,000-$50,000-$25,000.

In response, Michot said "I respect the governor's decision and I know the timing isn't great" with many property owners having to pay higher homeowners' insurance. "But the problem doesn't go away and the need doesn't go away."

"Maybe this legislation will cause us to strengthen enforcement of our law," he said. "If Louisiana is going to have a compulsory minimum insurance law, enforce it. We should make sure people don't get an insurance card for six months and then drop it," and drive around with an invalid insurance card.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, who encouraged Blanco to sign the bill because the minimum doesn't provide enough coverage to pay the rising cost of repairs and medical care of those injured in collisions, said about 10 percent of Louisiana's drivers have no insurance. About 40 percent have the minimum.

Blanco was advised by the Property Casualty Insurers Association to veto the legislation. Her veto message reflected PCI representative Greg LaCost's arguments.

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