Acknowledging it will mean higher costs for some, a Senate panel voted Tuesday to increase the amount of liability insurance motorists will have to purchase to drive on Arizona roads.

The vote by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure increases those statutory minimums across the board.

Republican Sen. Kate Brophy McGee said there's a very practical problem with the current levels of required insurance.

“If I buy this, it'll be OK," Brophy McGee said. "And more and more consumers are finding out in fact the hard way that it's not."

The proposed bill comes over opposition from the insurance industry.

David Childers, who lobbies for the Property Casualty Insurance Association, argued anything that increases costs will mean more people choosing to drive without insurance.

"By doing it, what you will accomplish is you will have increased premiums for the group that's least able to buy more insurance,” Childers said.

A 20-15 study by legislative budget staffers found forcing motorists to buy more insurance would reduce the costs to the state's Medicaid program.