BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana should raise the minimum level of required automobile insurance, the House voted on Monday, an increase that would mean higher insurance costs for over 1 million motorists.

Supporters of increasing the insurance minimum said the state's current minimum levels were set in the early 1980s, when health insurance and automobile costs were far lower. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Erich Ponti, said Louisiana has the lowest minimums in the nation.

Opponents said 1 million residents should not face higher insurance costs at a time of rising food and fuel prices. Rep. Mert Smiley said he thought the increase would cause motorists to drop insurance altogether, to avoid paying the higher fees.

"There are a lot of people struggling right now, and this may be the ... straw that broke the camel's back," said Smiley, R-Port Vincent.

The House approved the bill with a vote of 57-33, sending it to the Senate. The Legislature passed the same changes last year, but that bill was vetoed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

State law now requires car and truck owners to have "10-20-10" minimum motor vehicle liability coverage: $10,000 coverage for damage of other people's property, $20,000 coverage for injury or death to more than one person in an accident and $10,000 coverage for injury or death to one person.

The bill by Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, would raise that minimum requirement to "25-50-25."

Ponti said the change would lead to lower payments for those who carry more than the minimum insurance coverage, as insurers adjust their rate schedules to the change. He recommended that motorists facing higher costs because of the new minimums could save money by raising their deductible from $500 to $1,000.

He estimated most affected motorists would face cost increases of no more than 10 percent.