Insurance spends on REPAIR Act, towing, and natural disaster lobbying in Q4
Fourth-quarter lobbying disclosures from 2025 show insurance companies and groups focused on multiple issues that impact the repair industry in the last part of the year, including the REPAIR Act, towing regulations, and disaster insurance issues, according to documents filed with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) spent $1.4 million in Q4, with an additional $42,000 given to a lobbyist firm.
APCIA focused mostly on multiple weather and disaster mitigation, but it lists a multitude of issues, including autonomous vehicles, safety management systems, H.R. 2662 (Right to REPAIR), and towing regulations.
Allstate spent $670,000 on lobbying and paid the firm Federal Hall Advisory $60,000. The REPAIR Act was included in its documents and also reports lobbying around the REPAIR Act.
Liberty Mutual spent $580,000 during Q4 and also reports lobbying around the REPAIR Act.
State Farm, which spent $660,000 in Q4, mentions lobbying for issues related to the insurance industry’s response to recent disasters, including fires and hurricanes.
Both State Farm and Allstate were questioned about “running a racket” and patterns of fraud during a May Senate subcommittee hearing investigating claim handling from natural disasters.
Other insurance lobbying spending during Q4 includes Nationwide ($670,000) and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), $81,000, on three lobbyist groups — Confrere Strategies, Crossroad Strategies, and Exigent Government Relations.
The insurance industry spent $172 million on federal lobbying last year, ranking it fourth overall in the category, according to data collected by Open Secrets.
Medical led the spending, with Blue Cross/Blue Shield spending more than $20 million on lobbying last year. However, eight property and casualty insurance companies or organizations were in the top 25 spenders for the insurance sector last year.
Within the insurance industry sector, the APCIA was the sixth-highest spender with $5.8 million dedicated to lobbying last year.
Vehicle insurance groups almost always have representation at any state hearing or meeting involving the regulation of their industry or the collision repair industry.
A Collision Industry Conference meeting panel discussed insurance lobbying at the state level in 2024.
“The insurers have armies of attorneys and representatives that the average repair group cannot compete with,” said Darrell Amberson, Lamettry’s president of operations, during the panel. “But if you have the noble effort, then you have an opportunity to do something.”
Andrew Batenhorst, Pacific B&W Collision Center body shop manager, said that insurance representatives often outnumber collision repair shops at meetings in California.
“There are a lot of insurance people present in those workshops,” Batenhorst said. “There are 5,000 repair facilities in California. A very small percentage actually gets involved with the workshops and tries to help.”
Last week, the Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit news site, published an article about insurance’s influence on state lawmaking.
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