Guest Editorial: Weakening the Federal Insurance Office Should Concern Independent Auto Repairers
Examples of and discussions on the tensions that often arise in the business relationships between auto repairers and auto insurers are well documented in digital ink spilled on numerous pages in this publication. This article does not add to that inventory. Instead, it sheds light on the history behind one of the few federal government organizations that represents a potential tool for holding insurers accountable, as well as efforts by some to undermine its ability to serve its purpose.
The Great Recession of 2008 demonstrated a need exists for stricter rules for and oversight of financial institutions. In 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law. This expansive bill included a provision that required the U.S. Treasury Department to establish the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). While almost all regulatory authority on insurance companies and practices lies with state government entities, this measure provided a new modest opportunity for the federal government to strengthen consumer and small business protections.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) was one of the leading voices advocating for a federal regulatory regime for the insurance industry. It collaborated in a bipartisan fashion with U.S. Representatives Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Ed Royce (R-Calif.) to write H.R. 1880, The National Insurance Consumer Protection Act, which they introduced in April 2009. This bill would have allowed insurers to choose between operating under a state or federal regulatory framework through a “charter” system. It would have created an Office of National Insurance and a national insurance commissioner, who would have had the abilities to create regulations for the national charter system with Congress’ consent, require certain insurers to operate under a federal charter, and forbid certain insurers operating under a federal charter to switch to a state charter.
The National Insurance Consumer Protection Act never became law due in large part to a fierce and well-funded opposition campaign from certain corners of the insurance industry. Instead, the parties compromised by agreeing to include provisions in the Dodd-Frank bill that established the Federal Insurance Office. The government’s own Congressional Research Service determined that “this office has no regulatory powers.” Instead, its mandate consists primarily of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data and information; issuing reports, advising the Secretary of Treasury, and acting as a liaison between state insurance bodies and the federal Treasury Department.
Despite its limited “teeth,” some in Congress have introduced bills that would take away FIO’s already limited powers, or even eliminate it entirely. Examples of these efforts from just the past two years include the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act (H.R. 2933), the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2023 (S. 1694), the Insurance Data Protection Act (S. 3349/H.R. 5535), and provisions in appropriations bills that would eliminate FIO’s subpoena authority. The last example poses the most serious threat to FIO.
This past June, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2025 on a party-line vote. It includes a provision forbidding federal dollars be used to implement FIO’s subpoena authority, which, in practice eliminates it. It now awaits a vote before the entire U.S. House of Representatives.
Even though automotive repairers would benefit from FIO having stronger regulatory authority, FIO’s subpoena authority at least enables the federal government to obtain information that could help shed light on how some systemic practices within the insurer industry might lead to unfair outcomes. It also provides the infrastructure that Congress could one day rely upon to regulate the insurance industry, if Congress ever decides to increase the Treasury Department’s domestic insurance regulatory authority. The Automotive Service Association will continue to work diligently to protect and strengthen the Federal Insurance Office.
