Insurance regulators lose direct data access; coordination rules slow oversight

What it does

This bill restricts the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and other financial regulators from directly collecting data from insurance companies. Instead, regulators must first check whether the data already exists elsewhere—from other federal agencies, state insurance regulators, or public sources—and obtain it from those sources if available. Only if data is genuinely unavailable elsewhere may regulators collect it directly from insurers, and only if they comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The bill also shields nonpublic data shared with regulators from waiving legal privileges and requires that confidentiality agreements remain in force even after data is shared.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is to restrict federal financial regulators' direct data-collection authority over insurance companies, creating a procedural barrier (mandatory pre-collection coordination) that effectively shields insurers from immediate regulatory scrutiny. This is a narrow industry carve-out dressed in procedural language.

What the text implies

• Delays in data collection may allow insurance companies to conceal emerging solvency or fraud risks until regulators obtain data through slower alternative channels, increasing systemic financial risk.
• The 'coordination' requirement creates a coordination-shopping dynamic: if any other agency holds even partial data, the regulator must obtain it from that source first, even if the insurance company's direct submission would be faster and more complete.
• State insurance regulators may lack capacity or incentive to share data with federal regulators, creating information gaps that weaken federal oversight of systemically important insurers.
• The privilege-retention language (§181(c)(1)) may allow insurers to claim attorney-client or work-product privilege over data shared with regulators, further blocking federal access to critical information.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens depend on financial regulators having timely, direct access to insurance company data to detect systemic risks, fraud, and solvency threats that could harm policyholders and the broader financial system. By forcing regulators to exhaust alternative sources first and removing direct subpoena authority, the bill delays and potentially blocks critical oversight, increasing the risk that insurance company misconduct or insolvency goes undetected until it harms consumers.

Who stands to gain

• insurance companies (reduced direct regulatory data demands)
• large insurers (smaller competitors may lack resources to navigate coordination requirements)

Named in the bill

Federal Insurance Office (FIO), Department of the Treasury, Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), Office of Financial Research (OFR), Federal banking agencies, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), State insurance regulators, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Where it stands

25 cosponsors: 25 Republicans.

• May 15, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 15, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

16 lobbying clients named this bill on 27 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $16,937,595 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 95% of bills with at least one filing.

Scott Fitzgerald, the sponsor, reported $915,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Council of Life Insurers — $4,085,837 on 3 filings
• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
• Mortgage Bankers Association — $1,220,000 on 1 filing
• Reinsurance Assn of America — $1,100,000 on 3 filings
• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company — $1,030,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.