LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

AASPMN has a strong track record of passing legislation that has made a real difference for shops and their customers. With all the election news, partisan politics, lack of government accountability and general state of the economy, I’m sure many of you would rather not get involved in lobbying work! But the reality is AASPMN can’t change the laws without you.

Over the past five years, we have had several bills move forward regarding insurance, while also doing defensive work to limit small employer impacts of paid leave legislation, title-stamping proposed changes and arbitration process changes, among others. Last year, we had a Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee hearing on one of our bills, but unfortunately the bill was not voted on. AASPMN started an annual Day at the Capitol in 2025, which consists of dozens of meetings between AASPMN members and their representatives. Lawmakers are there to represent their voters, so hearing directly from voters about the issues impacting their district is critical for advancing shop and customer interests. 

This year we are reevaluating what it is going to take to get impactful new language into law and pivoting to look at a range of issues. With so many new lawmakers coming to the state Capitol this election year, our strategy is to float several different bills to see what gets the most traction. For example, AI will undoubtedly be a big topic this year, so it makes sense to participate in this conversation in a way that helps shops. 

Here are the areas of interest we are meeting with lawmakers about:

1. Total loss minimum threshold: combat predatory totaling and keep more vehicles in the pool of repairable.
2. AI claim adjusting: prevent claims adjusting by AI alone by requiring adjustor involvement. 
3. Insurance policy public posting: combat the idea that people are “just buying bad policies” by requiring the policy language to be publicly available.
4. Payment to shops/make shops “party to the claim”: strengthen the role of shops in fighting insurance abuse.
5. Department of Commerce funding: increase enforcement of existing laws.

Ideally, AASPMN is going into 2027 armed and ready with information on why making changes to the existing laws is so critical. First and foremost, we need a win that shows the power that shops hold and thus reinforce the laws we refer to every day. To make this happen, we need the support of shops! Here are your two action items:

1. Help customers file complaints with the Department of Commerce. Reach out to AASPMN for help drafting a strong complaint. It should be simplified, focused on one issue (not payment), and be connected to a specific statute. Reach out to Linden Wicklund for support filing a complaint at linden@aaspmn.org.
2. Help with our Data for Change project. We are looking for a small amount of information on many claims to show the statistics around predatory underestimating and totaling by insurance companies. Please take the time to add to the data set! Please use the QR code to submit. 
   

We can’t show up to the Capitol empty handed with no evidence of a true issue and expect change. Lawmakers hear about insurance going up being a top issue for voters. They don’t hear about all the customers with incomplete repairs or shops forced to close. AASPMN is here to bring your voice forward to make a positive difference in your daily operations.