Standing up for trucking: How we’re continuing to shape legal reform for fleet owners and drivers

By John Cronin – Associate Director of Government Affairs, Sentry Insurance

Trucking plays a vital role in the American economy—but as you know, this industry also faces mounting legal and regulatory challenges that are adding costs when fleets can least afford them.

At Sentry, we’re working hard behind the scenes to advocate for fair legal practices and help protect the future of trucking. Here’s an update on our legislative efforts this year, working in tandem with trucking associations across the country.

Among the most impactful legislative wins this year was Georgia’s comprehensive legal reform package, which tackled key areas of concern for insurers and trucking companies alike. These reforms included:

• Eliminating phantom damages by allowing juries to see the difference between billed and paid medical expenses

• Repealing the seatbelt gag rule to allow seatbelt non-usage evidence in court

• Creating a bifurcated trial process to separate liability and damages discussions, reducing the influence of emotionally charged arguments

• Banning anchoring tactics to artificially benchmark pain and suffering damages

• Increasing transparency in third-party litigation financing (TPLF)

Sentry worked closely with the Georgia Motor Truck Association (GMTA) and other business coalitions on this effort, which also included on-the-ground lobbying in Atlanta and a grassroots advocacy campaign.

These changes represent big wins for legal system abuse reform and demonstrate what’s possible when state leadership prioritizes a better business climate.

Sentry has played a leading role in both the state and federal levels to bring transparency to third-party litigation financing and disrupt this activity altogether.

This growing practice involves outside funders—sometimes foreign entities—anonymously bankrolling lawsuits in hopes of high returns. In one extreme case, funders walked away from a $2 billion judgment rather than reveal their identity.

Sentry was proud to work hand-in-hand with the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and a broad business coalition pushing for tax reform within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This reform would have applied a 40% tax on litigation proceeds and require partial withholding until funders disclosed their identities.

Our goal was both policy-driven and fiscal: To help protect the legal system’s integrity and recoup billions in untaxed earnings over the next decade.

Unfortunately, this provision was stripped from the bill 24 hours before passage. However, Sentry has worked to recruit co-sponsors of standalone legislation and continues to seek TPLF disclosure in the states.

Another major area of concern we’re working on are staged accidents targeting commercial vehicles. These deliberate collisions are designed to extract inflated insurance payouts and have resulted in criminal activity—including witness tampering and even murder—in states like Louisiana. Research Operation Sideswipe for further details.

We’re advocating for legislation designating this activity as a federal crime and have coordinated with Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to support Department of Justice investigations into these fraud schemes.

Throughout the first half of 2025, we’ve continued to partner with national and state trucking associations to push back against abusive towing practices.

Working alongside the ATA and property and casualty insurance trades, our team has engaged in legislative reform efforts in more than a dozen states. That included successful defensive efforts in Idaho and Oklahoma, and key wins in Indiana and Illinois—the latter long considered one of the most challenging jurisdictions in part due to highly coordinated fraud rings.

These efforts helped spark productive conversations with state legislators and opened the door for meaningful changes aimed at protecting commercial drivers and businesses from excessive fees and predatory behavior.

From Capitol Hill to statehouses across the country, we continue to lead with purpose. We’re proud to be one of the most engaged insurers working with the ATA and state trucking associations. Whether it's providing data, supporting legislation, or working hand-in-hand with policy experts, our reputation as a reliable advocate for the industry continues to grow.