Insurance companies, including auto, home, business and life insurers, contributed more than $35.7 million to members of Congress over the last two election cycles, with an emphasis on those involved in the battle over federal oversight of insurance.

“The insurance industry is using the chaos created by failed federal oversight of other financial players to ask for the same weak treatment and regulatory options given to the banking industry. And insurers have invested tens of millions of dollars in politicians to help their cause,” said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan group that did the analysis. Consumer Watchdog has said that proposed federal insurance regulation is tantamount to loosening the rules by which insurance companies play because state-based regulation is more stringent and provides more consumer protection.

About $5 million went to members of the House Financial Services Committee, according to Consumer Watchdog. The committee is central to the debate over an optional federal charter, which would enable insurers to choose either federal or state regulation, and enable agents to be licensed by states or with one federal license.

John McCain

Based on the Consumer Watchdog analysis, the top recipients of insurer contributions, including those from Allstate, State Farm and Zurich, who each favor the optional federal charter, were Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) with $2,287,345, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) with $1,102,056 and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) with $491,545. Dodd heads the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over insurance matters, and Kanjorski chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee.

Other top recipients include Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), who received $358,603, and Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who received $297,574. Bean and Royce sponsored legislation to allow large insurers to opt out of state regulation in favor of a federal regulator.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) received $342,796 from insurance industry sources.

The campaign contribution data used in Consumer Watchdog’s analysis was compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.