Holland & Knight is adding former senior congressional adviser Christopher Jaarda to its Public Policy & Regulation Practice Group in Washington.

Jaarda joins the firm as a partner after serving as a senior policy adviser and counsel in the office of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson. At Holland & Knight, he’ll advise clients on legislative strategy and advocacy with a focus on technology, data privacy, telecommunications and consumer protection.

“As the top policy advisor in Speaker Johnson’s office, Chris brings exceptional Capitol Hill experience and deep relationships with Congressional leadership in both houses, as well as with the Trump administration,” said Chris DeLacy, co-leader of Holland & Knight’s Federal Government Affairs Practice. “Having recently worked on the 2025 budget reconciliation, Chris brings incredible knowledge of the process, key issues and decision makers as we head into 2026.”

During his tenure with Johnson, Jaarda advised on privacy, IT, homeland security, foreign intelligence, supply chain and economic issues. He helped shepherd more than 100 bills through Congress, including the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act — an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — and multiple continuing resolutions. He also led legislative and oversight strategies before committees, including Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Reform, Judiciary and Homeland Security.

“Chris has been a trusted advisor whose humility, expertise, and nearly 15 years of service on Capitol Hill have meaningfully advanced the work and priorities of the Speaker’s office and the Republican Conference,” Johnson said.

“He has a wealth of policy knowledge from his experience in both chambers, and a deep understanding of the legislative process that has bolstered our efforts in countless ways. I am profoundly grateful for his service, and I am confident that his extraordinary talent will continue to benefit any team fortunate enough to have him.”

Jaarda previously served as deputy chief of staff and legislative director to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, now Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. His Capitol Hill résumé also includes roles as counsel to U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, chief counsel to the Senate Republican Policy Committee and legislative counsel to former U.S. Sen. John Ensign.

“Holland & Knight has an outstanding reputation for its government relations practice, and I’m thrilled to join this talented team,” Jaarda said. “The rules of Washington are changing, and legislative strategies need to change as well. I’m excited to leverage my recent experience working at the highest levels of Congress to help corporate and institutional clients adapt to this new environment and shape future policy.”

Jaarda holds a law degree from Villanova University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Furman University. He is admitted to practice in Michigan.

Florida’s Insurance Commissioner says the state’s three-year-old property insurance reforms are continuing to push the market toward stability, but there’s still work to be done on litigation, accountability and claims handling.

In an interview with Florida Politics, Michael Yaworsky said overall litigation is down about 30% since lawmakers approved the property insurance reforms in a late 2022 Special Session and an extensive tort law rewrite in the 2023 Regular Session.

But he noted that lawsuits remain “much higher than every other state,” a gap he acknowledged continues to drive costs even after the reforms. For now, he said, regulators want to stay the course and let the reforms continue to work through the system rather than pursue another round of statutory changes.

“One of the things about insurance is that even when you’re making great moves, (regulatory changes) can drive uncertainty. And uncertainty is a major cost driver in insurance. So our goal would be to let these changes bake in on the litigation front before we move again,” said Yaworsky, who is set to deliver the keynote address at the Florida Chamber’s 2025 Annual Insurance Summit.

Even as the state sees new carriers enter the market and existing companies file for decreases, Yaworsky said the work of stabilizing the system is only partly legislative. The other half is enforcement. He pointed to what he said was a roughly 700% increase in fines and penalties against insurers this year — part of a broader “insurer accountability” push that passed shortly after the torts rewrite.

That effort has been visible in recent months. In September, Yaworsky’s office fined eight carriers more than $2 million for misconduct tied to Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Idalia claims, including using unappointed adjusters, failing to acknowledge claims, and failing to pay interest owed. At the time, Yaworsky said that while capital was returning to the market, insurers “must also be worthy of doing business in our state.” Two additional companies remain under investigation.

Regulators are also preparing for a new frontier in oversight: artificial intelligence. Yaworsky said OIR is developing guardrails around AI-driven underwriting and claims decisions, stressing that carriers must maintain a meaningful “human-in-the-loop concept” to prevent improper denials and ensure consumers can understand how decisions are made.

“You don’t want a machine, no matter how brilliant it is thought to be, to be the one that’s denying your claim and doing it wrongly,” Yaworsky said.

Skeptics of Florida’s improving outlook often point to the concentration of smaller domestic insurers and longstanding concerns about credit ratings in the state. A Wall Street Journal article earlier this year highlighted the ratings company Demotech, which has given high marks to small carriers that later failed.

Yaworsky pushed back on that critique, arguing that financial strength reviews come from his agency — not ratings agencies — and that OIR employs more than 100 analysts who review insurers and their holding companies daily. Rating requirements, he said, matter primarily for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage compliance, not for solvency determinations.

“We don’t give a lot of weight to ratings agencies … it’s not something that we look at on a day-to-day basis,” he said. He also noted that more than 60% of companies writing in Florida now carry ratings from multiple agencies, which OIR encourages.

“But from our standpoint, we’re doing a complete and thorough examination on our own of the financial welfare of companies, and that’s consistent across the country.”

Competition, he said, is also expanding as litigation levels out. Yaworsky pointed to several carriers filing for decreases this year and national brands increasing their presence. Some homeowners are again receiving multiple quotes, a shift from the “one option and take it or leave it” market many faced two years ago.

One recent example: Heritage Property & Casualty received approval this Fall for an average 3.3% statewide decrease, with cuts approaching 10% in some counties. But that filing reflects one company’s rate structure — not a universal trend — and Yaworsky acknowledged that statewide averages can obscure individual outcomes.

“A 0% statewide increase is truly a zero,” he said, “but if the average is a negative-1%, roughly half of policyholders will be above that and half will be below.”

In practice, that means some homeowners will see decreases while others continue to face higher premiums depending on location, risk profile and carrier performance.

For those still struggling with high costs, Yaworsky encouraged homeowners to shop aggressively, and to expect their agents to shop for them — and if they aren’t, then perhaps it’s time to shop for a new agent.

“We have a lot of great agents out there, and if their agent isn’t checking in twice a year, telling that consumer, ‘I’ve run the numbers and I’ve looked for other options for you,’ … then they really should talk to a new agent,” Yaworsky said.

He also emphasized the role of mitigation and storm hardening, noting that homeowners who make meaningful improvements to their property can see a dramatic reduction in their bill. The My Safe Florida Home program, which provides grants to help homeowners pay for storm-hardening enhancements, is one avenue OIR encourages Floridians to pursue.

“We think it’s good number one, because you save money on your insurance policy, but also it makes your house a lot stronger during a potential catastrophic event, and you’re less likely to suffer a severe loss,” Yaworsky said.