Andrew P. Van Osselaer

Andrew Van Osselaer represents commercial policyholders in disputes with their insurance companies and advises on insurance solutions to complex risks, including those identified in business transactions.

Andrew has counseled policyholders across all lines of insurance, including general liability, environmental liability, professional liability, property, and D&O. He is not only practiced in litigating recalcitrant insurers' coverage and defense obligations; he routinely defends policyholders against accusations of misrepresentation, pursues insurers for deceptive claims-handling practices, and helps clients navigate difficult claims-handling processes, including where multiple policy years and multiple insurers are involved.

In addition to this breadth of experience, Andrew also has a unique depth of expertise when it comes to environmental risks. He has extensive experience pursuing insurance coverage to fund cleanups and compensate for harms associated with environmental contamination, and he advises clients on improvements to their existing pollution coverage and on insurance solutions to environmental risks identified in business transactions. His skill in this area is in part due to his early background defending clients against environmental liabilities, including under RCRA and CERCLA. This experience gives him a practical understanding of the very claims and risks his policyholder clients seek to insure.

Andrew is a frequent speaker and author on the topic of insurance coverage, including matters related to environmental risks, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants. He is Chair-Elect of the Austin Bar Association's Insurance Section, Co-Chair of the Environmental & Energy Subcommittee of the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Section, and a planning committee member for the Texas Bar's Environmental Superconference. Andrew was also recognized as "One to Watch" by Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc. in the area of Insurance Coverage and as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters.

Before joining Haynes Boone, Andrew graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with High Honors, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Texas Law Review and was a member of the Chancellors and Order of the Coif honor societies. Prior to law school, Andrew worked in the music industry as an audio engineer and concert lighting designer.