This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders has operated at this Island County property since 1964, producing passenger vessels, work boats, and fishing boats and performing vessel conversions and repairs. An underground storage tank for gasoline was documented on-site in a 1977 Ecology UST report and removed in 1992; between 1997 and 1999 the operator implemented infrastructure improvements covering stormwater and wastewater collection and treatment, spill containment, and emission reduction, including paving over a previously suspected contamination area. The site has since achieved No Further Action status under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
Boatbuilding and repair operations at this facility began in 1964 and petroleum storage was confirmed by a 1977 Ecology UST report — placing active industrial use with documented contamination sources more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions. Heavy oil, diesel, and gasoline stored in underground tanks during that pre-1986 window are the contamination drivers behind the documented remediation: UST removal, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, spill containment, and source control. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to NBBB during those years of operation may be obligated to recover those incurred cleanup costs.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
