This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Shipyard operations of the kind conducted at Bergs Marine routinely involved organotins and other industrial compounds that were in widespread use before their regulation and before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still covered pollution events without effective exclusions. The SHA itself characterizes this as "an old site with no data," consistent with a facility whose operational history predates modern environmental recordkeeping and whose contamination liability has yet to be fully measured. Standard Cleanup program enrollment means that investigation and likely remediation are ahead — costs that historical carriers whose policies covered pre-1986 operations may be obligated to fund.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.