This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1943. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
OLF Coupeville was commissioned in 1943 as an outlying field for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, with aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used throughout the facility's history for fire training, firefighting, and emergency response. PFAS contamination attributable to that historical AFFF use has affected private drinking water supplies in the surrounding community. Time-Critical Removal Actions undertaken to date include distributing bottled water and point-of-use filtration systems, connecting affected homes to public water supplies, and installing deeper drinking water wells or point-of-entry treatment systems, with documented project costs totaling $1,715,000. Multi-year PFAS investigations and remediation by the Navy are ongoing, and no broader site cleanup has yet commenced. 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.
The PFAS contamination here originates from the Navy's historical AFFF operations at a field commissioned in 1943 — decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. Pre-1986 CGL policies issued to contractors, operators, and entities associated with these activities carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable against the carriers who wrote them. With $1,715,000 in early-intervention costs already documented and the full scope of remediation still ahead, historical insurers whose policies covered AFFF-related operations at this site may be obligated to fund a substantial portion of what is to come.
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.
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.
