This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property has operated as a shipyard and marina since the early 1940s, with activities centered on boat haulout, maintenance, and repair. Wooden fishing boats were built on site from the early 1940s through 1959. Aerial photography from 1941 confirms the presence of structures and a pier, and subsequent documentation — including a 1957 topographic map and 1977 aerial photographs — corroborates decades of continuous industrial marine operations. Metals, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been identified as suspected contaminants in groundwater and surface water; the site is currently awaiting cleanup under Washington's Standard 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.
Shipyard and marina operations at this property began more than four decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. The contamination suspected here — metals, mercury, and PAHs — is characteristic of long-duration marine industrial use and likely originated during the decades when pre-1986 CGL policies were in force. The cleanup costs the property now faces — investigation, design, and remediation of contaminated groundwater and surface water — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect during those early decades of shipyard operations.
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.