This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

The petroleum contamination at this property is attributed expressly to legacy Mill operations predating both the 1976 and 1986 regulatory benchmarks — placing its contamination origin squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Carriers who issued policies to the Mill's successive operators across those pre-1986 decades may bear an obligation to fund the remediation costs still ahead, including the MTCA-directed cleanup and any further excavation. A facility with over a century of industrial history and documented contamination tied to prior operations is precisely the profile where recovery against historical insurance is worth pursuing.

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.