This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Atomic Auto Wrecking began operations in 1980, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington State. The petroleum hydrocarbon and lead contamination documented at this site — the direct product of vehicle wrecking operations conducted throughout the pre-1986 period — is precisely the type of slow, ongoing release those policies were written to address. The documented remediation expenditures here, including excavation, bioremediation, thermal treatment, and multi-year monitoring, represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during Atomic Auto Wrecking's operational window may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup continues.

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.