This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property was developed in the 1960s as a concrete batch plant and gradually expanded through the 1980s until it reached the edge of the active tidelands. The facility operated as a concrete mix distribution center until approximately 1998. Cleanup under a multi-year Brownfields assessment and remediation project has included removal of underground storage tanks — estimated to have been installed before 1976 — excavation of approximately 7,150 cubic yards of contaminated soil, groundwater monitoring and incidental water removal, and construction of a low-permeability clay cap with a drainage system. 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.
Contamination at this site is attributable to underground storage tanks installed and operated well before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of documented remediation — thousands of cubic yards of soil removal, engineered capping, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represents substantial cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. With cleanup still underway, historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's early decades may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the remediation work ahead.
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.
