This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1927. 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.

Industrial dairy operations at this property began in 1927 and persisted for decades, with underground storage tank infrastructure in place well before 1986 — the year occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The lead and gasoline-range TPH contamination documented in soil and groundwater here is characteristic of the slow, incremental UST releases that pre-1986 policies were written to address, before effective pollution exclusions became standard. Documented remediation costs — tank removals, hundreds of tons of contaminated soil excavated, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.