This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. 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.

Contamination at this property traces to industrial operations — including the neighboring Harbor Battery facility's century-long presence dating to 1920 — that were well established decades before 1986. CGL policies issued to operators during that era would have covered the lead, arsenic, chromium, and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination now documented in site soils, and carriers who wrote those policies may owe both reimbursement for the investigation and characterization costs already incurred and funding for the remediation work that lies 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.