This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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.

This landfill's waste stream — car parts, scrap metals, and appliances deposited across four decades ending in the 1960s — is exactly the kind of slow-accumulating, mixed-source release that Commercial General Liability policies written for operators and commercial waste depositors during that era were designed to address. Those policies predate the post-1986 pollution exclusions by as much as six decades, and Washington courts have repeatedly found them enforceable against such historical releases. Because no cleanup costs have yet been incurred here, the full financial exposure — site investigation, remedial design, and eventual remediation — remains ahead, and historical carriers whose policies covered landfill operations during the active decades may be obligated to fund it.

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.