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.
This property was used by a trucking company whose operations involved the storage of approximately 70 drums — including materials such as paving tar — and the use of heavy equipment on site. The drums, accumulated by a prior owner, were first reported to the county health department in 1999; by 2009, they had deteriorated and were actively leaking a black tarry substance onto the soil surface, with separate soil staining from heavy equipment also documented. The site is currently awaiting cleanup: Ecology has engaged the property owner, who has retained a consultant to develop a sampling plan, while an occupant has represented that cleanup is underway. 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.
The petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, and PCBs found at this property trace to trucking and drum-storage operations that, given the volume of accumulated drums and the evident deterioration observed between 1999 and 2009, represent a long-standing industrial history that likely predates 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies in effect during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable against historical carriers. With active remediation not yet underway and site sampling still in development, the investigation, drum removal, and soil cleanup costs ahead of this property are precisely the kind of forward-looking expenditures those historical policies may be obligated to fund.
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.
