This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1924. 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.

The contamination at this property — petroleum hydrocarbons and combustion ash from decades of heavy industrial lumber mill operations — originated from activities that began more than six decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the mill's operators during that long pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation scope — nearly 2,700 cubic yards of soil and ash removal, groundwater treatment, soil capping, and multi-year monitoring — represents both past expenditures to recover and active cleanup costs that historical carriers may be obligated 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.