This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1909. 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.

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at this property is directly tied to more than seven decades of railyard operations that ceased well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation expenditures documented here — tank removals, groundwater recovery, bioremediation, soil flushing, and decades of ongoing monitoring — represent costs the historical carriers who insured those pre-1986 operations may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund through the remaining cleanup horizon.

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.