This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1941. 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.

Aluminum smelting operations at this property began in 1941 and ran for decades under occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion — the contamination originating from those operations is precisely the type of loss those policies were written to cover. The remediation costs already incurred — smelter demolition, sludge consolidation, soil removal, and tank decommissioning — are directly traceable to pre-1986 operations, and historical carriers whose policies were in force during those years may bear liability for those expenditures. Equally, the groundwater monitoring program that has continued for at least 21 years with no end date yet established represents an ongoing, forward-looking cost that those same 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.