This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1956. 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.

Industrial operations at this property began in 1956 — thirty years before the post-1986 pollution exclusions that rendered most CGL policies unavailable for contamination claims. The waste solvents managed in an on-site vault and the free product recovered from groundwater are precisely the slow, ongoing releases that occurrence-based pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover. The documented remediation costs here — large-scale soil excavation, subgrade structure removal, free-product recovery, and active biodegradation treatment — represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and 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.