This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 industrial mill site is attributed to long-running operational activities rather than a single release event, which is precisely the pattern of gradual, progressive environmental damage that occurrence-based CGL policies were designed to cover. Documented remediation expenditures — phased soil and ash excavation, offsite disposal of over 1,300 tons of contaminated material, and investigation-derived waste management — represent substantial cleanup costs already incurred, with additional work ahead. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the mill's earlier decades of operation may be obligated both to recover past remediation costs and to fund the cleanup still to come.

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.