This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 Zwight Logging facility — with its diesel storage tanks, equipment maintenance shop, and steam-cleaning operation — was an established industrial operation before the drainfield disposal began in March 1986, placing its core activities squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination documented at this property traces directly to those pre-1986 industrial operations. The remediation costs this site now faces — investigation, design, and eventual cleanup — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during that operational window 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.