This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1969. 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 contamination at this site — petroleum hydrocarbons and oil residue — arose from routine truck repair and steam cleaning operations that began in 1969, nearly two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies began routinely including enforceable pollution exclusions. The gradual, repeated discharge of oil-laden wastewater toward the adjoining stream is precisely the kind of slow, ongoing release that pre-1986 policies were written to address. The cleanup expenditures now facing the property owner — site investigation, remedial design, and active remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during the years this operation ran.

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.