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 — 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 presence of a leaded gasoline tank at this facility places its fueling operations squarely before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Petroleum contamination migrated into the soil from tanks that served the packing facility's industrial operations for decades, and the resulting remediation — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, long-term assessment — has generated costs that the historical CGL carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup continues.

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.