This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1950. 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 arsenic contamination at this property traces directly to industrial slag deposited as fill more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs already incurred — large-scale excavation, stabilization, capping, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures tied to a release that began during the coverage window of those historical policies. With cleanup still underway, the carriers who issued CGL policies covering the 1950s-era disposal operations may be obligated both to reimburse past remediation costs and to fund the monitoring program 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.