This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility 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.

PCB contamination and free-product releases at this facility trace back to industrial operations that were well established by the 1950s — more than three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The scale of documented remediation here — extensive well networks, groundwater extraction, and a court-ordered study of river-sediment contamination — represents substantial past and future cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during Kaiser Trentwood's early decades of industrial production may be obligated both to reimburse costs already incurred and to fund the remediation still ahead.

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.