This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1930. 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.

Contamination at this site traces to municipal landfilling and industrial operations that began decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs already incurred — waste oil tank removal, Superfund investigation, and ongoing groundwater and drainage monitoring — along with the cleanup work still ahead arise from releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies during the landfill era and subsequent industrial occupancy may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the remaining remediation.

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.