This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a metal fabrication facility for approximately 40 years beginning in the 1940s, with operations that included sandblasting and solvent-based cleaning and degreasing of metal parts. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included excavation and off-site disposal of 155 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and 50 cubic yards of sandblast grit, five in-situ chemical oxidation events using hydrogen peroxide for groundwater remediation, and ongoing natural attenuation monitoring since 2001. A sod cap has been installed over residual arsenic-contaminated surface soil, and a restrictive covenant prevents groundwater use and disturbance of the cap. Cleanup work is ongoing. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 property — tetrachloroethylene from solvent degreasing, petroleum hydrocarbons, and arsenic from sandblasting operations — originated from metal fabrication activities that began decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs already incurred here — large-scale soil excavation, chemical oxidation of groundwater, long-term monitoring, and engineered controls — represent expenditures the historical carriers who insured those pre-1986 operations 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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.