This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1980. 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.

Diesel contamination at this site originated from a corroded underground storage tank that served Dawson Trucking's fleet operations beginning in 1980 — six years before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The release was not a sudden event but a slow, operational-era leak through a hole in the tank, exactly the kind of progressive contamination the pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. More than two decades of documented remediation costs — tank removal, soil excavation, free-product recovery, waste disposal, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to continue funding.

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.