This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. 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 property — petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents including 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and other industrial chemicals — originated from manufacturing operations that began decades before 1986, with facility infrastructure dating to the 1920s. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that extended pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. Four decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater extraction, vapor extraction, and ongoing system operation — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund 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.