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.

Industrial railroad operations at this site began more than eight decades before 1986, generating lead and petroleum contamination consistent with decades of diesel fueling, equipment maintenance, and underground storage tank use. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the railroad operators during that extensive pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remediation costs already incurred — tank removals, monitoring infrastructure, years of groundwater sampling — and the investigation and cleanup work still ahead represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse 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.