This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1959. 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.

Paint manufacturing operations at this site began in 1959 — more than a quarter century before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims in 1986. The contamination here — petroleum hydrocarbons from a leaking UST, heavy metals and Stoddard solvent from buried paint drums — is directly tied to decades of industrial operations conducted under those pre-1986 policies. Documented remediation costs already include tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, years of active treatment systems, and drum recovery, with additional cleanup options still under evaluation — expenditures the 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.