This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1958. 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.

Chemical manufacturing and industrial cleaning operations at this property began nearly three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry norm and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination profile here — petroleum free product, oily water, drummed hazardous materials, and chemically impacted soils — reflects exactly the kind of slow, diffuse release from ongoing industrial handling that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover. Historical carriers whose policies were in force during Bay Chemical's manufacturing years or Airo Services' spill-response operations may be obligated to fund continued remediation and to recover the substantial removal costs already incurred.

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.