This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1926. 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.

Foundry, machining, and petroleum storage operations at this site began six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The contamination profile here — chlorinated solvents from degreasing and machining, petroleum hydrocarbons from stored fuels — is precisely the type of slow, cumulative industrial release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. The documented remediation record, 2,800 cubic yards of excavated soil, two UST removals, and years of groundwater monitoring, represents costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward as long as hydrocarbon contamination persists in groundwater.

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.