This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1928. 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 operations at this site began in 1928 — nearly six decades before 1986 — and the arsenic, asbestos, VOC, and petroleum contamination now requiring remediation originated directly from those pre-1986 industrial processes. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that long pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures here — multi-phase soil and sediment excavation, groundwater treatment, waterway dredging, long-term capping, and years of in-situ chemical injections — represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in effect from 1928 onward 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.