This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

The contaminants found at this property — PCBs, lead, and petroleum hydrocarbons — are directly traceable to salvage and dismantling operations conducted before 1986. PCBs were banned from manufacture in 1979, and their presence in site soil points to material handling that predates that prohibition; lead concentrations of 2,600 ppm in a facility processing car parts are consistent with an operational history rooted in the era of leaded fuels and lead-containing components. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and may be accessible to fund the investigation and cleanup costs this property now faces.

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.