This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1968. 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.

The petroleum contamination at this property traces to underground storage tanks installed in 1968 and operated continuously through the pre-1986 period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The scale of the remedy now under consideration — multiple competing alternatives, engineered and institutional controls, long-term monitoring, and a cleanup horizon stretching up to three decades — reflects exactly the kind of slow-developing, long-tail environmental liability those policies were underwritten to address. Historical carriers whose CGL policies covered Austin Construction Company's operations during the years those tanks were active may remain obligated to contribute to past investigation costs and to fund the remediation work still ahead.

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.