This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 contamination at this site — petroleum hydrocarbons and automotive fluids released over decades of vehicle dismantling — traces directly to operations that began in 1967, nearly two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. Carriers who issued policies to the operators during that long pre-1986 window were on the risk throughout the accumulating contamination of the 1970s and early 1980s. The documented remediation expenditures here — air sparging, vapor extraction, multi-year monitoring — represent costs that those historical insurers may be obligated to fund, both for work already performed and for ongoing cleanup.

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.