This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. 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 contamination documented at this property — cPAHs, naphthalene, and petroleum hydrocarbons from decades of tool manufacturing, fuels operations, and gasoline dispensing — originated from activities that began in the 1930s and 1940s, well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The 2018 interim action addressed only a portion of the problem; the full scope of investigation, cleanup design, and remediation of multi-parcel soil and groundwater impacts lies ahead. That pending cleanup is precisely the kind of forward-looking expenditure that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades of pre-1986 industrial activity at this site may be obligated to fund.

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.