This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. 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 PCB-containing joint materials, caulk, and paint identified at this facility are characteristic of industrial construction and maintenance practices in use decades before PCBs were banned from manufacturing in 1979 — well before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Contamination here is attributable to historical materials and operational stormwater discharge from aviation servicing activities that predate 1986 by decades, not to any discrete post-1986 incident. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to recover documented remediation expenditures already incurred and to fund the cleanup work still underway.

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.