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 — 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 chemicals stored here — Boeing-surplus solvents, VOCs, and petroleum hydrocarbons — are the same industrial compounds whose slow, ongoing release into soil and groundwater fell squarely within the coverage grant of pre-1986 CGL policies. The collapsed state of the Quonset shed and boathouse by 2003 places the active storage period well into the era before effective pollution exclusions were routinely added to CGL forms, meaning the carriers who issued policies during those years may still bear obligations. Excavation costs, chemical disposal, and compliance monitoring tied directly to that storage window are the kinds of remediation expenditures that historical insurers could be called on 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.