This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1915. 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 contamination documented here — trichloroethene detected near a floor drain and petroleum hydrocarbons from underground storage tanks — originated from automotive and transmission repair operations that ran continuously from 1915 through the 1980s, spanning seven decades of pre-1986 activity. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to those operators carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The remediation expenditures already incurred — UST removals, soil excavation, groundwater treatment — and the additional cleanup costs anticipated with future redevelopment are expenditures that historical carriers from that operational window may be obligated both to recover and 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.