This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1978. 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.

Machine shop operations at this site began in 1978 and continued through the pre-1986 period when occurrence-based CGL policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination profile here — petroleum hydrocarbons, hydraulic fluid, solvents, and chromium from years of heavy equipment repair — is precisely the kind of slow, ongoing industrial release those policies were written to cover. With active remediation still ahead, historical carriers whose policies were in force during Christianson Company's pre-1986 operations may be obligated to fund the cleanup costs the property owner now faces.

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.