This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1981. 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 underground storage tank at this property was installed approximately twenty-five years before its 2006 removal, placing its origin around 1981 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The gasoline and BTEX contamination found in soil and groundwater traces directly to that pre-1986 tank operation. Documented remediation expenditures already incurred — tank removal, site investigation, years of groundwater monitoring — along with the costs of any forthcoming cleanup could plausibly be recovered from and funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force when the release began.

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.