This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Everett Steel Co Quantum Wood site in Everett has been on the Contaminated Sites List since 1993, with its contamination attributed to the adjacent Everett Steel scrap metal facility. That facility operated continuously since at least 1948 — and possibly as early as 1919 — conducting metal crushing, guillotine cutting, and scrap and waste storage across its surplus yard. Cleanup of the Quantum Wood parcel is in the early stages under the Standard Cleanup program, with documentation of past and planned remediation activities still under development; the adjacent Everett Steel property has separately initiated cleanup of its old surplus yard. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 industrial contamination reaching the Quantum Wood parcel originated from scrap metal operations that ran for decades before 1986, a period when occurrence-based CGL policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. A 1993 ICF Kaiser Engineers report confirms the long-standing nature of those operations — metal processing and waste storage activities that were ongoing well before pollution exclusions became standard. With remediation costs still ahead and no cleanup yet commenced on this parcel, historical carriers whose policies covered the Everett Steel operations during the pre-1986 decades may be obligated to fund the work that lies ahead.
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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
