This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1950. 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.

Automotive operations at this property — used car sales, transmission repair, and vehicle wrecking — ran for more than three decades before 1986, the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began to carry effective pollution exclusions. Lead contamination documented at this site is characteristic of automotive operations conducted during that pre-1986 period. The costs now facing the property owner — site investigation, remediation design, and active cleanup not yet begun — are the type of forward-looking expenditures that historical CGL carriers who covered this property during its decades of pre-1986 operations may be obligated 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.