This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. 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 here originates from industrial fill deposited more than eight decades before cleanup was required — coal-fired boiler waste laid down in the early 1900s that remained in place until uncovered by construction excavation in 1990. Operations generating that waste predate the modern regulatory framework entirely, placing them squarely in the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — excavation of hundreds of cubic yards of PAH- and lead-bearing clinker, off-site disposal, and ongoing groundwater monitoring adjacent to Lake Union — represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.