This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1930. 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 at this property — lead, petroleum hydrocarbons, cadmium, and chromium — is the direct product of dumping operations that ran for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation trail stretches from pesticide removal in 1971 through multi-year groundwater monitoring that remains ongoing, reflecting more than half a century of liability tied to pre-1986 landfill activity. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators or responsible parties during the active dump period may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the monitoring work still under way.

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.