This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1959. 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 chlorinated-solvent degreasing operations that generated TCE, PCE, and 1,1,1-TCA contamination at this site ran from 1959 through at least the mid-1980s, and GE's concurrent role as a RCRA interim status dangerous waste storage operator from 1980 to 1989 further anchors the contamination timeline to that pre-1986 policy era. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to GE during those manufacturing decades carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable against historical carriers today. The documented remediation costs — soil excavation, decades of groundwater extraction, vapor mitigation infrastructure, and two rounds of chemical injection campaigns — are attributable to releases that occurred while those carriers were on the risk.

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.