This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1924. 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 site traces directly to plywood manufacturing and petroleum storage operations that predated 1986 by decades — a UST was installed in 1964, and releases were documented in 1981, 1982, and February 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the facility's operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain potentially enforceable today. The scale of documented remediation here — over 23,000 tons of impacted material removed, with cap installation, shoreline restoration, and long-term monitoring still ahead — represents expenditures the 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.