This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility 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.

Every year of operation at this site — oil recycling, service station activity, and the industrial disposal practices behind the sludge pile — fell within the 1930s through 1955 window, an era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The lead and petroleum hydrocarbons now present in soil at concentrations consistent with industrial operations predating the widespread phase-out of leaded gasoline represent liabilities that span past and present: historical carriers whose policies covered that specific operational period may be obligated both to fund recovery of costs already incurred in the 1985–86 waste removal and to contribute to the active cleanup now progressing under the VCP.

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.