This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1870. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

Contamination at this railyard stems from more than a century of industrial fueling, maintenance, and solvent use — operations that were well established decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures here — tank removals, soil excavation, long-term free-product recovery, daily wastewater treatment — represent costs tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the railyard's long operational window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work that continues today.

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.