This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1896. 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 here — scattered across soil, groundwater, and sub-slab vapor — originated from wood treatment, fuel use, and industrial lumber processes that had accumulated over decades of operations well before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators or property owners during that long pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures at this site — hazardous soil excavation and disposal, liquid removal, vapor mitigation infrastructure, sediment capping, and continuing monitoring — represent costs that 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.