This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1920. 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.

The contamination here — machining oils, waste oil, petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH-D and TPH-O), and lead — is directly attributed to foundry and metal-working operations that ran for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion. A century of continuous industrial use created the contamination profile now driving a seven-figure remediation program; that timeline reaches deep into the era when CGL policies were still written on an occurrence basis and pollution claims were routinely covered. Historical carriers who issued policies to Nelson Iron Works or its successors during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the substantial cleanup work still ahead.

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.