This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. 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 TCE contamination at SS-34N traces to light industrial operations conducted on the base well before 1986, the threshold year before which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies lacked effective pollution exclusions. A 1985 DoD Installation Restoration Program Phase II report confirms that the contamination was already recognized as a legacy problem prior to that cutoff. The documented remediation costs — years of chemical oxidation injections, pump-and-treat operations, and nearly two decades of annual compliance monitoring — represent substantial expenditures tied directly to pre-1986 operations, creating a plausible claim on the historical CGL policies that covered the installation during that period.

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.