This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. 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 cadmium, lead, and petroleum contamination at this site originated from vehicle draining, dismantling, and parts storage operations that ran for more than four decades before 1986 — squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies carrying no effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who insured the salvage operation during that window may be obligated both to fund recovery of documented remediation costs already incurred — investigation, soil excavation, and disposal of over 572 tons of impacted material — and to cover the ongoing groundwater monitoring program that remains active 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.