This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Mining operations at the Last Chance Mine ended in 1940 — more than four decades before the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The elevated metals contamination tied to the waste rock piles left by those gold and silver extraction operations represents the type of long-tail, ongoing release that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to address. Historical carriers who issued policies to operators during the mine's decades of active production may remain obligated to fund the investigation and remediation costs the property owner now faces.

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.