This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1950. 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.

Contamination at this Lewis County maintenance yard — petroleum hydrocarbons from a leaking tank system and chlorinated solvents from fleet-service operations — originated from activities dating to at least 1950, more than three decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies in force during that long pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable today. The cleanup action plan initiated in 2009/2010, combined with open-ended groundwater monitoring obligations and institutional deed restrictions, represents an ongoing and future-facing cost stream that historical carriers who insured Lewis County during the facility's early decades may be obligated to fund.

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.