This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in continuous industrial use since the early 1900s, with successive operations including a wire rope manufacturing company, a metal scrap yard active from the late 1920s through the late 1960s, and a bulk transloading facility that operated from 1980 with a bunker oil underground storage tank. Early cleanup included removal of a 5,500-gallon UST and excavation of 80 cubic yards of impacted soil in 1997. The selected remedial alternative calls for hot spot soil excavation to depths of 4 to 10 feet, asphalt capping of remaining contaminated soils, and institutional controls via an environmental covenant, with long-term groundwater monitoring and cap maintenance planned at an estimated cost of $1.6 million. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 at this property — heavy metals from decades of scrap yard operations and petroleum hydrocarbons from a bunker oil tank in active service before 1986 — originated from industrial activities that predate the pollution exclusions that became standard after 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators during the scrap yard era and the early transloading years had no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The $1.6 million remedial program now underway — excavation, capping, institutional controls, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represents costs that historical carriers who wrote policies during those pre-1986 operational windows 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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
