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 — 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 lumber and shake companies that operated on this property used pentachlorophenol as a wood preservative — the industrial practice that produced the contamination now requiring expensive remediation. Those timber operators would have carried occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies during the decades they were active, and the carriers who issued those policies are potentially responsible for the documented remediation costs: soil excavation, sediment removal, and engineered caps. Because the contamination originated from industrial practices that began well before 1986 and continued through multiple operator tenancies, the pool of potentially liable historical insurers here is unusually broad.

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.