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.

Heavy metal contamination from shooting range operations is the product of years of accumulated deposition — not a single incident — and the lead and arsenic detected here reflect that long-term pattern. If the range operated at any point before 1986, occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in effect during that period carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and may still respond to cleanup costs today. The investigation, remedial design, and active cleanup of lead- and arsenic-impacted soil and groundwater that the property owner now faces are precisely the expenditures those historical policies were written 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.