This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1948. 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.

Electroplating operations at this site — cyanide baths, heavy-metal plating, and solvent cleaning — began in 1948 and continued uninterrupted through the January 1984 ownership transfer, meaning CGL policies issued to both the prior operator and the incoming owner fall within the pre-pollution-exclusion window. That 1984 transaction is particularly significant: the new owner explicitly inherited the prior owner's accumulated hazardous waste, creating a documented chain of contamination liability that spans multiple policyholders and policy periods. The remediation costs now facing the property — cyanide destruction, secondary containment, floor rehabilitation, and long-term monitoring — represent exactly the expenditures that historical occurrence-based carriers from either ownership era 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.