This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

The petroleum hydrocarbons, PAHs, and VOCs identified at this property trace to industrial and heavy-vehicle maintenance operations that began well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Contamination from the corrugated pipe manufacturing era and the subsequent freight maintenance activities accumulated over decades predating that threshold. The cleanup expenditures now unfolding — hydraulic lift removal, engineered capping, and ongoing program enrollment — are the type of remediation costs that historical CGL carriers issuing policies during those pre-1986 operational years 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.