This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1906. 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 contamination at this site — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) leaching from creosote-treated timber piles — originates from a pier structure in continuous waterfront use since 1906, placing its contaminating operations more than eight decades before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based CGL policies began to include effective pollution exclusions. Pre-1986 carriers who issued policies to operators of this industrial waterfront property had no such exclusion and remain potentially liable under Washington law. The documented remediation costs — pier demolition, creosote pile removal, sediment sampling, erosion control, and prospective soil excavation — represent expenditures those historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup work continues.

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.