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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Posey Manufacturing operated at this 5.5-acre industrial site in Hoquiam, producing sound boards for pianos. A 1,000-gallon leaded gasoline underground storage tank served the facility's operations. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program included removal of the UST and soil excavation in 1992, installation of multiple groundwater monitoring wells, and groundwater monitoring from February through August 1992. The site was reported cleaned up by 1998 and has received a No Further Action determination; the property is currently vacant. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 leaded gasoline UST at this site predates 1986 by definition — leaded gasoline was phased out of commercial sale before that date — placing the contamination squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, well installation, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases from that pre-1986 infrastructure. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage to the facility's operators during the period the tank was in service may still be obligated to reimburse those cleanup costs.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
