This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1941. 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.

Historical aerial photography from the mid-1950s, 1965, and 1973 confirms that a gasoline UST and a Bunker C fuel-oil AST were operating at this property for decades before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Contamination is explicitly attributed to releases from the facility's historical operations, including its fuel-fired boiler, meaning the triggering events fall squarely within that pre-1986 coverage window. With remediation ongoing and a future remedial action still pending, the documented expenditures here represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.