This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1968. 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.

Chromium contamination at this property originated from hard-chrome plating and chromic acid use that began in 1968 — nearly two decades before the 1986 pollution-exclusion era — and Ecology's 1986 compliance order against Precision Engineering confirms that releases were already occurring during the period when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures at this site — tank and soil excavations, groundwater treatment, structural corrective actions, and multi-year monitoring — are directly traceable to those pre-1986 industrial operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Precision Engineering during its operational window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.