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 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 chlorinated solvents and heavy metals responsible for contamination here were in active industrial use at this property well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Underground storage tanks removed from the site in 1996 are consistent with installation in the early 1970s, further anchoring the contamination to that pre-1986 operational window. The multi-year cleanup now underway — soil excavation, groundwater monitoring, in-situ chemical treatment, and ongoing delineation — represents mounting remediation expenditures tied directly to those historical operations, costs that historical CGL carriers from that era may still 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.