This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1900. 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 Rainier Heat & Power Company operated its steam heating plant at this address for roughly six decades, storing heavy industrial fuel in tanks that sat abandoned and unremediated long after operations ceased in the late 1960s. Carriers who issued occurrence-based CGL policies to the steam plant operators — or to subsequent property owners during the decades those tanks quietly leaked — may have coverage obligations that attach to the original release events rather than to the date of discovery during renovation. The documented cleanup costs here, from UST decommissioning and groundwater recovery to the long-term monitoring program now planned, represent expenditures those historical carriers may be obligated to fund.

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.