This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1969. 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 industrial waste fill placed here — CKD from a cement manufacturing operation and battery chips from a smelting and recycling facility — was deposited before 1970, more than fifteen years before the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The companies responsible for generating and placing that fill may have carried CGL policies during that pre-1986 window that remain enforceable today. The site's documented remediation costs — soil excavation, large-scale containment, culvert construction, and long-term monitoring — represent expenditures tied directly to that historical contamination 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.