This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1958. 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.

Fire training operations at this site began in the late 1950s and ran for more than a decade before closing around 1970 — placing the contamination-generating activities well within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented LNAPL in soil and groundwater is a direct legacy of those pre-1986 operations, and the costs of ongoing corrective action — characterization, recovery, and monitoring — represent expenditures 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.