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.

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 contamination documented here — petroleum, metals, PCE, TCE, and PCBs — was reported to regulators by 1986 and attributed to discharges from identifiable adjacent operators whose industrial activities predated that year. Each of those operators — the asphalt plant, the heavy equipment dealer, the trailer company, the paint warehouse — would have carried its own commercial liability insurance while its operations contributed to the ditch. Policies issued to those operators during their pre-1986 operating years may retain enforceable coverage obligations for the soil and groundwater remediation costs this site now requires.

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.