This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 underground storage tanks at this public works yard were removed and upgraded between 1992 and 1999, a timeline that places their original installation — and the contamination they caused — well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation record — UST removals, thousands of tons of excavated and landfarmed soil, pit-water disposal, and more than two decades of groundwater monitoring — represents expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to this facility during that earlier operational window may be obligated both to recover those cleanup costs and to fund remediation that continues today.

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.