This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1956. 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.

Chemical manufacturing at this site began in 1956 — three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination here, tied directly to PCP production and the dioxins and furans that attended it, originated from operations conducted throughout that pre-1986 coverage window. Both the remediation expenditures already incurred since 1986 and the substantial future costs — additional excavation, physical containment, and years of groundwater monitoring — are liabilities that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in effect during Reichhold's manufacturing era may be obligated 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.