This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. 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.

Diesel storage and mining operations at this property began in 1960, more than two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The UST that drove contamination here was actively in service during that pre-1986 window, and the release it caused — petroleum hydrocarbons now requiring excavation and long-term groundwater monitoring — is precisely the kind of gradual environmental loss those policies were written to cover. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to mining operators at this site during the pre-1986 period may be obligated both to recover past remediation expenditures and to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.