This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1890. 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.

Contamination at this property traces to industrial operations that began more than a century before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the prevailing standard and lacked effective pollution exclusions. PCBs — banned in 1979 — identified at the site confirm that contamination originated from historical industrial sources operating squarely within that pre-1986 policy window. The remediation program here — dredging, ecological restoration, source control across multiple action areas, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represents cumulative expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those decades of industrial activity may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup continues.

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.