This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1908. 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.

Mining operations at this site span more than seven decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The contamination identified at the Trevitt Mine traces directly to those decades of mining activity — waste rock disposal and associated releases that occurred while pre-1986 CGL policies were in force. The remediation costs the property now faces — site characterization, cleanup design, and eventual remediation of mine waste — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose occurrence-based policies covered the operators during the mine's active life.

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.