This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1965. 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.

The gasoline contamination at this property traces to a UST that was reported to the state in 1986 and likely installed decades earlier, placing its entire operational life squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Remediation costs have already accrued — tank removal, product recovery, groundwater monitoring — and the 2008 determination that additional work including a Site Hazard Assessment is still required means further expenditures lie ahead. Historical carriers who insured the railroad's operations during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation 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.