This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1917. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

Military operations at this installation began more than six decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The remediation expenditures documented here — groundwater pump-and-treat, sparging, vapor extraction, soil excavation, thermal desorption, and decades of monitoring and maintenance — represent substantial cleanup costs tied to releases originating from that long operational history. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover past remediation costs and to fund the ongoing cleanup work still underway at this site.

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.