This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1968. 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.

Site investigation documents date the PCE releases here to between 1971 and 1986 — the product of decades of wastewater disposal into on-site septic systems during the height of manufacturing operations. That contamination window maps directly onto the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion, meaning carriers who insured the facility during those years remain potentially exposed. The remediation costs now confronting the property — with a leading alternative priced at $1,715,000 before monitoring and institutional controls are factored in — represent expenditures that historical insurers from that pre-1986 operational period may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.