This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1907. 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 contamination at this site originates from fill material deposited in 1907 — nearly eight decades before the 1986 shift from occurrence-based to claims-made Commercial General Liability policies. Entities that owned or operated the property during the intervening decades would have carried CGL policies with no effective pollution exclusion, policies that remain enforceable for the environmental liabilities they covered. The ongoing remediation costs — site characterization, groundwater treatment, and contaminated-soil management — represent expenditures those historical carriers 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.