This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1960. 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 chlorinated solvent contamination at this property traces directly to book bindery and printing operations that ran continuously from 1960 to 1985 — the entirety of that operational window falling within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies with no effective pollution exclusion. Groundwater exceedances, soil vapor contamination across multiple compounds, and an unresolved vapor intrusion pathway represent both incurred and anticipated remediation costs. Historical carriers who issued policies to the bindery's operators during that 25-year window may be obligated to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work still ahead.

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.