This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1938. 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.

Rural and agricultural operations at this property date to at least 1938 — nearly five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The contamination now requiring remediation — petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and chlorinated solvents — is consistent with decades of rural infrastructure use confirmed by the discovery of subsurface septic systems and the possible presence of abandoned heating oil tanks. The documented remediation costs already incurred and the ongoing cleanup obligations — including vapor intrusion mitigation, subsurface infrastructure removal, and continued groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those pre-1986 operational decades 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.