This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1890. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Petroleum contamination at this facility — diesel and heavy oil in groundwater, with free product present — originated from railroad fueling operations that were well established nearly a century before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the railyard's operators during that extended pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The cleanup costs this site now faces — investigation, design, and full-scale remediation of petroleum-contaminated groundwater across a large railyard — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect when the contamination first occurred.

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.