This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1949. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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.

Commercial and industrial operations at this property — plumbing supply, sign painting, woodworking — were established by the early 1950s, more than three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. The groundwater contamination confirmed here, including arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, and petroleum hydrocarbons, is consistent with the types of slow, cumulative releases that pre-1986 policies were written to address. The investigation and remediation costs this property now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect during those decades of pre-1986 commercial operations.

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.