This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1978. 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.

This facility was constructed and began industrial operations in 1978 — eight years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented contamination — arsenic across all ten monitoring wells and petroleum-diesel in groundwater — arose from a property with nearly a decade of pre-1986 industrial use, during which CGL carriers routinely covered pollution-related liabilities. The investigation, remedial design, and groundwater remediation costs this site now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose occurrence-based policies were in force during that pre-1986 operational window.

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.