This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1940. 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.

Industrial log-sorting operations at this site began more than four decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The sediment contamination documented in Budd Inlet — dioxins, PAHs, heavy metals — is characteristic of the slow, cumulative releases associated with decades of industrial waterfront activity, precisely the type of long-tail contamination those pre-1986 policies were designed to address. The remediation costs this property now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the 1940s-through-1985 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.