This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1945. 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.

Metals salvage operations at this property began in 1945 — more than four decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The groundwater contamination now documented beneath the site — heavy metals, PCBs, PAHs — is the product of those decades of pre-1986 industrial activity. The full cost of remedial design and cleanup still lies ahead, and historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the site's early operational decades may be obligated to fund that remediation.

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.