This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

PCB contamination at this scrap metal facility points to operations that predate the federal ban on PCBs in 1979, placing the site's contamination-causing activities well before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based CGL policies. The EPA referral in 1988 confirms that environmental impacts were already established by that date, and the property has carried a contaminated-site listing for nearly four decades. As cleanup costs begin to accrue under the Standard Cleanup program — investigation, assessment, and eventual remediation — historical carriers whose occurrence-based policies were in force during the pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to fund both past and future remediation expenditures.

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.