This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1936. 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.

Industrial operations at this site — pole treating, casket manufacturing, and door production — generated a complex contamination profile including PCBs, dioxins and furans, PAHs, benzene, phenolic compounds, and petroleum hydrocarbons across groundwater, sediment, and air. These releases originated from activities spanning five decades before 1986, a period when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs already incurred and the cleanup work still ahead represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured the site's operators during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.