This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

The metals contamination at this property — arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury — traces to the Asarco smelter plume, an industrial source that operated continuously from 1890 through 1985 and ceased before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based CGL coverage. Policies issued during the smelter's nearly century-long operating period may cover the remediation costs incurred to bring this property to its No Further Action status. The documented groundwater contamination and cleanup expenditures under the Voluntary Cleanup Program provide a concrete cost trail tied to a definitively pre-1986 contamination source.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.