This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

The petroleum hydrocarbon and chlorinated-solvent releases at this property are traced to equipment-wash operations and solvent handling that were occurring during the Farmway Implement tenancy — an occupancy that ran from 1978 through 2005 and therefore overlapped substantially with the pre-1986 window when occurrence-based CGL policies governed commercial operations here. A carrier that issued coverage to Farmway Implement or Washington Tractor during that pre-1986 period would have written a policy triggered by the occurrence of contamination, with no effective pollution exclusion, making those historical policies potentially available to fund the remediation costs this property still faces.

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.