This property has a documented history as an industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property served as the site of a machine shop for approximately fifty years, with earlier operations including a blacksmith and repair shop and a carriage painter — all predating 1986. Subsurface soil contains historic fill material with brick fragments and slag characteristic of long-term industrial use, and Phase II investigation has confirmed arsenic, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. Groundwater sampling from temporary and permanent monitoring wells has revealed arsenic concentrations exceeding the NR 140 Enforcement Standard and chromium exceeding the NR 140 Preventive Action Limit, and a Site Investigation Workplan has been submitted to Wisconsin DNR under the Environmental Remediation Program. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Wisconsin — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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 industrial operations at this property — including approximately fifty years of machine shop use and earlier blacksmithing and carriage painting — were conducted entirely before 1986. The continued site investigation, groundwater monitoring for arsenic and chromium exceedances, and remediation work required under the Wisconsin DNR Environmental Remediation Program represent future costs that historical pre-1986 carriers may be obligated to fund.
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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.