This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1970. 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.

Petroleum storage at this site — the UST and diesel AST — was integral to agricultural and trucking operations that have run here since the 1970s, more than a decade before 1986 when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The benzene, diesel, and motor oil contamination now documented in groundwater traces directly to that pre-1986 operational history. With a remedial action still ahead, the costs the property owner now faces — design, active cleanup, and long-term monitoring — are the kind of expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in effect during those decades of operation 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.