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 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.

Ecology's records consistently describe this as an older automotive maintenance facility, indicating operations that likely predate 1986 — the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The contamination here is the type of slow, ongoing release — hydraulic oil seeping from a long-installed lift over a period of years — that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to address. With no cleanup yet commenced, the full costs of investigation and remediation still lie ahead, and historical carriers whose policies were in force during the facility's earlier operating years may be obligated to fund those costs.

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.