This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1941. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Bulk petroleum storage and distribution operations at this property began in 1941 — more than four decades before 1986 — and a leaded-gasoline underground storage tank confirmed to predate current pollution exclusions was not removed until 1991. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the terminal operators during that long pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation trail — UST and AST removals, pentachlorophenol and F027 hazardous waste excavation, extraction systems, and years of ongoing monitoring — represents expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those operational decades may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.