This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
The Olympian Apartments property in Seattle housed multiple oil storage tanks — an aboveground storage tank and several underground storage tanks — that supplied heating oil to the apartment complex and its associated garage. A site hazard assessment confirmed petroleum contamination, with petroleum stains observed in open soils near the aboveground tank and a black, tarry substance found around multiple underground storage tank standpipes across the property. The site was listed on Washington's Confirmed and Suspected Contaminated Sites List in February 1992, and the only documented remediation to date has been removal of the aboveground storage tank; no further active cleanup has commenced. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 releases at this property originated from heating oil storage infrastructure whose contamination was already present when the site was investigated in 1992, placing the responsible operations squarely in the era before 1986 when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination pattern — petroleum staining across open soils and tarry residue around multiple underground tank standpipes — is characteristic of the gradual, ongoing releases those pre-1986 policies were designed to address. With remediation yet to begin and the full scope of cleanup costs still ahead, historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the property operators during that window may be obligated to fund what remains.
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 & Forensic Accounting
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.
