This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1924. 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.

Petroleum operations at this property span back to at least 1924, with documented investigation of pre-1996 fuels and leaded gasoline confirming that bulk fuel storage and distribution were active here long before 1986 — the year effective pollution exclusions entered occurrence-based CGL policies. The contamination left behind — petroleum hydrocarbons spread through soil and groundwater from historic tank spills — is precisely the type of slow, long-running release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. With a proposed cleanup plan never executed and remediation obligations unresolved, historical carriers whose policies were in force during that decades-long operational window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the work still ahead.

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.