This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1955. 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.

The wrecking yard and service station operations at this property began in the mid-1950s — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still provided broad pollution coverage with no effective exclusion. The underground storage tanks removed in 1989 were almost certainly installed and in service during that pre-1986 window, and the widespread contamination from documented poor waste handling represents the kind of diffuse, long-running release those policies were written to address. With excavation and off-site disposal of additional impacted soil still ahead, the site's accumulated and prospective cleanup costs may be recoverable — in part or in full — from historical carriers whose policies were in force during the property's operational decades.

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.