This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1930. 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.

Bulk petroleum operations at this site began more than five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination — petroleum hydrocarbons from decades of bulk fuel storage and distribution, along with PCBs documented in a 1985 inspection — traces directly to operations conducted by identifiable oil-company predecessors during that pre-1986 window. Property owners and successor interests now facing the cost of full upland and in-water remediation may have valid claims against the historical carriers that insured Associated Oil and Standard Oil when the contamination first originated.

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.