This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1965. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site traces directly to underground storage tanks installed in the mid-1960s to fuel a commercial fleet — more than two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies ceased covering pollution claims. The cleanup costs now facing the property owner — site investigation, remedial design, and eventual remediation of petroleum-impacted soil and groundwater — are the type of long-tail environmental expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to fund under policies issued during the facility's pre-1986 operating years.

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.