This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1965. 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 petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that, based on their January 1990 removal and typical UST operational lifecycles, were installed by at least 1965 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation record here — seven UST removals, oil sump excavations, soil disposal, groundwater dewatering, and long-term monitoring — represents the kind of multi-phase cleanup expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward. Operators holding standard CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window remain plausible targets for insurance recovery on these costs.

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.