This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property housed two underground storage tanks containing Bunker C heavy oil, located beneath the concrete sidewalk on the east side of the site. In July 2000, Fulcrum Environmental conducted a UST site assessment on behalf of Loofburrow Architects; prior to excavation, approximately 5,200 gallons of Bunker C heavy oil were removed from the tanks by Oil Re-refining for recycling. Roughly 90 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were then excavated and routed to asphalt production, with removal boundaries constrained by the building foundation and an adjacent street. Cleanup work is ongoing under the Standard Cleanup program. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 heating oil tanks at this property are estimated to have been in service by the mid-1970s — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Bunker C heavy oil, a slow-migrating heavy petroleum fraction, represents exactly the type of long-term subsurface release those pre-1986 policies were designed to address. The documented remediation costs at this site — bulk oil recovery, contaminated soil excavation, and continued cleanup obligations — are expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the tanks' operational window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
