This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1950. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site traces to car dealership and repair operations that ran for roughly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, pit cleanout, groundwater monitoring, and decades of ongoing assessment — represent costs tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. With cleanup still underway, historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1950s-through-1970s operational window may be obligated both to recover past remediation costs and to fund the work ahead.

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.