This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1915. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 storage and distribution operations at this site date to 1915 — more than seven decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The contamination requiring cleanup here — diesel and petroleum hydrocarbons released from underground storage tanks installed and operated throughout that pre-1986 window — is precisely the type of gradual, operations-linked release those policies were written to cover. The documented remediation expenditures already incurred, and the further cleanup work still planned, represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's long operational history may be obligated both to reimburse 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.