This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal predating 1986. 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 property stems from decades of bulk fuel storage operations that were well underway before 1986 — tank inventory records confirm installations predating 1990, with some tanks removed even earlier. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The scale of documented remediation — 28 tank removals, thousands of cubic yards of soil excavation, groundwater recovery, PCB transformer disposal, and a site that still requires further cleanup — represents both past expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated to reimburse and future costs they may be required to fund.

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.