This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1950. 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 contamination at this site is tied to bulk fuel storage and dispensing operations that date back more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, in-place closures, and groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases from that pre-1986 operational window. With cleanup still underway, historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators during those decades of bulk petroleum handling may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the remediation 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.