This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1949. 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.

The petroleum and solvent contamination at this site traces directly to bulk fuel storage and distribution infrastructure that was installed and operated decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, soil excavation, vapor extraction, product recovery, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represent costs tied to releases from that pre-1986 fuel infrastructure. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators during those decades of bulk fuel operations may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation still 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.