This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as an industrial compressed-gas manufacturing and distribution facility, with earlier use as a warehouse and office building. Underground storage tanks — one 10,000-gallon diesel UST and two 500-gallon acetone USTs — were removed in 1990 and 1991, along with the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 400–500 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Groundwater encountered during excavation was de-watered and discharged to the sanitary sewer. Cleanup is being conducted under Ecology's Standard Cleanup program and remains in progress. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 underground storage tanks removed from this site were installed around the mid-1960s based on standard tank lifecycle assumptions, placing the origin of contamination squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removal, soil excavation and disposal, and de-watering operations — arose from releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades these tanks were in service may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains 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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.