This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank 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.

The tanks responsible for contamination at this property had already been removed by the time releases were discovered in the early 1990s, placing their installation and operation in the 1960s or 1970s — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation trail — tank removals, soil excavation and landfarming, vapor extraction, and a decade-long regulatory assessment — represents costs tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during that operational window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains ongoing.

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.