This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1979. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Auto repair operations at this property — including the waste oil UST responsible for the documented release — were underway by 1979, more than six years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies with no effective pollution exclusion were still standard. The contamination here is the product of routine shop operations during that pre-1986 window, precisely the type of gradual, ongoing release those policies were written to address. The costs the property owner now faces — continued groundwater monitoring, investigation, and eventual remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the years the auto repair shop operated.

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.