This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank 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 fuel oil release at this property originated from an underground storage tank that operated continuously from 1949 to 1986 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Decades of documented remediation expenditures, from tank removal and soil excavation through LNAPL recovery and long-term groundwater monitoring, trace directly to that pre-1986 operation. Historical carriers who covered the property during those 37 years of tank use may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the ongoing institutional and engineering controls still required at the site.

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.